A 12-year-old girl in New York died of a methadone overdose after taking pills she got from a 15-year-old friend. The friend took the pills from his dad's drawer and he, the girl, and another friend all took some together.

"[Investigator Charles] Lopez said the boy told him he and a male friend each took two pills, and [the girl] downed about four. The boy told Lopez he soon felt sick and went home, leaving [the girl] with his friend..."

The boy is facing several criminal charges. Methadone overdoses have increased dramatically in the United States, a trend that is mostly blamed on the drug's increased use as a painkiller. Source: A.M. New York

Labels: criminal_charges, over-the-counter-drugs, overdose