10 Colville-area teens overdose on stolen pills

Ten Colville-area teenagers were hospitalized Monday night after overdosing on prescription pills.

Two remained in critical condition Tuesday evening, according to a Deaconess Medical Center spokeswoman. Seven others were listed in satisfactory condition and were expected to be released today. One was released from the hospital Tuesday.

The teenagers, ages 14 to 17, took baclofen, a high-powered muscle relaxant, on Monday at Colville’s City Park. They suffered side effects ranging from vomiting to seizures and, one by one, came to Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville for help.

Emergency staff, including five doctors, got the teens stabilized. Then four medical helicopters and one ambulance transported them to Deaconess in Spokane.

Baclofen is a prescription drug used legitimately for patients with multiple sclerosis or spinal injuries.

Drug-abuse experts say popping prescription pills is a dangerous trend among the region’s teenagers. But baclofen, also known by its brand name Lioresal, is not a commonly abused drug.

“Some kids will take anything,” said John Borbridge, a Spokane drug and alcohol counselor who works with teenagers, but was not directly involved in the Monday night incident. “They’re self-medicating. They’re bored.”

The teenagers’ families were gathered at Deaconess Tuesday, offering one another emotional support, said hospital spokeswoman Janice Marich.

“One of the moms told me, ‘This is a tragedy for 10 families. It would be a tragedy in Spokane, but in a small town like Colville, it’s a catastrophe,’ ” Marich said.

The teenagers are expected to make full recoveries.

The impromptu pill party started when a teenage boy brought a bag of pills to Colville’s City Park on Monday evening. He gave out the small white tablets to a group of kids.

Some teens at the park refused the pills, said Colville Police Chief Damond Meshishnek. He would not say whether the boy who brought the pills to the park is among the teens in the hospital.

Colville resident Marvin Heater said through his attorney, Steve Graham, that the pills were stolen from his home.

“He has been sick with worry over the lives of these kids, and his heart goes out to the parents of the teens,” Graham said.

Heater, 29, is quadriplegic and takes eight of the pills daily – under doctors’ supervision – to control muscle spasticity. He believes the medicine, which was stored on top of his refrigerator, was taken by an unrelated teenage boy who is frequently in his home.

“This wasn’t a burglary,” Graham said, adding that Heater considered the boy “a good kid.”

He said Heater discovered a large quantity of the medicine missing when police contacted him Tuesday.

“It appears approximately three weeks’ worth of pills were stolen,” Graham said.

Heater is working with police to make sure all the pills are accounted for, Graham said.

Meshishnek said after police complete their investigation, the Stevens County prosecutor’s office will make a decision on any possible charges in the case.

Colville police helped get treatment for the young people involved. An officer went to the park around 6:30 p.m. to check on a report of an unconscious girl. The officer monitored the girl’s vital signs until an ambulance arrived.

Thirty minutes later, police were called to a home where a boy was breathing, but unresponsive. About 8:30 p.m., a similar call came from another boy’s home.

Unraveling the story from the victims in the emergency room, police were able to locate the other teens involved. In all, seven boys and three girls took the pills.

“The emergency room doctors here were very complimentary of law enforcement,” said Gordon McLean, CEO of Mount Carmel Hospital. “One of our concerns was that one of the students might try to hide and sleep off the effects of the drug and die.”

All 10 victims were put on ventilators to help them breathe.

“For some of our staff this was an emotional challenge,” McLean said. “These are our kids. In a small town, you know these kids and their families.”

Dr. Mark Buchholz, medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Deaconess, said he could not comment specifically on the treatment of the 10 teenagers due to patient privacy laws, but he said most drug overdoses now are treated by artificially helping the victim breathe and waiting for the drugs to clear from the body.

Buchholz said teenagers are more likely to come into the emergency room after overdosing on methamphetamine, cocaine or LSD than on prescription drugs. But he also frequently sees prescription drug abuse, and suicide attempts with over-the-counter and prescription pills.

Borbridge, the Spokane drug counselor, said he had never before heard of teenagers trying to get high with baclofen. More common prescription drugs abused by teenagers include Ritalin, OxyContin, Vicodin and Wellbutrin, he said.

“Lock up the medication,” Borbridge advised parents. “The kids are taking stuff and don’t have a clue what the consequences are going to be.”

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