NEW JERSEY PREP SCHOOLERS BOUGHT DRUGS ON INTERNET

Hightstown, N. J. May 25 -- 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 on Tuesday night after the
authorities found them nearly unconscious did not have to leave their
dorm rooms to purchase their highs.

The students, the police and school officials said, overdosed on a
substance they bought on the Internet, a technically 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 Wednesday 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 it is not an illegal substance, Federal drug
officials do not keep statistics on DXM abuse. But several poison
control centers 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 up in the last year.

Dr. Karen Simone, hot line manager at the Cincinnati Drug and Poison
Information Center, said the agency 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 by youth. "All you have to do is go into your
parents' medicine cabinet, and it's there."

As the active ingredient in products like Robitussin, Vicks and
Nyquil, DXM is harmless if taken in small quantities. 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 officers arrived at the Peddie School infirmary on Tuesday
evening, they found one student unresponsive, his face flush and his
pupils dilated, said Sgt. Rich Warshany of the Hightstown Police
Department. Shortly afterward, he said, the officers found two young
women off campus and another in a dorm 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 the students of
the school's zero-tolerance drug policy. Samuel C. Tattersall, the
dean of students, said that in most cases, drug or alcohol use would
result in dismissal. He said 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, and the pure form of the drug cannot be bought over the
counter. 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 this evening, the substance was still
being offered by two sellers. One of them, a man from Amherst, Mass.,
was offering 20 grams for $49. A spokesman for eBay said tonight that
the items would be removed immediately.

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

Faith MacKenzie, a 17-year-old junior who is a friend of the four
students, 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."