Parents Warn About Synthetic Drug Use in Collin County

The family of a Frisco teenager is warning others about the dangers of experimenting with synthetic drugs.

Montana Brown was a 15-year-old freshman at Heritage High School in the Frisco Independent School District when he passed away in December.

His father, Eric Brown, told NBC 5 his three sons set out to try hallucinogenic mushrooms while Brown and his wife were away on business. Instead, he said, an acquaintance offered them “acid.”

“It wasn’t LSD,” Brown said. “The person who had sold it to them, represented it to them, said that it was acid, but it wasn’t what they thought they were taking.”

The Brown family said the drug was what is known on the streets as an “N-bomb” or “25I”.

It has several other names, but is known for creating powerful hallucinations, but can also cause seizures and even death.

"These kids aren’t street-wise,” Brown said. “They have no idea what they’re doing — they’re told it’s acid and they go with that.”

Soon after ingesting the drug, Montana Brown was dead — collapsing into seizures in the family’s living room.

The family’s other two boys were rushed to the hospital, but ultimately survived.

In McKinney, police said the same synthetic LSD drug caused three McKinney ISD teens, two boys and a girl, all less than 17-years-old, to overdose this past weekend.

In a release, police said the drug can be taken as a tab on blotter paper, on candy or as a liquid or a powder.

They have not narrowed down the source of the drug, but call the investigation “a priority.”

Grace Raulston, a substance abuse counselor at the Collin County Substance Abuse Program, told NBC 5 the prevalence of the synthetic drug has grown enormously over the past five years.

Today, she said, out of every 10 juveniles who enter her doors, two admit to trying the drug. However, she adds, the rest tell her they know “someone” who has.

According to the Brown family, for Montana, it only took one day of “experimenting” to end his life.

“He was a great kid. We miss him so much,” said his father. “We kept an eye out and we missed this … The one thing I know is that if it happened to my family, it can happen to anyone’s family."

McKinney police said their narcotics officers are working with school resource officers and the McKinney Fire Department to prevent any additional incidents.

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