Viral internet stunts continue to endanger the lives of young people: More than 15 students in Mexico have been forced to undergo treatment after overdosing on drugs as part of a dangerous online “tranquilizer challenge.”
The incident occurred Monday occurred in the city of Guanajuato just days after health authorities issued a nationwide advisory about the internet fad sweeping our Southern neighbor, ABC News reported.
The fifth and sixth grade students had taken part in the viral “tranq challenge,” in which online clout-seekers take Clonazepam or Klonopin — a medication for seizures and anxiety — with a mantra of “the last one to fall asleep wins.”
This is no mean feat given that drowsiness is one of the highly addictive benzodiazepine class drug’s main side effects.
Guanajuato Mayor Alejandro Navarro said the students were first treated at the school following the challenge, with some outlets reporting they were later hospitalized. Detailed info regarding their current condition is scarce because they are underage.
In light of the freak accident, Navarro released an advisory on social media urging parents to clamp down on their children’s social media use. “As a rule, girls and boys shouldn’t have social media accounts — it’s bad to start with,” the politician declared.
‘As a rule, girls and boys shouldn’t have social media accounts — it’s bad to start with.’
Alejandro Navarro, mayor of Guanajuato, on youth exposure to online challenges
It’s also still unclear where the students procured the drugs — which cause side effects ranging from irregular heartbeat to breathing problems and seizures. In large doses, they can even induce coma or death by slowing a person’s breathing down to the point that they suffer brain damage.
This marks the fourth school in Mexico to be plagued by the tranq challenge. In another highly-publicized case two weeks ago, eight students in a Mexico City middle school fell ill after abusing clonazepam, prompting the Health Department to issue an alert regarding the dangers of the drug.
““The call is also for children and adolescents not to participate or promote challenges that put their lives at risk,” wrote the department. They also implored the public to report any store hawking the tranquilizer sans a prescription.
This isn’t the only potentially deadly stunt circulating the interwebs. Last month, a 12-year-old girl in Argentina died after attempting the deadly TikTok “choking challenge,” in which partakers attempt to asphyxiate themselves until they pass out.
Meanwhile, in the US, TikTok is facing wrongful death lawsuits after two California girls fatally hanged themselves after watching “blackout challenge” videos on the platform.
“TikTok has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design and develop its product to encourage, enable and push content to teens and children that defendant knows to be problematic and highly detrimental to its minor users’ mental health,” the lawsuit read.
TikTok did not respond to request for comment from The Post. In the past, the streaming platform has denied responsibility for the ongoing issue, saying “choking game” injuries from young people long predate the blackout challenge.
Meanwhile, TikTok users are encouraged to flag anybody engaged in any dangerous challenge by clicking the symbol that says “Report.”
*With Post wires
