Sunday, October 24, 2010
According to the Washington, D.C. Metro Police Department, three students have been arrested for drug paraphernalia possession at Georgetown University after a suspected drug lab was found in a school dormitory. Students were evacuated from the building around 6:00 am EDT (1000 UTC), and were let back in at approximately 9:00 am local time (1300 UTC).
Police officials said that, around 6:00 am local time, they received a call about a strange smell inside the Harbin Hall dormitory. According to police spokesperson Hugh Carew, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded and found chemicals used to make drugs, but no actual drugs. At first, law enforcement authorities thought they had discovered a methamphetamine lab, but they later found that the drug being produced was the hallucinogen Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT.
According to Pete Piringer, a fire department official, seven people were exposed to the chemicals and treated on scene; however, none of them were injured. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said that the chemicals used to make the drugs were not a health risk to other students.