Pills In Teens’ Overdose Belonged To Boy, 16 Cousin May Have Taken Prescription That Boy Uses For Dystonia Disorder

The muscle relaxants that a group of teenagers overdosed on last week may have been taken by one of the youths from a relative, police said.

The prescription pills belong to a 16-year-old boy who has a neurological disorder called dystonia. The boy takes three or four of the Baclofen pills three times a day to relieve muscle spasms associated with the disorder, his mother said Tuesday.

“He’s taken them for years,” she said, adding that her son was diagnosed with dystonia when he was 6. “The dosage that he can take could kill another person.”

The woman, who didn’t want her name used, said her son’s 17-year-old cousin came to their North Side house last Wednesday evening and took the pills. Her teenage daughter, who was home at the time, asked the cousin if the pills would hurt him.

“He told her no and said my son had given him permission to take them, which wasn’t true,” the mother said. “He manipulated her to get the pills.”

The 17-year-old then took the bottle to a friend’s house on East Tieton, where he shared the pills with six other youths, police said. All the teens, ages 13 to 17, had to have their stomachs pumped. Several were put on respirators, and one was in critical condition for two days.

The youths have since been released.

Police found the 300-pill bottle on one of the teens. Only 62 tablets remained in the container, which had been filled only days earlier, the mother said.

The drug does not produce a “high feeling,” and its side effects include confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and weakness.

The effect of the drugs on the teenagers may have been compounded by alcohol. Police are still investigating the case and haven’t interviewed all the youths involved, Detective Minde Connelly said Tuesday.

It is unclear whether charges will be sought against the 17-year-old who distributed the pills, she said. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that parents of any of the youths were negligent, police said.

, DataTimes