4 TEENS OVERDOSE ON DRUG BOUGHT ONLINE

NJ Case Highlights Youths' Growing Use Of Narcotic DXM, Surge In Internet Sales

HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. - With its lushly manicured campus, private lake and
neo-colonial buildings, the Peddie School provides its 500 students with a
sheltered oasis seemingly far from the lures and perils of the outside
world. Supervision is intense, and the use of drugs and alcohol is strictly
forbidden.

But the four 17-year-olds who were rushed to a hospital emergency room
Tuesday night after authorities found them nearly unconscious did not have
to leave their dormitory rooms to purchase their highs.

The students, police and school officials said, overdosed on a substance
they bought on the Internet, a legal narcotic known as dextromethorpan, or
DXM, the active ingredient in over-the-counter cough suppressants that can
cause euphoria and mild hallucinations. The four students, all of them
juniors, were released from the hospital the next day and are expected to
recover.

The incident has opened a door on what drug counselors and law-enforcement
officials say are two growing problems: the increasing popularity of DXM
among teenagers, and the murky world of Internet drug sales. Because DXM is
not an illegal substance, federal drug officials do not keep statistics on
its abuse. But poison-control centers around the country said they have
seen a marked increase of DXM overdoses in recent years.

Bruce Rock, a clinical pharmacist at the New Jersey Poison Control Center,
could not provide any figures but said reports of DXM use had spiked in the
last year.

"It's definitely gone way up," he said.

Dr. Karen Simone, hotline manager of the Cincinnati Drug and Poison
Information Center, said the service handled 44 cases of DXM overdose
between January and April, compared with a handful during the same period
last year.

Widespread availability, substance abuse experts say, makes DXM the default
drug of choice for teenagers as young as 13.

"It's not the most sophisticated drug, but if you don't have access to
alcohol or a designer drug, DXM is pretty easy to get," said Dr. Eric
Heiligenstein, a psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin who studies
substance abuse among youth. "All you have to do is go into your parents'
medicine cabinet, and it's there."

As the active ingredient in products like Robutussin, Vicks and Nyquil, DXM
is harmless if taken as prescribed. But if taken in large doses, it can
cause vomiting, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and unconsciousness.
In extreme cases, it can lead to death.

When police arrived at the Peddie School infirmary on Tuesday evening, they
found one student unresponsive, his face flushed and his pupils dilated,
said Sgt. Rich Warshany of the Hightstown Police Department. Shortly
afterward, he said, the officers found two girls off campus and another in
a dormitory room, their conditions nearly identical to that of the young man.

All four were taken to Princeton Medical Center and released after a night
of observation, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The episode has jolted parents, students and teachers at what is one of the
state's most prestigious private schools. Administrators held an assembly
on Thursday to remind students of the school's zero-tolerance drug policy.
Samuel C. Tattersall, dean of students, said that in most cases, drug or
alcohol use would result in dismissal.

"Basically the first time you are caught using, or with paraphernalia, or
under the influence, you're asked to leave," he said, adding that the four
students would face disciplinary hearings and possible expulsion.

While the use of dextromethorpan is not illegal, the Food and Drug
Administration prohibits its sale for any use other than as a cough
suppressant. Thomas McGinniss, the agency's director of pharmacy affairs,
said the Internet sale of such drugs has skyrocketed in recent years. "As
soon as we close down a Web site, another one pops up," he said.

School officials said the youths bought the packet of DXM on eBay, the
popular auction site. As of Thursday evening, the substance was still being
offered by two sellers. One of them, a man from Amherst, Mass., was hawking
20 grams for $49. A spokeswoman for eBay would not comment on the offering,
saying she had to consult with company lawyers.

Students at the 280-acre school said they were saddened by the overdoses,
but not surprised.

Jessica Leavy, 15, a sophomore, said she knew of friends who had bought
substances like DXM on the Internet. "I have heard stories about people
getting all sorts of drugs and anything you could possibly want," she said.

Faith MacKenzie, a 17-year-old junior who is friends with the four
students, agreed. But she defended her classmates, saying they were led
astray by the easy availability of the drug and the hunger for new experiences.

"It has to do with the fact that it is here, that it's readily accessible,
and the fact that people are bored," she said. "Anyone could have gotten
it. A lot of people did. These are the people taking the rap for it."