16-year-old Boy Overdosed

A 16-year-old township boy overdosed on over-the-counter medication Friday night and was treated at a local hospital, according to a police report. Police received a report Saturday at 12:14 a.m. that the boy came home from the movies and lay down on the couch. His father saw that he was disoriented and appeared to be ill. The rescue squad was called and the boy was taken to Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division. Police believe the boy accidentally overdosed on DXM cough medicine, which he and his friends had used. Police said law enforcement officials in Middlesex County have been made aware of a rise in the misuse of cough syrup and flu medications among juveniles. Local pharmacies have reported an increase in the shoplifting of the over-the-counter medications.

Story Here; http://ebs.gmnews.com/news/2004/0513/Police_Beat/

[WarBird69]

"Accidently". Yeah right. That kid chugged a 4 oz, and we know it.

[joeltrae]

You know what? I am not totally against having cough preparations which contain Dextromethorphan, behind the counter, and proof of age shown. Why? You ask. It is because I believe people under the age of 18 cannot use this drug in a responsible way. Could I have used it responsibly when I was under the age of 18? HELL NO. I was 20 years old when I first heard about it on CNN, and REALLY overdosed. So much that I did not use again until 13 years later. Part of that does go to having NO information about it though. Today is different, people have information, yet people go overboard. For the most part,those under 18. So yes, I can understand and accept the reasoning of checking one's age before purchase.

[dexer_ld]

i agree about being 18

these young kids dont know what they are doing and arent responsible all these articles are about kids under 18

accidently hahah that is great

[thomasKMFDM]

Age and maturity level do not necessarily go hand and hand. There are people that can use drugs responsibly at 15 and there are people that can never use drugs responsibly at any age. Puting it behind the counter won't stop abuse unless EVERY single dxm containing product is put behind the counter. I'm 16 and the most irresponsible thing I've ever did involving DXM is steal it. I've always used it responsibly and known what I was doing. In summary: Idiots who don't research and use things responsibly get what is coming to them regardless of age.

Edit: Of course you only see stories about idiot kids ODing on cough syrup. It makes a more sensational article than 16 year old psychonaut uses DXM to expand his conciousness or 35 year old man dies after trying to get high on syrup. It's all about sensationalism.

[joeltrae]

Thomaskmfdm, Your right. One young as 12 may be able to handle drugs better than on of the age of 40. What are we to do? I recommend that others have understanding, like U2. Got it? Maybe some parents will be in order. Christ, do parents not care about their kids anymore??

[MildAnnoyance]

That must have been one hell of a trip->One minute you're laying down, the next you're on your way to the hospital to get your stomach pumped (or however they "treated" him)


At least he got to see a movie.

[_Swey_]

Im 15 and i have always been carefull about what i was doing. I got all the information I could before I even tryed dexing the first time. I'v Never od'ed and I dont plan to. Everyone i know that does it are retared and take ccc's and say it's good after u puke.

[kevmanpa]

technically, isn't every dosage above the recommended amount an "overdose"...just some food for thought.

and that kid that "accidentally" took too much, how on earth could you accidentally take enough to make you noticably intoxicated??

[House]

Originally posted by kevmanpa@Jun 5 2004, 10:17 AM
technically, isn't every dosage above the recommended amount an "overdose"...just some food for thought.

and that kid that "accidentally" took too much, how on earth could you accidentally take enough to make you noticably intoxicated??

You are correct. I think people have a tendency to directly relate overdoses to death, rather than someone merely exceeding a recommended dosage of something.

That's my opinion, anyway.

-EDIT-
Also, I'll bet that by "accidental", they were trying to convey that the kid wasn't aiming to harm or kill himself (again, that overdose to death correlation)-- it wasn't a suicide attempt, basically.