CHARGES NOT FILED IN TEENS' OVERDOSE

HUDSON - A mother jailed since Sunday won't face child neglect charges
in connection with a prescription drug overdose that sent four teens
to hospitals.

Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis said the case didn't rise to
the level of criminal neglect. He said, however, a Pasco County
sheriff's deputy had probable cause to arrest Kathleen McMenemy.

``After the detectives did a full and thorough investigation, there
was no evidence of legal neglect on her part,'' Halkitis said Friday.
``She almost immediately called 911.''

McMenemy, 41, remained in the Land O' Lakes Jail on Friday, held with
bail set at $10,500, on unrelated charges. She declined an interview
request through the sheriff's office.

McMenemy's mother, Margarida Warnitz, said the prosecutor's decision
confirmed what she believed all along: McMenemy did nothing wrong last
weekend after she found the teens, including her 13-year-old daughter,
unconscious in her mobile home during a sleepover.

The three girls - another 13-year-old and a 14-year-old - and a
17-year-old boy were hooked to respirators to aid their breathing
before being released from hospitals this week.

Halkitis said the teens took four prescription medications belonging
to McMenemy's roommate: the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, antianxiety
drugs Xanax and Ativan and the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

``They just took pills, a combination of those pills, and just started
popping them,'' he said. ``Mom, in her bedroom, doesn't know what's
going on.''

Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor at the University of Florida and
co-director of the Drug Information Center, said it is increasingly
common to see middle school students abusing prescription drugs.

``The trend is, if it's round, if it comes in a pill bottle, even if
it's square, it's fair game,'' Doering said. ``They're playing Russian
roulette every time they open up prescription vials.''

A new phenomenon called ``pharming'' is becoming popular, Doering
said. Teens bring a variety of pills to a party, for example, throw
them into a bowl, then grab and ingest whatever they can.

``The key thing is that young people throw caution to the wind and
have no idea what these drugs are going to do,'' Doering said. ``You
can only roll the dice so many times.''

Warnitz said her daughter is ``heartbroken'' and ``wants to be with
her daughter.'' The 13-year-old lives nearby with her father, who has
custody.

Warnitz also said she hoped the legal decision would clear her
daughter's name.

``Even though we know in our hearts she wouldn't do that, her picture
was all over the news for days,'' Warnitz said. ``What do you do to
erase the memory from people's brains?''