It was just after lunch time, when five Fayetteville High School students began showing classic symptoms that come after ingesting jimson weed.
"There began to be hallucinations, a lot of vomiting and just wild-eyed looks...One of the children was so delirious, had to be restrained to get on the gurney to be put in the ambulance," said Alan Wilbourn with Fayetteville Schools.
Weed Biologist Dr. Dick Oliver is very familiar with the plant, and how dangerous it can be.
"When you ingest the seeds, a little will get you pretty high and too much in other words these kids got sick, they were pretty close to...another dosage or so, they would probably be dead, so it is very dangerous," said Oliver.
Jimson weed, most commonly found in fertile fields, gardens and barn lots, can cause serious health complications, including rapid heartbeat, high fever, convulsions, blindness, coma, and as Oliver said, even death.
Oliver says the seeds are usually what people will eat.
"They look like a tomato seed, they're black ridged, and I'm sure that's what they were eating."
It's still unclear why the students ate the plant. Three were hospitalized. Two have been released. The other is still recovering at Washington Regional Medical Center. Oliver says they're lucky things didn't get worse.
"I would say they're pretty lucky they quit when they did because it has caused death," said Oliver.
Wilbourn says they are investigating the incident. The students could face suspension or even expulsion.
"There began to be hallucinations, a lot of vomiting and just wild-eyed looks...One of the children was so delirious, had to be restrained to get on the gurney to be put in the ambulance," said Alan Wilbourn with Fayetteville Schools.
Weed Biologist Dr. Dick Oliver is very familiar with the plant, and how dangerous it can be.
"When you ingest the seeds, a little will get you pretty high and too much in other words these kids got sick, they were pretty close to...another dosage or so, they would probably be dead, so it is very dangerous," said Oliver.
Jimson weed, most commonly found in fertile fields, gardens and barn lots, can cause serious health complications, including rapid heartbeat, high fever, convulsions, blindness, coma, and as Oliver said, even death.
Oliver says the seeds are usually what people will eat.
"They look like a tomato seed, they're black ridged, and I'm sure that's what they were eating."
It's still unclear why the students ate the plant. Three were hospitalized. Two have been released. The other is still recovering at Washington Regional Medical Center. Oliver says they're lucky things didn't get worse.
"I would say they're pretty lucky they quit when they did because it has caused death," said Oliver.
Wilbourn says they are investigating the incident. The students could face suspension or even expulsion.
