The Poison Review

Today in Slate, Jack Shafer claims that so-called pharm parties are just media hype, and may not exist at all. The term “pharm party” describes an event in which kids take various prescription medications — often their parents’ — dump them in a bowl, and then ingest random pills and combinations. Shafer writes:

“I’ve yet to read a story in which a journalist actually attends such a gathering, interviews a participant, or cites a police report alleging such behavior. . . .

“In recent months the Akron Beacon Journal; Green Bay’s WBAY-TV; the Irish Independent; the Associated Press; the Rock Hill, S.C., Herald; Fresno, Calif.’s KMJ-FM; the Quincy, Mass. Patriot-Ledger; the Flint Journal; Virginia’s Chesterfield Observer; Arizona’s Kingman Daily Miner; Ohio’s WBNS-TV; Utah’s Tooele Transcript Bulletin; Minnesota’s Winona Post; and other outlets have asserted as fact that kids are still play Russian roulette with bowls filled with drugs without actually presenting evidence for their claim. No police reports, no eyewitness claims by a reporter, no surveillance camera tape of the derring-do, and no testimony from a participant describing the wild rumpus.”

Well, after spending just 5 minutes on YouTube I located a local TV news story from a local CBS affiliate, in which teens describe their participation in these events. (To view, click here.)

Also, several years ago one of the CPC cases at the annual North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology conference involved overdose on clozapine that was ingested at just such a “Pharm party”.  So while it may be possible to argue that this phenomenon is being overblown by the media, to claim that it never occurs is just wrong.

I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has consulted on a case involving drugs consumed at one of these events.