FOURTH-GRADERS SUFFER ILLNESS AFTER POSSIBLY INGESTING LSD

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fourteen youngsters got sick or dizzy or began
hallucinating Wednesday when a fourth-grader brought what a doctor believed
to be LSD and shared it with classmates, authorities said.

Dr. Michael Sarti of Providence-Holy Cross told reporters he believes the
children tasted LSD, despite early reports the substance was cocaine. He
said some of the children ``were seeing colors and things that aren't there.
It sounds like an hallucinogen, like LSD. We had a hiatus on LSD, but it
seems to be coming back in vogue.''

The 9- and 10-year-old children tasted or ingested the substance at Haddon
Avenue Elementary School when a girl student passed it around, apparently
starting in the yard early in the day and later in class.

One child went home sick early in the day and 13 others were later taken to
two hospitals after illness began to spread. Three youngsters were
hospitalized overnight for observation.

Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the girl found a box
containing a powder and a vial of liquid in a box near her Pacoima home.

Police Lt. Rick Papke said some of the children ingested the substance,
others merely licked it and were sickened.

``They were completely disoriented, acting irrationally,'' Papke said.
``Their symptoms were of those who had ingested a controlled substance.''

But late Wednesday it was still not known exactly what the substance was.

``The children believed it was cocaine,'' said Socorro Serrano, a
spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District. ``They passed it
around in the playground before school and out of curiosity started to taste
it.''

Edgar said the girl who brought the substance was among those affected.

``She was writing in her journal,'' the boy said. ``She said she had a hard
time spelling her name. It's because she was so dizzy.''

Parents gathered anxiously outside the school when word of the trouble
spread.

``This school is pretty safe,'' said Edwin Ramirez, a parent who volunteers
to help provide security at Haddon. ``The worst thing we've had here before
was a kid with a broken finger. I don't know how this could have happened.''

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Checked-by: Rolf Ernst