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Ernst J. Drenick, MD; Kenneth M. Younger, MD
Los Angeles

JAMA. 1970;213(10):1687.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

A new complication can be added to the lengthening list of disease states associated with narcotics addiction. A rumor among heroin addicts is that milk is endowed with the ability to counteract the ill effects of heroin overdosage. In such circumstances, quantities of milk are injected intravenously with potentially catastrophic results as can be gleaned from the following brief report.

Report of a Case.—

According to statements by a relative, a 19-year-old Marine had consumed one-half pint of rum, four to eight barbiturate tablets, and injected one "balloon" of heroin. He quickly became lethargic. Alarmed over the deepening stupor, some of the patient's friends then decided to inject two syringes of milk into the antecubital vein as an antidote. The patient's condition immediately worsened. The "good samaritans" had vanished by the time an ambulance arrived, and no precise information was obtainable regarding the quantity or the type . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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