Rampage blamed on Benadryl

Knoxville News Sentinel ^ | 10/24/8 | Jamie Satterfield

[SmithL]

Ex-employee who shot up workplace to claim insanity

An eczema-suffering accountant who contended he was in a Benadryl-induced blackout when he allegedly shot up and tried to burn down his former job site will try to mount an insanity defense at his upcoming trial, court records show.

Defense attorney Ruth Ellis has filed on behalf of Brandon D. Hensley notice in U.S. District Court that he "intends to rely upon the defense of insanity" when he is tried in January on charges of arson and discharging a weapon during a crime of violence.

Hensley is accused of shooting his way into the Semperian Company building on Cherahala Boulevard using a high-powered rifle and two handguns, riddling the office of the firm's human resources manager with bullets, and trying to torch the building with matches and charcoal lighter fluid in May.

Authorities alleged his behavior had grown increasingly erratic at work after he was reprimanded for excessive absences and tardiness, and he quit.

[SmithL]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who reacts this way to Benadryl.

[Jemian]

I take benadryl, a lot. It doesn’t have this effect on me. Shoot, I hardly get sleepy.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Well thank God they figured this one out because we all know that no one can be held accountable for their own actions in this country anymore.

[tlb]

Maybe he was free-basing his Benedryl.

[Puppage]

Well thank God they figured this one out because we all know that no one can be held accountable for their own actions in this country anymore.

My thoughts exactly!!

[SmithL]

You need to up your dose, then.
; )

[Lurker]

I can't take Benadryl accept in the most extreme emergency, like a bee sting reaction.

That stuff weirds me out worse than some of the drugs I took back in the 70's.

L

[Mr. Jazzy]

By coincidence, I was joking around with my family physician during my last physical and I made reference to a possible benadryl “overdose”. She immediately said that this type of behavior is a definite possibility. She said the drug is fine when used properly, but too much will cause delusions.

This from wiki: “The mental effects of higher doses (250+mg) are described by many as “dreaming while awake” involving visual and auditory hallucinations that, unlike those experienced with most psychedelic drugs, often cannot be readily distinguished from reality. People who consume a high recreational dose can possibly find themselves in a hallucination which places them in a familiar situation with people and friends and rooms they know, while in reality being in a totally different setting.”

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago;
but now that the lawyers have got to cutting every gallows
rope and picking every prison lock with it, it is become a
sneaking villainy that ought to hang and keep on hanging
its sudden possessors until evil-doers should conclude
that the safest plan was to never claim to have it until
they came by it legitimately.
The very calibre of the people the lawyers most frequently
try to save by the insanity subterfuge ought to laugh the
plea out of the courts, one would think.

MARK TWAIN

- “Unburlesquable Things,” The Galaxy Magazine, July 1870

[Jemian]

I take 100 mg. sometimes when I have allergies. Take even more? The standard dose is 25mg.

[SmithL]

Fine, don’t increase your dose, then, but don’t blame me if you don’t feel the need to go on a rampage.
; )

[DannyTN]

Bring back DimeTapp!!!(PPA)

[SIDENET]

he was in a Benadryl-induced blackout when he allegedly shot up and tried to burn down his former job site

I can't even remember how many times I've done this.

I mean, really. Haven't we all been there?

(reaches past bullets for more benadryl)

[LS]

LOL. My rock group in the 1970s was called “Rampage.” Didn’t know Benadryl was responsible for us.

[SIDENET]

An eczema-suffering accountant who contended he was in a Benadryl-induced blackout when he allegedly shot up and tried to burn down his former job site

Picture of the perp.

[Jemian]

I may up it the next time I want to take a nap.

[Old Professer]

Here is a non-medical assessment (perhaps from personal experience?) taken from everything2.com:

[Alternatively, one can go real hardcore and ingest upwards of 14-20 pills. DON’T DO THIS. EVER. Every one I have talked to who has done this, assuming they actually stay awake for the trip, have these types of effects:

All the effects of a lighter dose for about the first 2 hours, with gradual but potent intensification over time.
After about 3-5 hours, expect to black out and not remember anything for about the next 12 hours. If you (foolishly) popped more than 18 pills, this blackout could occur for even a few days. You may remember bits and pieces, but it will mostly be a potent, vague drunken-like blur.
During this period of blackout, you are likely to have a psychotic breakout. Needless to say, this may disrupt the wellness of your psyche permanently.
You are very likely to wake up in a hospital. Even if you don’t physically hurt yourself (from the drug itself or from doing something dangerous while on it), your peers may be inclined to admit you due to your irrational state.
This is not a very safe recreational drug. There are some cases of allergic reaction to antihistamines such as diphenhydramine that only seem to occur at fairly high thresholds. In other words, even if you take this drug regularly for medical purposes, there could be a magic number of pills that induce anaphylactic shock.]

[grellis]

Odd coincidence—Ruth Ellis, defense attorney, shares her name with the last woman to be executed in England. Now where did I put that Dimetapp?