Clonazepam challenge causes alert among parents in the Valley of Mexico

Naucalpan, Mexico.- Associations of parents of schools in the Valley of Mexico are concerned about the increase of viral challenges with the consumption of controlled drugs such as clonazepam, which when used without medical prescription, can cause severe and irreversible damage to the health of those who ingest them without the supervision of a health professional.

"The one who falls asleep last wins", is the title of the viral challenge that has gained the participation of minors, mainly from high schools, causing alarm and concern among parents' associations, which together with school directors urge students to avoid this dangerous practice that includes the consumption of clonazepam, which caused a risk warning from the Comisión Federal de Prevención de Riesgos Sanitarios (Cofepris).

On January 23, 2023, Cofepris issued a health alert to warn the general population, mainly parents and school principals, about the risk of the "whoever falls asleep last wins" challenge, which has become popular among children and adolescents, which consists of consuming controlled sleep-inducing drugs, including clonazepam.

So far we know of parents' associations in Nicolas Romero, Naucalpan, Tlalnepantla, which have already had approaches with high school principals, to express their concern about the viral challenge, as Frida Ramirez, from the association belonging to the school "Heroes de la Libertad" of Fuentes de Satelite, explains.

But it was the leader of the SNTE, José Marín, who spoke out more openly on the matter, urging parents to guide their children, while teachers will do the same in educational institutions, describing the cases of intoxicated minors in Boca del Río Veracruz, in Mexico City and in the south of the country.

Also the Association of Internet MX (AIMX) pronounced through the Education and Culture Committee, to exhort all the population in general to take extreme precautions in relation to the handling of the information of the viral challenges.

It is important to point out that the challenges include the consumption of controlled medicines such as those containing the active substance called clonazepam, which can represent risks when not prescribed and monitored by a physician, who determines the amounts, hours and days of consumption.

Parents, directors of educational institutions, families, teachers and young people, together with the authorities, must coordinate in a common front to prevent minors who make these challenges from putting their health at risk.

In the state of Mexico, the Ministry of Education has also made a statement regarding the viral challenges with clonazepam, which has already caused massive intoxications of minors in other states, so that high schoolstudents are oriented regarding the damage that the controlled drug can cause after its consumption without medical prescription.

Clonazepam is a drug that is indicated to control certain types of seizures, but it is also used to alleviate panic attacks (sudden and unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks), according to general practitioner Omar Bracamontes.

The clandestine sale of clonazepam

Although it is a controlled drug, it should be sold only in pharmacies, since its consumption causes dependence in prolonged use; however, clonazepam is available everywhere, explains the doctor, who adds that you simply search on the same digital platforms and there you get the drug .

Certainly, entering Facebook with the name of the drug displays a series of options for clandestine sales of this and other controlled drugs, which can be purchased at prices ranging from 200 to 600 pesos depending on the presentation, whether tablets or drops.

"Even in some flea markets, where they sell lots of medication among groceries and canned products, boxes of clonazepam are sometimes seen for sale to the general public, without any restriction," as the physician explains.

The risk of social networks

UNICEF in its article "The State of the World's Children, girls and boys in a digital world" emphasizes that this has already changed the world and, as the number of minors who go online increases in all countries, it is increasingly changing their childhood.

The study highlights that young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent the age group most connected to social networks. Worldwide, 71% of the population is connected to the Internet, but it is children and adolescents under the age of 18 who are the biggest consumers of social network content and represent approximately one in three Internet users. Children are accessing the Internet at increasingly younger ages.

In some countries, children under the age of 15 are as likely to use the internet as adults over the age of 25 and smartphones are fueling a "bedroom culture", and for many children online access is becoming more personal, more private and less supervised.

Despite the fact that one out of every three Internet users in the world are children and adolescents, there are few mechanisms for protecting and safeguarding their rights, warns the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

It points out that the main dangers include the improper use of their information, access to harmful content, cyberbullying and even viral games or "challenges" that can be life-threatening.

CREDIT: CE Noticias Financieras English - CENFENG