3 Maryland elementary schoolers sickened, hospitalized by possible drugs

BALTIMORE -- Three elementary schoolers in Montgomery County, Maryland were hospitalized Monday after they took a substance investigators believe may have been a methamphetamine-related drug, police said. 

Officers responded to College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville after the students, all 7-year-olds, became sick. 

Investigators believe the students found a container of "blue items" they thought was candy. The children allegedly ingested the items and spat them out, but went to the school nurse when they began to feel dizzy. The nurse then called EMS. 

The students were hospitalized as a precaution, police said, and are expected to be fine. 

The substance was not found, and it is unclear where the students found it. Based on toxicology results, however, investigators believe that the items may have been a methamphetamine-related drug like Adderall, or MDMA which is also known as ecstasy. 

"I am relieved that the students will ultimately be fine, but in many ways, what happened today is frightening," said Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones. "I hope that it serves as a powerful motivator for parents to keep having the difficult conversations with their children about the dangers of taking or eating unknown substances."