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After the “Choking Challenge” or the “Labello Challenge”, a new dangerous challenge has gone viral on the Tik Tok social network: the “Tranquilizer Challenge”. This challenge, which invites young people to take potentially dangerous drugs, has claimed several victims in Mexico. So much so that the situation is beginning to worry the authorities of the country.
“The last one to fall asleep wins”. The “Tranquilizer Challenge,” a challenge that has gone viral on Tik Tok, involves taking clonazepam, a prescription drug for seizures and anxiety, and staying awake as long as possible, despite the sedative effects of this treatment.
A national alert triggered in Mexico
At the beginning of February, fifteen students aged ten to twelve years old schooled in Guanajuato in Mexico would have paid the price for this dangerous challenge for health. Some of them had to be hospitalized. The Central American country has seen a wave of young people taking part in this challenge for several months. Last January, eight students from the capital Mexico and three others from the city of Monterrey, in the north of the country, had already been victims of this challenge.
A situation that worries the authorities of Mexico. On January 25, the health authorities launched a national alert against this challenge and taking clonazepam, which can be dangerous if taken outside of a medical setting. The authorities also invite the public to report pharmacies that sell this drug without asking for a prescription.
Potentially dangerous drugs
Clonazepam comes from the family of benzodiazepines, known to be highly addictive. Clonazepam is usually used to combat epileptic seizures, nervousness and anxiety. Its sedative action is powerful and can be felt in less than an hour. This medication relaxes all of the muscles and nerves. It can, however, have potentially serious side effects, such as tachycardia, breathing problems and seizures. In large doses, it can even cause coma and even death.
But pharmacies that sell such drugs without a prescription are not the only ones to be singled out in this case. Following the hospitalization of the students of Guanajuato, the mayor of the city, Alejandro Navarro, also attacked the parents on his Facebook account urging them to monitor their children and their use of social networks.