Authorities investigating Va. students consumption of drinks possibly mixed with Xanax

STERLING, Va. - The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said it is investigating reports of several middle school and high school students in possession of drinks that contained Xanax.

According to sheriff's office, seven students at River Bend Middle School were seen by a school nurse and eventually sent home to their parents after they were reportedly sharing drinks with the drug, Alprazolam, mixed in inside a classroom Friday morning.

Alprazolam is known under the brand name, Xanax - an anti-depressant drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.

"School Resource Officers are working to determine the extent of each students knowledge of what was in the drinks and where the reported Xanax was obtained," the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in its daily incident report.

Authorities are also looking into a possible connection with another case at neighboring Potomac Falls High School later in the morning. Officials said a school resource officer was notified of a student acting strangely. The officer found that the student had drank a mixture that possibly contained Alprazolam. A second student was later discovered to be in possession of this drink.

The sheriff's office said is awaiting lab results on the mixture in this case.

"I think people have to be aware that children have access to the internet, they have access to a lot of things," said Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson Wayde Byard. "There are sites devoted to how to get high. Kids see that. Be aware. Don't think they are too innocent to use the internet and find things that they shouldn't.

"For parents, monitor your students' behavior, monitor your medicine cabinets, make sure that all your prescription drugs are accounted for. If you have an excess of prescription drugs that are no longer valid, take them to the sheriff's office and dispose of them."

Byard said the school administrators and the school resource officer are working together to determine what exactly happened and what punishment may be appropriate for the students.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office will be holding a meeting at River Bend Middle School at 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss this incident.