He revealed the seven year 10 students, aged 14 and 15, took different doses of the drug at different times throughout the morning, “everything from a taste to what I would call a significant amount”. The Gold Coast Child Protection and Investigation Unit’s number one priority was confirming what drug the students had taken. “Incidents such as these just show how critical drugs are when used incorrectly,” Senior Sergeant Aubort said. “So the reality is any illicit drug is dangerous. Kids need to understand that.” Paramedics attend Saint Stephen's College in Upper Coomera after several students fell ill from a drug overdose. Credit:Jorge Branco

The CPIU officer-in-charge said phenibut, a drug with anxiety-reducing and cognition-enhancing effects, was being considered as the culprit but he was still waiting on toxicology reports. The drug is listed for sale online, including on one Australian-based website as recently as this week, and police were looking into whether that was how the students got hold of it. Police had a good understanding of what happened in the lead-up to the overdoses but were still trying to confirm whether more of the drug was yet to be recovered. "We certainly do need to be sure that we can account for all of the drugs that were involved," he said. "So if there is any information out there from any person at all, be that a student or family, who has any information about the existence of more of this drug or its uses elsewhere, we'd appreciate that information to come to us."

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Aubort : "Any illicit drug is dangerous. Kids need to understand that." Credit:Jorge Branco Senior Sergeant Aubort acknowledged comments about the drug-taking being filmed on social app Snapchat, but said his officers had yet to find evidence of it. He appealed for anyone with such footage to notify police. Loading Border Force was among several outside agencies the Queensland Police Service had called in to help investigate the incident. The school's headmaster, Jamie Dorrington, released a statement on Thursday that had already been distributed to parents and staff at the college.

"The past 24 hours have been a particularly distressing and emotional time for our school community," he said. "We are deeply appreciative of the heartfelt thoughts and prayers that have been flowing in for the students and their families." Dr Dorrington said himself and two staff members visited the hospital on Wednesday night and that he had returned again on Thursday morning to check the condition of the students. "I am not privy to specific details on the conditions of the remaining students as this is personal medical information provided only to family members," he said. University of Queensland drugs expert Jake Najman called for better drug information in schools, saying information given to students on drugs should not be a "half an hour school lesson".