Eventually She Tried Other Medication Recommended to Her on Chat Groups, Some for Pain or Epileptic Seizures

Chinese teens are turning to prescription drugs to escape the intense pressure of exams, with some overdosing on medication bought online, the BBC has found. At 14, Xiaomei, a high-performing student from a coastal province, decided to overdose on cough medication after an older boy told her it would help her relax. The tablets were usually only available with a doctor's prescription, but she managed to buy them online.

At first they made her dizzy, but she was soon hooked on the numb sensation, which felt like a brief respite from the pressure of looming exams. Eventually she tried other medication recommended to her on chat groups, some for pain or epileptic seizures. Sometimes she would take five tablets, other times more than 10. For two years, she took large quantities of various prescription drugs, none of which were prescribed to her or anyone in her family.

She bought them all on the internet. "When I felt too much pressure from my studies, or I didn't do well at exams, or even when I quarrelled with my parents, I would take these drugs, she told the BBC. "I was running away from reality.

The BBC has heard similar stories from dozens of Chinese teenagers in chat rooms across various social media platforms. Nearly every one of them seemed to be escaping the same thing: pressure, by chasing what is described as a "pharmaceutical high". One girl shared a voice note after taking large doses of a neuropathic pain drug, her words slurred: "I feel my body doesn't belong to me.

I'm so dizzy. One boy offered to use his father's old prescription to fake a new one. Others shared tips on which drugs to buy to hallucinate.

Chinese students spend so much of their day studying, which experts believe only adds to their anxiety. It is hard to gauge the scale of the problem, as there are few official figures. But it is serious enough that the government launched a nationwide crackdown two years ago against the cough suppressant Xiaomei started using, classifying it as a psychotropic drug available only with a doctor's prescription.

In April this year, authorities noticed young people had switched to another drug and imposed tighter controls on how it is prescribed and dispensed. Still, the BBC was offered the drug in an online chat room for as little as 10 Chinese yuan ($1.5; £1.09) per gram. Non-regulated substances are easy to acquire, and even when one drug is controlled, young people quickly find alternatives, according to a 2025 paper written for the Crime Prevention Institute at the Ministry of Justice.

In some cases, teens online were using different names for drugs to avoid detection. There is growing evidence that young people across the world are turning to prescription medication to fight off pressures and anxiety. China produces the vast majority of the world's pharmaceutical ingredients, making cheap prescription drugs easy to access.

Xiaomei says it took just a few clicks for an entire box of medication to be delivered to her door. "You could simply enter your ID number on shopping platforms and buy it directly, she said. The ID includes her age, but she was still sold the drug, no questions asked.

It was also cheap - often 50 tablets cost less than a dollar.

On paper, China is winning the war on illegal drugs. Official data for 2025 shows a dramatic fall - 41% - in newly identified drug users under the age of 35. However, authorities have had to acknowledge that the misuse of prescription drugs is becoming a widespread problem, especially surging among minors, China's National Narcotics Control Commission warned in a recent report.

Xiaomei says that a lot of students in her elite chemistry class were discussing ways to overdose on prescription drugs to avoid feeling like "complete losers". It is just so hard to pass exams and to stay in elite classes.