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INFORMATION ♦ EDUCATION ♦ ENFORCEMENT

THE EDUCATOR - Spring 1999

GHB Use Real at Capital High School, Olympia WA

Article originally from The Outlook - Capital High Newspaper

By Josh Lake

On Monday, March 15th the Capital High main office transformed into a makeshift Emergency Room when a student overdosed on the drug Gamma Hydroxybutyrate or GHB. A medical response team was called and the student was transported to Black Hills Medical Center where he was placed on life support.

The chain of events leading up to this situation began somewhere outside Mr. Gray's portable. The student drank an unknown quantity of GHB (a clear, liquid substance) from a plastic water bottle. He returned to Mr. Gray's classroom. School began shortly afterwards.

Ten minutes into the period Mr. Gray realized the student was swaying slowly back and forth in his desk. Gray approached him, asking if something was wrong. The student was unresponsive. When Gray asked him if he wanted to go to the nurse's office the student shrugged, stood and attempted to gather his papers. As he fumbled with his things, swaying on his feet, Mr. Gray knew something was very wrong.

Gray accompanied the meandering student to the office, occasionally supporting his arm as he stumbled. This caught Principal O'Connor's attention. He left his office and followed Gray and the student into Mr. Willis's office, one of he schools administrators. Gray returned to class, leaving the student with Willis and O'Connor.

When the two administrators questioned the student he was totally unresponsive although he was able to follow their voices with his eyes. Even this behavior slowly decreased and within five minutes he passed out in the chair. Willis and O'Connor carried the student into the nurse's office, placing him on a cot. Ms. Carver, an office secretary called 911 and medics were dispatched. "I'm no doctor, but I immediately realized something was wrong," O'Connor said.

"At this point, my big concern was vital signs," Willis said of the incident. "I'd swear there were a couple of times when he stopped breathing, just for a second."

A very short time later six medics arrived and the student was intubated (a process in a which a breathing tube is inserted in the trachea) allowing the medics to assist breathing, which was at this time quite labored.

At first the medics thought the student showed signs of a seizure. However after speaking the student’s peers, drug use was discovered. Medics provided care until the student’s condition was stabilized, at which point they prepared to transport him to the hospital.

At this point, administrators began to search for the source of the problem. "I've got to give our kids credit. They led me directly to the kid who had it," Willis said. The bottle containing GHB was found and confiscated. Willis immediately transported it to the hospital where doctors tentatively identified it. The student was placed on life support at Black Hills Medical Center for a few hours, moving from critical to stable condition.

Administrators were very pleased with student cooperation. "They made a wonderful choice between a young man's life and the trouble they may be in," Willis said. O'Connor agreed, stating, "Students have to decide when an individual is more important than saying something."