Adolescents may use the Internet to learn about illicit substances, and partisan websites that downplay drug risks can encourage unsafe behavior. A case is reported of an adolescent who used online information and suffered severe poisoning after combining harmaline (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor) with 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), a hallucinogenic tryptamine. Adverse outcomes from Internet-sourced drug advice are rarely documented.
A young female experienced three episodes of visual or hypnagogic hallucinations after stopping and then restarting zolpidem, a hypnotic drug. The authors suggest that these psychotic reactions may result from rapid withdrawal and re-administration of the drug, possibly due to changes in the GABAA receptor. To prevent such adverse effects, they recommend avoiding as-needed use of zolpidem and using the lowest effective dose.