A pink powdery substance was found on the floor of A.S. Matheson Elementary School in Kelowna. An eight-year-old boy ate it and struggled to walk and talk for hours. (Image Credit: Contributed / Jeremy Mills)

By Jules Knox / Global Okanagan

SUBSTANCE IDENTIFIED

Substance eaten by eight-year-old boy off of Kelowna classroom floor identified

Sep 17, 2019 | 11:19 AM

KELOWNA — The father of a Grade 3 boy who ate a powdery substance off of his classroom floor and then couldn’t walk or talk for hours said that the drug his son consumed has now been identified.

Jeremy Mills said his son Noah ate a form of benzodiazepine that is an illicit street drug.

Noah was rushed to hospital on Wednesday after consuming the substance, but multiple tests came back negative, Mills said.

The drug was only identified after being found still on the classroom floor in A.S. Matheson Elementary School on Thursday morning and sent for testing, he said.

“We were just glad to know what it was,” Mills said. “It’s a mixed reaction. I’m glad it’s nothing that requires post-medical care. There’s no detox or more procedures, so that’s good.”

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However, Mills has concerns about how the substance got into an elementary school classroom.

“From what we know it’s not laced with fentanyl, but it’s still an illegal street drug that shouldn’t be in the hands of an eight-year-old,” Mills said.

“What do we do to ensure this never happens again? It’s frightening to know this can happen,” he said.

At the time of the incident, the school district said it was investigating how this could have happened.

by Jules Knox / Global Okanagan

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Substance eaten by eight-year-old boy off of Kelowna classroom floor identified

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