Richard Presson, the father of a 15-year-old Oklahoma girl who died from a Benadryl overdose, secretly recorded himself confronting a store employee who sold his other daughter the medication. Leah Presson died on June 14 in an Oklahoma City hospital after allegedly taking a fatal dose of Benadryl as part of a dangerous social media challenge.
The challenge, which has circulated on platforms like TikTok and Facebook, encourages teens to ingest large amounts of the over-the-counter allergy medication to induce hallucinations. This trend has been linked to the deaths of multiple teenagers.
Three days after Leah's death, her father, Richard, visited a gas station with his 17-year-old daughter to test the store's sales practices. In the video, the younger daughter is seen purchasing a box of Benadryl without any apparent age verification. Richard then approached the counter, stopped the transaction, and informed the employee that his daughter had recently died from an overdose of the same medication.
"Kids are overdosing on that s***. My daughter just died from it. I was gonna see if you'd sell it to her," Richard told the employee, who acknowledged the overdose. The employee finished Richard's sentence, saying "overdose."
According to the University of Utah, a fatal dose of Benadryl is typically around 20 mg per kilogram of body weight. For an average 15-year-old girl, this could equate to 1.04 to 1.16 grams, requiring approximately 42 to 47 pills. A 24-count pack of Benadryl can cost as little as $7, meaning a lethal quantity could be purchased for around $14.
Currently, there is no federal age restriction for purchasing Benadryl, though the manufacturer's website includes a warning to read the drug facts label and use only as directed. While some stores may implement their own policies to restrict sales to individuals under 18, there is no universal regulation. In the Oklahoma City area, where the Presson family resides, no age restrictions or prescription requirements are in place for buying Benadryl.
Following their daughter's death, the Presson family is advocating for legislative change, proposing what they call "Leah’s Law." This proposed law would mandate identification and age verification for the purchase of over-the-counter medications that minors might abuse.
"Our beautiful Leah is not a statistic. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a light in so many lives. A dangerous trend involving the misuse of over-the-counter medication stole her future, and our family will carry that pain forever," Richard and his wife stated in a joint Facebook post. They added, "If one simple step — showing an ID or meeting a minimum age requirement — can save even one child, then it is worth fighting for."
Leah's family remembers her as "a beautiful, outspoken young lady whose presence could never be ignored." They noted her "honesty, passion, and a heart that loved fiercely."