WEB CONTAINS WEALTH OF INFO ON ILLICIT DRUGS

NEW YORK - The Internet is rife with information about recreational drugs,
which may be influencing teens' drug-taking patterns, according to a US
researcher.

Dr. Paul M. Wax of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix,
Arizona based his findings on the case reports of two teenagers who visited
the emergency department after taking recreational drugs, and on a
subsequent online search for drug-related sites.

One 14-year-old girl was experiencing intense confusion after taking high
doses of the over-the-counter drug Coricidin, a quantity which she later
reported had been recommended by an Internet site. Another 18-year-old boy
suffered seizures after consuming the new designer drug "blue mystic,"
about which the doctors could find no information in the medical
literature. A perusal of the Internet, however, uncovered Web sites that
contained extensive information about the hallucinogenic drug.

"This is the new life," Wax told Reuters Health. "And one should be aware
that these resources are out there."

As part of the study, Wax also surveyed a number of Web sites that provide
a wealth of information about illegal drugs.

In the June issue of Pediatrics, Wax reports that while some sites are
clearly anti-drug, other sites he examined "seem to convey a pro-drug
message couched with warnings about drug safety," he writes.

Some of these mixed-message sites are extremely popular, Wax notes, with
one reporting 18,000 visitors per day.

And based on Wax's experience, online drug information can have direct
consequences on readers. In the first example, the girl suffered
complications after taking the cold medication Coricidin, which contains
the potential hallucinogen dextromethorphan, or DXM. She was brought to the
emergency department when she was found trying to climb the walls at
school. She was experiencing hallucinations, mild agitation and confusion,
and could not report which drugs she had taken.

When her mind cleared a few hours later, she said that she had taken 8
tablets of Coricidin, a dose that had been recommended by a Web site.

In the second instance, the boy had taken "blue mystic," a phenethylamine
derivative. This family of drugs includes amphetamines and mescaline. The
boy said he had taken the drug before, but had just decided to increase the
dose. He took several tablets, then fell into a seizure. He was observed at
the hospital for a few hours, then released.

One of the interesting things about the Internet, Wax noted, is that it
extends a person's influences beyond peers to include the whole world. So
while a person's friends may avoid drugs, she can still easily learn all
she needs to know using the Internet. "And that's, for me, the striking
thing," he told Reuters Health.

"It just provides a lot more information than we're used to having," he added.

He did not recommended that parents limit a teen's exposure to the
Internet--which will likely just increase their curiosity--but instead said
parents should talk to their children about drugs. And, he stressed, both
parents and doctors should be aware that a plethora of drug-related
information is just a mouse-click away.

SOURCE: Pediatrics online 2002;109:e96.