Minors, Prescription Drugs, ICU ...... These originally unrelated terms, but because of the curiosity of teenagers and the illegal sales of pharmacies, they were linked together, and almost caused a family tragedy.
In June this year, Xiao Cong (pseudonym), a 14-year-old junior high school student in Qingkenpao Township, Anda City, Heilongjiang Province, suddenly fainted unconscious after swallowing 30 tablets of the prescription drug carbamazepine in class, and was rushed to the hospital ICU for rescue, but fortunately, he finally picked up a life. After the incident, Xiao Cong told the New Yellow River reporter that this medicine "can hallucinate and relax the mood" after taking it, and he had taken dextromethorphan tablets several times before, and the two drugs had similar effects, both of which were purchased at the local Lida Pharmacy, "When I went to buy it, the pharmacy staff didn't ask me for a doctor's prescription and ID card, so they sold it to me casually." ”
The New Yellow River reporter learned that carbamazepine and dextromethorphan are both prescription drugs, the former is a kind of psychotropic drugs, mainly used for the treatment of epilepsy, prevention or treatment of bipolar disorder, etc., and the latter is a central antitussive. From July 1 this year, dextromethorphan will be included in the list of Class II psychotropic drugs. In recent years, there have been cases of overdose of carbamazepine and dextromethorphan, hallucinations and even crimes among teenagers, which have attracted widespread public attention.
The photo in this article was provided by the interviewee
As a minor, how did Xiao Cong easily buy prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription? On July 24, the relevant person in charge of Anda Lida Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. told the New Yellow River reporter that the company would definitely intervene in the investigation of the matter. The relevant staff of the Anda Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau responded that they are investigating the matter and have not yet issued a result, and if the situation is true, the next step will be to punish the pharmacy.
Secretly ingested 30 pills in class, and was poisoned and died in a coma
Xiao Cong is 14 years old and a junior high school student at the Gudahu Town Central School in Anda City, Heilongjiang Province. At around 2 p.m. on June 5, Xiao Cong's mother, Ms. Liu, received a call from the school and was told that Xiao Cong had fainted at school and was delirious. "When I arrived at the school, I saw that the child was unconscious and unable to walk normally, and then the child was taken to Anda Municipal Hospital by the 120 ambulance. Ms. Liu told the New Yellow River reporter that after measuring her blood pressure at Anda Municipal Hospital, the hospital thought that the child was in critical condition and quickly transferred her to Daqing People's Hospital. Subsequently, Xiao Cong was rushed to Daqing People's Hospital for treatment, and stayed in the ICU for nearly 47 hours, and after two blood circulations, he was finally out of danger and gradually regained consciousness.
According to the diagnosis of Daqing People's Hospital, Xiao Cong was poisoned by drugs, accompanied by lung infection, hyperlactic acidemia, vasodilatory shock, hypokalemia and abnormal liver function.
Why do children get drug poisoning at school? Ms. Liu explained that while the child was being resuscitated in the hospital, the head teacher found a bottle of carbamazepine in his desk, and the seal had been opened. Ms. Liu searched on the Internet and found that the drug was a prescription drug with a bottle of 100 tablets H31021366 carbamazepine tablets, which was a psychotropic drug. "I immediately called the police, and the police later investigated and found that Xiao Cong took the medicine in class, and he took about 30 tablets in total."
According to public information, carbamazepine is a kind of psychotropic drug, which is mainly used for the treatment of epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia and glossopharyngeal neuralgia, and the prevention or treatment of bipolar disorder. The drug has strict requirements for the dosage used, and the daily limit for adolescents aged 12-15 years old is not more than 10 tablets per day; No more than 12 tablets over 15 years old; A few use up to 16 tablets. The most common adverse effects are those of the central nervous system, manifested by dizziness, ataxia, drowsiness, and fatigue.
Does your child have a medical condition, such as epilepsy or bipolar disorder? Ms. Liu firmly denied this, "Since he was a child, he has not had epilepsy, and he is usually happy, and he has not been found to have depression tendencies, and he has not been prescribed relevant prescriptions before." ”
The student said that due to curiosity, the pharmacy was suspected of illegal sales
Why did Satoshi take a lot of this medicine when he was not sick? In addition, carbamazepine is a strictly controlled prescription drug, where did Xiao Cong get it?
On July 22, after being discharged from the hospital, Xiao Cong told the New Yellow River reporter that carbamazepine was purchased at Lida Pharmacy in Qingkenpao Township. As for the reason for taking the medicine, he said that it was because of curiosity and wanted to try it. "I've read it on the Internet before, and I said that I feel very comfortable taking this medicine and have hallucinogenic effects, so I want to give it a try." Xiao Cong also revealed that he had bought dextromethorphan at Lida Pharmacy before, and he had bought it with cash, about four or five times in the past year. "In our school, I am not the only one who secretly takes medicine, many students are also taking dextromethorphan, these two drugs have similar effects after taking too much, which will make people feel relaxed and happy, and some students have been taking it for more than 1 year."
Without a doctor's prescription, how did Satoshi easily buy medicine? Xiao Cong explained that although these two are prescription drugs, they are not difficult to buy, and they do not require a doctor's prescription and identity certificate, "We can buy them every time we go to Lida Pharmacy, and we usually tell the store directly to take a bottle of dextromethorphan or carbamazepine, and the other party basically sells it to us without asking." ”
"After the incident, the pharmacy also admitted that they sold the medicine to Xiao Cong, and the other party did not agree to the 40,000 yuan compensation we proposed for medical expenses, but just let us go through personal insurance." Ms. Liu said that the Lida Pharmacy involved in the incident is still operating normally and has not been affected in any way, but it no longer sells the drug. "The school didn't say anything, just asked the parents to sue the pharmacy and go through the legal process."
According to public information, the Qingkenpao Branch of Anda Lida Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. was established in 2021 and is located in Gudahu Town, Anda City, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province. A few days ago, the New Yellow River reporter called the store several times, but has not been able to get through. On July 24, the relevant person in charge of Anda Lida Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. told the New Yellow River reporter that he did not know about the matter before, and the company will definitely intervene in the investigation in the next step. The relevant staff of the Anda Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau responded that they are investigating the matter and have not yet released the results, and if it is verified, the next step will be to punish the pharmacy.
In addition, is it true that Satoshi reported that carbamazepine and dextromethorphan were secretly popular on campus? In this regard, the reporter contacted the principal of the central school of Gudahu Town, but did not receive an effective reply. The staff of the Anda City Education Bureau responded that they did not know about the matter, and they had to ask the school for the specific situation.
Juvenile drug abuse is not stopped, and the management of special drugs needs to be upgraded
What exactly are carbamazepine and dextromethorphan? It is understood that carbamazepine is a central nervous system drug, and after overdose, it will be psychologically relaxed and temporarily escaped and relieved; Dextromethorphan is a central antitussive drug, which mainly inhibits the cough center of the brain and plays a role. Adolescents who take more than 120 mg of dextromethorphan at a time will experience hallucinogenic sensation, causing physical symptoms such as excitement, hallucinations, lightness, dizziness, etc., and continuing to increase the dose can lead to myocardial loss, mental disorders, cardiac arrest, aggressive behavior, and acute poisoning and death.
The New Yellow River reporter combed through and found that there were not a few cases of juvenile poisoning caused by the consumption of prescription drugs such as carbamazepine and dextromethorphan in large quantities. In December 2023, according to CCTV News, four minors in Chengdu abused the prescription drug dextromethorphan, causing one of them to become unconscious and lose cognition, and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. In May 2023, according to the news from Chang'an.com, Longtan District, Jilin City, the People's Procuratorate of Longtan District, Jilin City, found in the handling of criminal cases that some minors in the jurisdiction had abused prescription drugs such as "carbamazepine" and "dextromethorphan". According to a 2019 report by Longtv News Online, a 15-year-old middle school student in Shuangcheng District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, was in shock due to taking a whole bottle of carbamazepine for a total of 100 tablets. In some cases, patients have also experienced family tensions and even criminal behavior due to drug abuse.
In recent years, the relevant state departments have been paying more attention to the problem of drug addiction among minors. This year, 26 June marks the 37th International Day Against Drugs, with the theme "Preventing Drug Abuse among Youth". Li Lin, a prosecutor from the Anji County Procuratorate in Zhejiang Province, said in an interview with the media that cases of drug abuse by minors exposed problems such as incomplete registration of drug sales, illegal sales of drugs by micro-businesses, and loopholes in the delivery process. Xiang Guocheng, a pharmacist at a tertiary hospital in Shenyang, also believes that the popularity of addictive drugs among young people in some areas reflects the lack of awareness of medical institutions and relevant departments in these areas, and the lack of strict control over such drugs, so that minors can easily prescribe and buy such drugs at will in hospitals or pharmacies.
In order to put an end to the chaos in the sales of prescription drugs, in recent years, the State Food and Drug Administration and regulatory authorities in many places have also continued to make efforts to strengthen supervision. In December 2021, due to the serious abuse of dextromethorphan, the State Food and Drug Administration converted the oral unilateral preparation of dextromethorphan hydrobromide from an over-the-counter drug to a prescription drug, and from December 2022, the oral preparation of dextromethorphan was directly banned online. In February 2023, the three national departments will take another action on the management of addictive drugs. The State Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Post Bureau jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Compound Diphenoxylate Tablets and Other Drugs, which made strict provisions on drug supervision from various aspects such as drug production, operation, and delivery. On May 7 this year, the State Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Health Commission jointly issued the "Announcement on Adjusting the List of Psychotropic Drugs", and from July 1, dextromethorphan (including salt and unilateral preparations) will be included in the list of Class II psychotropic drugs. This also means that the control of dextromethorphan has been further tightened.
In view of the problem of drug abuse among minors, many experts have suggested that supervision should be strengthened, drug abuse trends should be monitored in real time, and drug abuse prevention and control should be strengthened.
Zero Degree View: Protect the Drug Safety of Teenagers Don't Let Drugs Become Drugs!
Without any prescription or identity information, Xiao Cong, who is a minor, can easily buy prescription drugs, which can't help but make people feel afraid! Pharmacies, as terminals for drug sales, have the responsibility to strictly abide by national laws and regulations on the management of prescription drugs. According to the Drug Administration Law, prescription drugs can only be dispensed, purchased and used with a prescription from a licensed physician or licensed assistant physician.
The illegal sale of prescription drugs by the pharmacy involved not only violated the Drug Administration Law, but also violated the Law on the Protection of Minors. In the end, it not only posed a threat to Xiao Cong's life safety, but also exposed his serious loopholes in drug management.
It is not that there are no strict laws and regulations for the management of prescription drugs, but in practice, the enforcement and effectiveness of these regulations are not satisfactory. For such violations, the regulatory authorities shall impose severe penalties in accordance with the law, increase the cost of violations, and form an effective deterrent. Drug safety is no trivial matter, and individuals should also improve the common sense of safe drug use, work together, eliminate all kinds of "hidden corners", protect the drug safety of teenagers, and drugs cannot be turned into drugs!
Source: New Yellow River