Two NOS and dead

I came across a story from the beginning of February where a 17 year old junior, Dakota Sailor, died for a little while and is holding his energy drink to blame. The kid is a defensive end and tackle for his high school football team and has led a pretty healthy life, as to be expected for one so young. He went to school, drank a few sodas throughout the day, then went home and slurped down two NOS energy drinks. He fell asleep on his living room couch, which shows just how familiar he is with energy drinks since it really takes practice to be able to sleep on them, and next thing he knows he’s tucked into a hospital bed for five days.

During his lapse in memory, he had a seizure on the couch and was found by his mother Friday morning after she heard a “gurgling” noise. Aside from just the noises he was making, Sailor was also indicating a problem as he was blue. Fortunately, his father is an emergency room nurse and he came running to perform CPR on his son until an ambulance arrived. Sailor ended up spending five days in the hospital and now, due to the seizure, has to be on anti-seizure medication for a year, can’t drive for six months, and has to wear an oximeter to monitor his heartbeat and oxygen levels.

While, according to the DSM, Sailor was technically intoxicated from the caffeine, 520 mg from the two NOS’s, it’s absolutely crazy that he died from that amount. A cool link I came across was Death by Caffeine, which customizes for YOU just how many energy drinks you need to successfully kick the bucket. I can’t imagine how this guy, who, since he played football, was relatively fit and no stranger to energy drinks, had such adverse effects to just two. Energy drinks could easily be being scapegoated again, and the kid was really on a whole lot else, but if he was, the world will never know. Instead, this kid is just going to look like a massive wuss to his football buddies. Cheers!

Sources: The Joplin Globe

Daniel Noble Part 2

Noble was taken to court, where his attorney submitted a plea of temporary insanity due to caffeine intoxication. This is the first time caffeine was actually used in an insanity plea and it actually worked for this guy. The judge acquitted Noble of all the charges against him, which were:

·         Two felony counts of vehicular assault

·         Two felony counts of hit-and-run

·         Misdemeanor resisting arrest

The man purposefully injured two pedestrians and as a punishment essentially received a slap on the wrist for it, what the hell? According to Examiner.com, the victims still stand a chance filing a civil suit against Noble. Although, I have to say that after reading and watching Noble’s behavior, he does seem to mirror the symptoms put forth by the DSM for caffeine intoxication pretty accurately,  but I would too if I were in court for a handful of felonies.  The DSM recognizes any consumption of caffeine that is in excess of 250 mg as being caffeine intoxication. That’s about two cups of coffee or three sodas. So, watch out, you’ve become inebriated if you decided to reach for that second cup of joe this morning.

Check out the video. This guy is still pretty squirrelly even after being in jail at least long enough to get changed out into that beautiful orange jumpsuit.

 
Sources: Minddisorders.com, Examiner.com

Daniel Noble Part 1

Previously, I posted on a case concerning Woody Smith murdering his wife and claiming caffeine intoxication as his plea and now I am going to relate the case of a Daniel Noble, who set the precedent for that sort of plea. The plea is still extremely new as the first time it was used was on December 7, 2009 by Noble. Around 7:30 am, Noble, wearing his pajamas and a pair of sandals, heads over to Starbucks, buys two large coffees, and gulps them down as he cruises around Washington. The guy apparently did have a destination in mind at the time as he was reported to have driven to the Washington State University campus in search of his wife, who was still at their home.

When Noble arrived on campus he was already noticed for his erratic driving, especially when he hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk. He continued down the road, hopped his car over onto the sidewalk and hit another pedestrian. After a few more moments of driving, Noble parked his car in the middle of an intersection and began roaming, on foot and in pajamas.

When the cops arrived, Noble was still wandering and had begun yelling obscenities. An officer attempted to take him into custody, which caused him to become rather rowdy and, as a result, he was made friendly with a Taser. Two more officers arrived, making three total during this scene, and they finally got Noble into the back of a patrol car. The fun wasn’t quite over just yet as Noble began to try kicking out the windows of the car. When an officer went over to advise him to stop, the man leaped at him, trying to get out.

Noble was finally subdued, taken to Pullman Regional Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, and booked into Whitman County Jail. His victims were also taken to the hospital, both for a broken leg. The car was trashed with dents everywhere and a smashed windshield. Along the top of the windshield, a bunch of hair and pieces of scalp from the victims were found.
Sources: ABC News, Go Coug-Sars

BFC AIDS

While discussing energy drinks with my friend Colin, he made certain to relate a story of an old friend of his to me. He said that last year his buddy, we’ll call him John for anonymity’s sake, took up a dare to chug a full BFC (Big Freaking Can) Monster in one go. First off, these things are called BFC’s for a reason. They contain 32 fluid ounces of crack-like energy and are so large that two hands must be used to hold the beast. Even without noticing the sheer volume of this thing, and it’s hard not to, there’s also a warning on the side of the can discouraging people to do exactly what this kid did.

Anyhow, John sat back and consumed the entire Monster. As to be expected he felt sick moments following the gluttony and likely stuck to the bathroom for a time, but the real effects came a little while later: his immune system shut down. According to Colin, for a week or so this kid was experiencing AIDS-like symptoms without the virus. He developed an illness pretty quickly, was hospitalized, and likely never touched a Monster again.

Personally, I would adore to know what he won in the bet.

Woody Smith: Caffeine Intoxication

In May of 2009, a Kentucky man named Woody Smith claimed that he had been being cuckolded by his wife, Amanda Hornsby-Smith, for some time. After this discovery, he gained a fear of his wife leaving him and taking their two children with her. For nearly a week he was unable to sleep, using diet pills, energy drinks, and caffeinated sodas to stay vigilant. On May 9, police reported that Smith had strangled his wife with an extension cord and later wielded the cord to bind her feet together. Smith claims that he remembers dropping his kids off at school, but that the rest of his day was a complete fog.

The attorney representing Smith, Shannon Sexton, has argued that her client was unable to muster up the intent required to commit the crime due to caffeine intoxication and lack of sleep. A psychologist, Dr. Robert Noelker, has analyzed Smith and is willing to serve as a defense witness, aiding the claim that the murder was due to temporary insanity. However, the prosecutors have an expert to testify that no evidence of the energy pills or drinks showed when Smith was tested shortly after the murder.

**UPDATE**

After Smith’s trial, in which he was pleading not guilty to murder, the jury took just one hour to find him guilty of the charge and to suggest giving him a life sentence. 

Sources: Moron of the Day, Daily Mail

Welcome!

I'd like to welcome the reader to this blog and give a very brief description of what I plan to use it for. I've created this blog with the intent to share all stories of interest that I have come across about energy drinks. Some will be from friends, while others may come from websites and whatever other sources I come across during my research. Previously, in my written assignments, I have defended energy drinks wholeheartedly. However, with Halloween being so near I have decided to use this as a channel for "ghost stories" related to my topic. Prepare to be riveted.