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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Technology
Jim Manzon

ChatGPT Told a 19-Year-Old How to Mix Drugs — His Mother Found Him Dead the Next Morning

ChatGPT OpenAI Sam Nelson Brandon Clarke Lawsuit Sam Altman
ChatGPT used emojis and offered playlists to gain a teenager's trust, then gave him specific drug dosage advice (Credit: Tim Witzdam/Pexels)

A 19-year-old University of California, Merced student died after ChatGPT told him it was safe to combine kratom with Xanax, suggested dosages, recommended adding Benadryl, and never once urged him to call a doctor. His mother found him dead the next morning.

Sam Nelson, a psychology student who dreamt of helping others, died of asphyxiation on 31 May 2025 after consuming alcohol, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and the psychoactive substance kratom. His parents, Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI and Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on 12 May 2026 in San Francisco Superior Court. The complaint alleges ChatGPT acted as Nelson's 'illicit drug coach' and gave him recommendations that any licensed medical professional would have recognised as deadly.

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