"Give Me Cough Medicine" and Swallowing 50 Pills... Teenagers Collapsing

[Anchor]

We reported last week on how it is becoming a trend among teenagers to take excessive amounts of cold medicine or painkillers all at once. But that was not the whole story. Some teenagers have been importing drugs with strong hallucinogenic ingredients via direct overseas purchases, while others are even trading medications containing narcotic ingredients.

Reporter Je Hui-won has more.

[Reporter]

Last winter, a parent identified as A grew suspicious when more than half of her middle school daughter's cold medicine disappeared overnight, and subsequently discovered that her daughter had purchased a large quantity of cold medicine through social media.

[A / Mother of a Drug-Addicted Teenager : It is a Japanese cough medicine that contains some narcotic ingredients. They take as few as 20 pills or more than 50 pills at once. They start at a very low threshold, sharing information within their own communities and exchanging details through direct messages.]

They start with regular cold medicine, but as they build a tolerance, they covertly buy and sell drugs containing narcotic ingredients.

A's daughter was referred to a juvenile court for violating the Narcotics Control Act and received protective disposition.

To avoid punishment, some teens import alternative drugs that are not classified as narcotics via direct overseas purchases. The children even know that if these shipments are caught at customs, they are simply discarded without any legal penalties.

[A / Mother of a Drug-Addicted Teenager : Children purchase menstrual pain relievers or neuralgia medication as alternative routes. Even if they get caught, there is no legal punishment; they just lose their money... I filed complaints with multiple government agencies, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Korea Customs Service, but they said, 'There is nothing we can do.']

An emergency medicine specialist who has been treating drug-addicted teenagers for over 10 years says there has been a noticeable increase in teenagers visiting the emergency room since the second half of last year.

[Lee Ji-sook / Head of Pediatric Emergency Medical Center, Ajou University Hospital : We can see that middle school students are visibly increasing. There was a case where a child took 60 pills, and that child was in a boarding school. Because the discovery was delayed, the child was rushed to the hospital already in cardiac arrest...]

Drug consumption, which often starts out like a game, frequently leads to craving even more dangerous substances.

[Lee Ji-sook / Head of Pediatric Emergency Medical Center, Ajou University Hospital : Simply trying to 'block sales' does not solve the problem. Adults need to fix the environment so that we understand why children take drugs and struggle like this. I believe society needs to pay attention and discuss fundamental solutions.]

It is now time for a government-wide review of teenagers' drug procurement channels, alongside deep contemplation of more fundamental solutions.

(Photo: Kim Seung-tae, Kang Si-woo | Video Editing: Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.