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Erectile Drug Complicates Teen's Booze-Party Death

By Mat Probasco, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 27, 2009 2:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – A northern California coroner's report revealed two surprises about the recent booze-party death of a 16-year-old boy: he wasn't drunk and he had ingested high levels of an erectile dysfunction drug, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Now investigators want to know if Joseph Loudon was slipped the drug, or deliberately took it before choking on his own vomit.

Authorities say they haven't heard of teens using the prescription drug, papaverine, recreationally. Three people linked to the party have been arrested for supplying alcohol or fake IDs to minors. The teen's dad, Bill Loudon, said whatever happened that night "cost him his life and cost me my son."

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

Joseph Loudon's blood-alcohol level was only .03%, but contained high levels of papaverine. (Getty Images)

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I have no idea how Joe might have obtained the drug or why it was in his system. It is not a drug that was in either my house or that of his mother. - Bill Loudon, father of dead teen
Joseph Loudon

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