The following is an update of known and apparent DXM deaths. Excuse the appearance here, but my HTML sucks. At the moment, I have the following information on deaths from various sources. Many details are sketchy, and the credibility of some is not beyond question. As such, interpret these as you will.
#1) 3 deaths where recreational DXM use is said to be involved appeared in a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) report. The original URL, and the copy of that I have on this site are:
http://www.drugabuse.gov/CEWG/AdvancedRep/1201ADV/1201adv.html
http://www.dextromethorphan.ws/cweg/adv.htm
The relevant passage is the following:
"
increasingly popular club drug with particularly dangerous
interactions
when used in combination with other drugs, especially
alcohol. This new
appearance of DXM in medical examiner reports (substantiated
by
anecdotal reports) may highlight the increasing popularity of
DXM
(especially in cough syrup form) over the past year."
OK, at best these are deaths where DXM is "involved".
Mentioned "in medical examiner reports (substantiated by anecdotal
reports)". While I can't call these deaths from
just DXM only (other drugs taken recreationally may well have been involved),
this is a *government* report where they mention that
DXM deaths. It seems to me credible. It is curious that they mention DXM as a
“club drug”. It is possible (although by no means certain) that adulterated
Ecstasy pills with DXM may have been involved in one or more of these. Although
the cough syrup mention makes that questionable. I have no further information
about these deaths. However, the mere fact the government is reporting these
DXM deaths makes this noteworthy. If anyone has further information about these
deaths, feel free to e-mail me. My e-mail is on the home page of this site.
#2) 3 more deaths, attributed to Coricidin abuse, are mentioned at: http://www.raverx.com/html/article.php?sid=175.
Here is the relevant quote from that:
"Among the most alarming trends is
the growing experimentation with
over-the-counter drugs and medicine that can be found at most
drugstores. In the past year, three teen-agers - including
one
youth - have died from taking overdoses of Coricidin cough
and cold
pills. In each case, the victim took an average of 10 to 30
pills."
So far, I have not received a response from an e-mail to the web site
this appears on. I am hoping that they can provide more details. This looks
like it was taken from a
Below is a second news story about a
Coricidin abuse death in
Turned upside down
Teen's death impacts best friend's family.
By JON OTTMAN - Staff Writer
On
The next morning, Matt's friend found him, a victim of acute drug intoxication.
Police and medical investigators determined that, over the course of the previous 24 hours, Matt had ingested several intoxicants, including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and half a box of Coricidin, an over-the-counter cold medication.
Some of the drugs, the friend knew about. The others, he did not.
In the wake of Matt's death, there are two families left reeling with grief,
the
The Source is withholding the names of the friend's family at their request
to protect their identity and to allow their family to heal in the wake of
"I can't begin to describe how our lives have been turned upside down," the boy's father said. "One minute I was outside taking down Christmas lights and the next minute, I have a dead child in my basement."
He said that his family is trying to understand what happened, and how.
"Matt was like a son to us," the father said.
As difficult as the situation is for the father and mother, there is the tremendous loss felt by their son, who lost his best friend.
But the father said their loss pales in comparison to that of the
Then there are other issues to deal with.
"It is just a horrible situation," the father said. "We got threatening phone calls, people were asking if we were drug dealers or whether our son was going to be charged with murder. We had to change our phone number and we are still dealing with the after effects."
Detective Sgt. Thomas Kohl of the Shelby Township Police Department investigated Matt's death.
Kohl said that the friend's family is a victim of a tragic set of circumstances.
"They are good, decent people and I don't think they provided the atmosphere for that type of activity," Kohl said. "It's a tragedy that Matt died at their house. He could have died anywhere, but he died there. They are victims of this, too. They were concerned that kids might try to do drugs or drink alcohol at their house and they tried to take steps to prevent it, but what are you going to do? I think there was nothing that they could have done to prevent this."
The boy's mother said that she and her husband try to be involved with their children and their children's friends.
Strict rules were in place in the home and steps like regular inventories of the parents' beer and a locked liquor cabinet.
"If I even smelled a match I would get up and check right away to see what they were doing," the father said.
The mother said that the friends, including Matt, knew that she wouldn't hesitate to step in and say something to the teens if they were doing something wrong, and she did so on several occasions, including an earlier instance where someone brought alcohol into her home, a very unwelcome move that met with disappointment when discovered.
"They left the bottle in the trash downstairs," she said.
Found out, the friends avoided her, knowing a stern lecture was coming.
"They stayed in the car when they came to pick up (my son) because they were afraid of me, but I went out there and had them roll down the window. I asked them what they were thinking, what they wanted me to tell their parents when they (had been seriously injured or killed in a drinking-related crash.) What do you want me to tell them?," she said, pausing to compose herself and wipe away a tear. "I could be considered a very strict parent; I treat my kids' friends as if they were my own and they knew they would suffer the consequences of their actions."
She said that despite the loss that her son feels, he can't take responsibility for the actions of his friend.
"He did not encourage or assist in that behavior," she said. "Matt chose to do what Matt chose to do."
The father said that, like Matt's father, he and his wife felt that their son could have had a positive influence on Matt.
"We felt that way always -- I certainly did," he said. "And as far as responsibility, I feel that the whole community should feel responsible when a youngster passes away like this."
Their story
Following the March 24 publication of "This is Matt's Story" chronicling the life and death of Matthew Davis of Washington Township, the mother of Matt's friend wanted to share her family's story, to share what her family has experienced in the wake of Matt's death.
This is her letter:
We are the owners of the
Matt and our son met in their eighth grade science class at Malow Junior
High. They became best friends almost instantly. Until our sons obtained their
driver's licenses, Kathy Davis (Matt's mother) and I played chauffeur countless
times, transporting our sons between our homes. Most Friday and/or Saturday
evenings found one of the boys spending the night at the other's home. Matt was
always welcomed in our home, as he was a very respectable and kind young man.
Our son always felt welcomed in the
We had noted some subtle and disturbing changes in the relationship between Matt and our son in the last six months or so. Their time together was decreased, mostly because our son had begun working again. His job and schoolwork occupied most week day evenings, but weekends still found the boys together frequently. We also noted that they were spending less time at our home or his home. When our son used his car, they were usually going from one friend's home to another, to the movies or to a (local entertainment complex). Although Matt was always polite and greeted us when he came and went, sometimes we felt he was avoiding eye contact as he would walk through the door and immediately head to our son's room. He often was over at dinnertime, but frequently would refuse any offers to join us. He would say that he just ate or was or wasn't hungry and would stay in our son's room while our son ate. In earlier days he nearly always joined us. We knew he was having academic difficulties and difficulties keeping employment. We wondered where he was getting money to eat out, go to the movies, or be entertained. We cautioned our son about being too generous with his friends. We frequently would ask if Matt was all right, what kind of plans did he have. Our son would respond, "I don't know--I guess he's all right," and not voice to us any difficulties Matt may have had, becoming very defensive of him in instead. I do remember hearing him arguing over the phone with someone in his room. He just said he and Matt had a fight and he wanted to be alone. However, he and Matt were back together the next day as if nothing had happened.
Our son told us, on the unfortunate day that Matt died and heroin was found in Matt's belongings, that he was aware that Matt had been experimenting with heroin. When we looked at him incredulously and asked "You saw him take heroin yesterday?" He said, "No." He had told Matt a few weeks earlier that he should stop any heroin use, and if Matt decided to continue using it, not to use it in front of him or on our property. He never used it in front of our son after that.
These are the facts of Matt's final hours. A parent was home during this entire time period. On Jan. 19, Matt was dropped off with another Washington Township friend at approximately 2:30 p.m. Matt and this other youth did share a box of Coricidin, which they brought into the home, in the privacy of our son's bedroom. This was not the first time our son witnessed Matt taking this quantity. For approximately 2 1/2 hours, the three boys listened to music, played the guitar and talked while in the privacy of our son's room.
At
At approximately
The toxicology report after Matt's death was negative for alcohol. Our liquor is kept in a locked liquor cabinet on the first floor.
At approximately
At exactly
On Jan. 20, at
At
I also would like to add that the
The grief that our family has experienced does not match that of the
While discussing Matt's drug involvement with us and two police officers hours after his death, our son became very frustrated at one point and cried out "What was I supposed to do? Tell him I'm not going to be his friend anymore because he used heroin?" The four adults, in unison, yelled out "Yes, that is exactly what you should do." As mature adults, we are strongly aware of the horrors and tragedy that drug use can cause, having witnessed them in our lifetimes. We know that addictions are difficult to overcome and sometimes what might appear as harsh measures, such as refusing to be a codependent, are needed to help the person with the problem. Our son is 17 years old. What was important to him was helping his friend the best way he knew how, by staying his friend.
Our son lost his best friend, the friend he talked to nearly every day, the friend he was closest to and shared all his thoughts and dreams. He didn't like what Matt had chosen to do, but he didn't judge him either. He accepted him for (who) he was.
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#3) This is a news report that states a 20 year old woman, who was known
to have a severe DXM abuse problem, committed suicide by an intentional
overdose of pure DXM HBr powder. The relevant passages are the following:
"On
20-year-old
Pray committed suicide on
of dextromethorphan hydrobromide, or DXM, which Pray
allegedly obtained
from JLF. Police have several receipts of the purchases Pray
allegedly
made from JLF.
"DXM is the active ingredient in most over-the-counter
cough syrups. In
recommended doses, it acts as an expectorant; in large doses,
it can
cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences --
"robotripping," as
DXM enthusiasts call the unique state of consciousness
produced by the
drug.
"Summer Pray's father, Ron Pray, was outraged by his
daughter's death,
and contacted Senator Tom Daschle's office.
"Ron Pray sent a letter to Ace Gallagher, a Daschle
staffer, on
2000
marijuana), her purported addiction to DXM, and her
participation in
various drug treatment programs. (A fax cover sheet, included
in
discovery documents, shows that Senator Edward M. Kennedy's
Labor Police
Office was also aware of Pray's letter.)
"After Summer Pray finished an out-patient
drug-treatment program and
began "seeing a psychologist for depression," Ron
Pray sent a letter to
JLF in August, 2000, "asking that they not provide this
substance [DXM]
to her again."
"According to a receipt obtained by police, however,
Summer Pray did
make another purchase of DXM from JLF shortly before she
committed
suicide.
'"I investigated JLF and found that they readily sell
dangerous drugs
and mushrooms but have a disclaimer that it is not for
consumption," Ron
Pray wrote to Daschle's office. "They make the
ridiculous claim that the
materials they sell are for religious worship, research or
for
decorations. Reading between the lines it is obvious to me
that they
sell an assortment of drugs to individuals for the purpose of
intoxication ...
'"Summer's death was a result of the combination of
depression and drug
abuse ... I feel that we could have dealt with her depression
successfully, had it not been for the strong addiction she
developed to
dextromethorphan ... Had this drug not been so readily
available maybe
Summer would be alive today.
'"It does not seem reasonable that a company like JLF
should be allowed
to sell these dangerous and addictive substances. Basically,
they are an
internet drug dealer and apparently can operate within the
laws. I would
hope that somehow their activity could be stopped ... "
"Ron Pray's letter, and the attention of Daschle's
office, may have
provided more momentum to the investigation of JLF. But
distribution of
DXM is not one of the charges that Niemoeller faces. In fact,
DXM, while
mentioned in the search warrant of Niemoeller's farm, is not
listed in
the federal grand jury indictment. That may be because DXM is
perfectly
legal and is specifically exempted from federal drug laws.
And while
Summer Pray may have overdosed on DXM purchased from
Niemoeller, she
could have accomplished the same outcome by drinking a few
bottles of
"But the case of Summer Pray may bolster the
prosecution's argument that
Niemoeller knows his customers are using his products for
consumption."
She is described as a heavy DXM abuser, but it also says this was
intentional suicide rather than an accident. However, whether
the DXM abuse caused her to become suicidal, or whether perhaps a lack of will
to live motivated DXM abuse, is unknown. Thus, causation is not clear here.
The other deaths are a DXMer who committed suicide using a method
involving DXM, and posted his suicide note mentioning such to
Usenet. This one is more dubious to call a
recreational DXM death than that of Summer Rose Pray
based on my evidence. If it weren't for the fact DXM was
used as part of the suicide method, I'd say the correlation is questionable at best. The last is that I have confirmed that a
woman who was a heavy DXM user that was active on DXM
IRC channels, and made a few posts to a DXM website
bulletin board, has died apparently of a drug OD. The
problem is that the laws in the
I
include the above for completeness, and leave it to the reader to determine
what relevance these have to this website, and the respective credibility of
these reports. If I obtain further information about these deaths, I will
report that on this website.
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