Several East Bay students hospitalized after ingesting Xanax

PINOLE, Calif. (KGO) -- There was a prescription drug scare at a high school in Pinole Thursday when several students had to be taken to the hospital after they took the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

Pinole Valley High School student Justin Burrus said, "His heart was pumping so hard, he was just shaking and we were like, 'Whoa, this kid needs to get to an ambulance right away.'"

Burrus says he watched a male student being helped by several others in the boys' bathroom around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

"His eyes were rolling back. He was slurring, he was wobbling when he came out of the bathroom," Burrus said.

But after six more students fell ill with similar symptoms, school officials began investigating.

West Contra Costa County Unified School District spokesperson Marcus Walton said, "The students were found to be under the influence of a controlled substance. Health officials and law enforcement later confirmed that it was Xanax."

"A fellow student told me he took four Xanaxes," Burrus said.

Xanax is a prescribed anti-depressant used for anxiety. Five students had to be taken to the hospital, two were sent home with their parents, and now Pinole police investigators are trying to find out where they got the pills.

"Students in high school are at an age where they tend to experiment with things and not necessarily make the best decision. So we want parents to talk to their students," Walton said.

All seven students are expected to recover, but they were suspended from school and will have to report to the district health center.