Boy Experiments, Gets Tipsy on Cold Remedy : Jr. High Class Proves Intoxicating

It seemed like a good idea at the time, the 13-year-old San Gabriel junior high school student told authorities. He would conduct an experiment on the effects of alcohol consumption. He would consume a quantity of a well-known cold remedy, and then a fellow seventh-grader would test his reflexes for alcohol impairment.

All very scientific.

The two seventh-graders got the idea for the experiment, which would have given them extra credit in their science class, from a life sciences textbook, Gary Goodson, superintendent of the San Gabriel School District, said Thursday.

“There was a section in the text on reaction time, with a table showing how people reacted after consuming various amounts of alcohol,” Goodson said.

But their Jefferson Junior High School science teacher had prohibited the boys from using an alcoholic beverage, they explained afterwards. Instead, the boys decided to use Vicks NyQuil, a powerful over-the-counter cold remedy that is 25% alcohol.

The two boys conducted the experiment--one dropping a ruler and the drinker trying to catch it-- in their afternoon science classroom Jan. 27. By the time the teacher, unaware of the potency of NyQuil, called a halt to the project, the subject of the experiment was looking downright drunk, Goodson said.

Slept It Off

“According to the teacher’s estimate, he had taken two to three times the adult dosage,” said Goodson, who would not release the names of the teacher or the students involved.

The boy sat immobile for 20 minutes, slept through much of the next two periods and headed home after school. He was offered medical help several times but declined, Goodson said.

A pair of San Gabriel police officers spotted the boy shortly afterwards on the street. “Two of his friends were holding his arms, either restraining him or assisting him,” said Capt. Dave Lawton. “When the officers inquired if the boy needed help, they noted that he appeared drowsy and dizzy. They noted an odor of alcohol on his breath. His eye were droopy and red. He showed poor balance and he spoke in slow, slurred speech.”

The boy was taken to San Gabriel Valley Medical Center, where he was examined and released to his mother.

The police have reviewed the incident with the district attorney’s office and determined that no crime was committed. The school district, at the urging of the boy’s disgruntled parents, is investigating further.

“We’re going to have to determine what happened here,” Goodson said, “and see if the experiment has anything to do with what ought to be happening in a seventh-grade class.”