Featured Image Credit: CBS News/Bruce Brown
Topics: Mental Health, Life
Callum Jones
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A devastated father has issued a warning after discovering the truth behind the $13 substance his 17-year-old son bought online.
Back in 2022, Bruce Brown saw a UPS package delivered to his home which was addressed to his 17-year-old boy.
Because he was a competitive soccer player, Brown was not concerned by the yellowish-white powder as he presumed it was some kind of supplement.
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USA Today reports Bennett was not staying at home that night, so Brown dropped his lad a message asking what exactly the package was. He never received a response.
The dad later found out the package was not a sports supplement, but instead a hazardous chemical compound known as sodium nitrite.
Bennett had purchased the dangerous chemical with the intention of ending his life.
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He used the compound the day after it arrived, before he sought medical attention.
But while he was being transported to hospital, the teenager died.
Brown has since explained his son's mental health issues began during the Covid pandemic as he was stuck indoors and away from his pals.
On top of that, Bennett suffered from long Covid, which led to breathing issues that would keep awake at night.
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It got as bad to the point where Bennett found it tricky to leave the house.
CBS News reports Bennett was also forced to drop out of an English major at Arizona State University after a nasty fall and suffering from concussion.
Brown told the Daily Mail: "A symptom of concussion is suicide. I did not know that. Nobody ever told me that.
"I think that just exacerbated the preexisting sadness that he was feeling."
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Following his son's death, Brown has been working tirelessly to prevent the easy accessibility to sodium nitrite.
"They shipped it in two days to him, and it sold for the price of about $13," Brown said. "That was the price of my son's life."
Brown led a bill that limited the sale of the dangerous compound in high doses in Colorado.
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The bill passed and took effect in July.
Brown is now hoping to see the ban take effect nationwide with the Youth Poisoning Protection Act.
Brown concluded: "The grief is immense. It's never-ending. There's not an hour that goes by where my mind doesn't go to Bennett.
"He was a great kid. He was funny. He was athletic when healthy. He was well-liked. The irony is he never would've hurt another person or animal, but yet he took his own life."
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If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.