Vape Device Discovered in Iowa School Contained Fentanyl and THC

As confirmed by North Scott school district's superintendent Joe Stutting, a vape device was discovered on school grounds that contained both THC and Fentanyl. THC is the active ingredient in cannabis.

A field test was conducted to determine what the liquid inside the device contained, and a lab test confirmed the aforementioned results.

In a statement released to parents of the school district just north of the Quad Cities, the school said "vape devices across the country are being laced with fentanyl and local authorities have reported an increase of laced devices in the Quad Cities area."

Administrators added this in the statement: “The drug fentanyl, which is typically laced with other narcotics, can be fatal depending on the amount ingested. The main symptom associated with fentanyl overdose is respiratory failure and non-responsiveness."

The statement also included encouragement to parents to discuss drugs with their children.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, "Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. ... Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths."

Street names for the drug include: "Apace, China Girl, China Town, China White, Dance Fever, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Poison and Tango & Cash."

As reported by CNN, Alexander Neville -- a 14-year-old who was addicted to oxycodone (the pills he was taking had small amounts of fentanyl) -- inadvertently took a pill that "had enough fentanyl in it to kill at least four people." His mother found his lifeless body in June of 2020.

In the same story, CNN states that there are some key signs that children and adolescents are using drugs: "They may not hang out with the same friends or may stop showing interest in favorite activities. They may be angry or sleep more. But parents need to talk to their kids about it -- even middle schoolers -- and do it more than once."