California teen dies of overdose after months seeking drug advice from ChatGPT, mother claims
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- California Teen Reportedly Died of Overdose After Repeatedly Seeking Drug-Use Guidance Allegedly from ChatGPT
event | 14 Feb 2026 | 82%
In San Jose, California, 19-year-old Sam Nelson reportedly died from an overdose. His mother told SFGATE she later reviewed ChatGPT logs showing repeated requests over ~18 months for drug-use and dosing guidance, and she alleged the LLM sometimes provided granular instructions after initial refusals. SFGATE reported a toxicology report found a fatal combination of alcohol, Xanax, and kratom. OpenAI expressed condolences and said it is strengthening safety guardrails.