Four Thunderbird High School students became ill in their classrooms Thursday afternoon after downing anti-psychotic pills during lunch.

One student was semiconscious and another was combative after taking the pills at a fast-food restaurant known as a popular hangout for students near the 19th Avenue and Thunderbird Road campus.

Four boys - three sophomores and a junior - were taken to local hospitals. Eleven other students who also may have taken the pills were evaluated on campus by firefighters. All of the students were expected to recover.

Firefighters were called at 12:20 p.m. after one student passed out at his desk and did not respond when a teacher tried to rouse him, Phoenix police Detective Tony Morales said. Another student went into convulsions.

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Other students were lethargic, weak and weren't responding appropriately to questions from paramedics, Assistant Phoenix Fire Chief Bob Khan said. Division Chief Joe Ducote said the students admitted taking the pills.

"It doesn't surprise me because kids try new things," said Ashley Margerum, 15, who knows the students involved but attends a nearby charter high school. "There are a lot of drugs in schools."

The teenagers may have gotten the pills from a former student, Morales said. The pills are being analyzed.

Police said the pills were Zyprexa, which is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and acute mania associated with bipolar disorder. The 20-milligram tablet is pink and oval-shaped.

Zyprexa has been prescribed to more than 11 million people in 84 countries since it was approved in 1996, according to a Web site about the drug. Side effects can include drowsiness, dizziness, weakness and mild trembling.

Lt. Joe Kemp said officers have seen drug-related incidents "off and on at all those different high schools, but nothing of this magnitude."

"High school kids are in that age group where they're experimenting with things," said Phoenix police Sgt. Becky Mann, who supervises school resource officers in the Squaw Peak precinct. "They want to try new things. They're rebelling against their parents, and they want to please their friends. A lot of good kids get in the middle of it."

Mann said the most common drug on high school campuses is marijuana because it's cheap and easy to buy and sell. Kids across the spectrum also are experimenting with methamphetamine, and Ecstasy is still popular, as well.

Kids sell their drugs

In addition, Mann said officers on campus see students bringing anti-depressants, painkillers and other prescription drugs to campus to sell.

Sometimes Mann said, students won't tell their peers what the drug actually is, only that "it'll make you feel better." Students even try to sell medications that have been prescribed for them.

"A lot of kids are on anti-depressants," Mann said. "They refuse to take it, and they get rid of it to make money.

"They get a lot of money for them at high school."

The majority of high school campuses in Phoenix have officers assigned to them, teaching students about the dangers of gangs, drugs, alcohol, tobacco and even bullying.

"There's some kids that really need direction," Mann said. "They want direction."

Incident 'under control'

Carole Sabo, a spokeswoman for the Glendale Union High School District, said school officials are investigating the incident at Thunderbird High School, but it "is under control." Although the school is in north Phoenix, it is in the Glendale district.

On Thursday, a classroom at the high school served as a triage area to treat the boys and girls, mostly freshmen and sophomores, who were involved, Ducote said.

Two students were sent to John C. Lincoln Hospital-North Mountain at 1 p.m., and two others went to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center shortly after. Parents were notified and arrived to pick up the others.

Students who were not involved in the incident were kept in their classrooms, and classes then resumed.

After classes ended, students milled around outside the school gates. Most had heard about the drugs but knew little more.

Bruce Balls, a junior, shrugged and said he wasn't surprised to hear about the drug incident.

"It's pretty rich and a public high school," he said.



Republic reporter Brent Whiting contributed to this article.