Paramedics treating pupils at the school.
Image: Amawele Emergency Services
THREE pupils from Crossmoor Secondary who were rushed to hospital after collapsing from suspected food poisoning linked to snacks bought outside the school, have recovered and returned to class.
They had eaten the chips and sweets allegedly laced with drugs, during the lunch break.
The incident sparked concern about drug-infused food and treats, which are brought into schools by pupils in their lunch boxes.
The pupils, two in Grade 10 and one in Grade 8, were unconscious when paramedics arrived at the school around midday on Friday.
Claude Subramodey, spokesperson for Amawele Emergency Services, said when they got to the scene, one girl was being treated for food poisoning, and then two more collapsed.
“They slipped in and out of consciousness, and vomited. We stabilised them before transporting them to hospital.
“We were told the girls had eaten some chips and sweets that caused them to become ill.
“It was established that the girls had bought the chips and sweets from outside the school, and consumed it during their lunch break. The school will investigate further,” said Subramodey.
Kishore Hambapersad, PRO of the Crossmoor Community Police Forum (CPF), said there was initial speculation that the children consumed items bought from the school tuckshop, but after investigations, they found the items were purchased from outside the school.
“The children were stabilised and taken to hospital. Their parents were contacted. Preliminary investigations by the school have confirmed that the children ate snacks which were brought from outside the school.
“There is a high number of incidents where food or treats which have been infused with drugs are brought into schools.
“This happens in schools in and around Chatsworth, and it is a growing concern. Children are buying cakes, muffins, sweets, gummies and lollipops which are infused with drugs, and this is difficult for schools to detect.
“When pupils have symptoms of food poisoning, we recommend that parents have the child tested for drugs to eliminate this factor, and confirm if it is food poisoning.
“But in most cases, parents are in denial that children will delve in drugs, so they do not want to take the children for testing,” he added.
Hambapersad said the CPF and the school were monitoring the progress of the pupils.
He said he went to the school on Monday, and found that the girls were back in class.
“The school had scheduled a formal meeting with parents. We have also requested the medical reports from the doctors who treated the girls.
“I am involved in many schools in Chatsworth as a community leader, and I also sit as an SGB chairperson at a Crossmoor school.
“We have noticed an increase in incidents of drugs mixed with foods, baked goods and sweets at various schools in Chatsworth. The cannabis shops which have mushroomed at almost every street corner or shopping centre have contributed to the high number of cases we are seeing at schools.
“Some cannabis shops are openly selling sweets with drugs infused into it, and children are accessing these products. They are bringing them to school in their lunch boxes. Although we search their bags, we do not open the lunch boxes and look inside them. This is due to hygiene reasons.
“But we find that this is the loophole that pupils have found to smuggle drugs into the schools. We also found that pupils who reacted badly to the drug-infused sweet or food item, lied that they bought the items from the school tuckshop to get away from the consequences of them taking drugs,” he added.
Hambapersad said this led to a strain on the school, because they had to use time, resources and sometimes money to test products bought at the school.
“Then we have parents who come and fight with staff at schools as they believe their children’s claims that items were bought at the school tuckshop. We have also had children falsely claiming that they had eaten polony or drank juice that made them sick, but they were sick from infused gummies.
“This shifts the focus from their bad choices, and the parent then becomes concerned about food poisoning. In essence, the unscrupulous cannabis shops are selling the infused items to schoolchildren, and not enough is being done to ensure that the children follow the rules,” Hambapersad added.
The Department of Education did not comment at the time of print.