BALDWIN, Pa. — A local district is warning parents about a new trend. Baldwin-Whitehall officials say multiple students were recently found with “honey packets.”
It may sound harmless, but officials warn these packets contain potentially dangerous drugs - including ingredients in popular E.D. medication.
The packets can be found at some gas stations and online. The FDA first put a warning out about them years ago, but they are still popular on TikTok.
Channel 11 spoke with community members. One told us she’d heard about the issue despite not having kids old enough to be in the district.
“I thought they were maybe just eating them, but I don’t know what they’re doing with them,” Kaitlyn Macieski said. “It’s weird, but I feel like there’s different phases of weird things that go on.”
“When I was in high school, everyone was doing Tide Pod challenges and cinnamon challenges. Doesn’t surprise me they’re finding something new to do,” Morgan Schaming said.
The district superintendent is asking parents to be on the lookout for the products. He issued the following statement:
Dear Baldwin-Whitehall School District Community:
Yesterday at one of our schools, the administration was made aware of students being in possession of honey packets. While this seemed to be a curious, yet innocent thing, we quickly learned that there was much more to the story.
While maybe new to our district, this is not something new altogether. In fact as early as 2017 there was a public notification issued about one of the brands of honey containing other drugs, namely tadalafil (active ingredient in Cialis). That full notification is linked here for your review.
These packets are readily available at retailers and online stores such as Amazon and there are no age restrictions for who can purchase them. Some additional information about this issue can be found in this article.
From the District’s point of view, possession, use or distribution of these items constitutes a health risk and can be disruptive the school day. We have, and will view them as a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and will respond with appropriate levels of discipline, including suspension and/or expulsion from the Baldwin-Whitehall School District.
It is our hope that parents and guardians can assist the District and be on watch for these products that children may have in their possession and can also talk to their children about the dangers that can exist.
Thank you for you support of the Baldwin-Whitehall School District and the safety of all of our students.
Sincerely,
Randal A. Lutz, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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