What is wonk? A health expert explains
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Several students were sent to a hospital this week after a scare at a school. Police say they drank grape juice mixed with a possible opioid and the drink may have been brought by a student.
There was a heavy police presence at Crossroads Accelerated Academy on Westminster Avenue Wednesday. They went to the school after reports of students drinking a substance called "wonk."
For parents, this can be scary.
What is wonk? We didn't know either. So we went to an expert.
Brian O'Neill from Recovery Centers of America says the drug is popular among young people.
"You have a bunch of kids that loaded up the drink with wonk which is ketamine," O'Neill said. "Which is a human and animal tranquilizer, sedative and anesthetic when measured appropriately and they just put it in a drink, dissolved it and passed it around."
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration refers to ketamine as a "dissociative anesthetic hallucinogen" that can be injected, smoked or mixed in drinks. It can also induce a state of sedation.
"The danger and the toxicity, risk of death, risk of extraordinary physical harm is off the charts," O'Neill said.
"Folks are wondering how did they get this," Edwin Desamour said.
Desamour is the executive director of Lighthouse Community Center. A place that provides resources to underserved communities.
"And a lot of times folks don't want to speak about it," Desamour said.
But Desmaour says parents do need to talk to their kids about it and be mindful of what they're doing online.
"Once they open up that phone, everything that you think is out on the streets that you think your door is locked for is in your home," Desamour said.
He also advises staying up to date on what words your kids are using.
"If you hear them using that lingo and you don't know what it is. Do some investigating," Desamour said. "Call your co-workers your family some other younger folks. What is it that?"
He says an honest conversation can go a long way.
"It is a strong community but they are dealing with many different things," Desamour said. "It's about bringing in the right support in. The right love."
The Lighthouse Community Center says they have nearly 2,000 people signed up for their different resources and sports program throughout the community.
They're hoping to only continue their impact.
