Brandon Carl Vedas (April 21, 1981 – January 12, 2003), also known by his nickname ripper on IRC, was an American computer enthusiast, recreational drug user and member of the Shroomery.org community who died of a multiple drug overdose while discussing what he was doing via chat and webcam. His death led to debate about the responsibilities and roles of online communities in life-threatening situations.[1][2][3][4]
The video chat session began when Vedas logged into the IRC channel and announced "i got a grip of drugs", inviting other users to access his webcam feed and watch him take them.[2] While some of the substances were illicit, most of them had apparently been obtained through legitimate prescriptions for treatment of various illnesses from which Vedas was said to have suffered.[2]
Vedas then began consuming psilocybe mushrooms, which had been stored in a prescription medication bottle. As the chat session progressed, one of the users in the channel, grphish, noted "that's a lot of klonopin"[2] and this is thought to be when Vedas consumed 8 mg of clonazepam.[citation needed] Vedas continued by showing the webcam viewers what would be one of four bottles of methadone that he would consume over the course of the session, and, after noting this on the channel, proceeded to consume an entire bottle (reportedly 80 mg of methadone[2]). After a brief respite, Vedas then consumed 110 mg of propranolol (Inderal), two Vicodin tablets, and 120 mg temazepam, which seem to have been taken in between descriptions given on the IRC channel.[citation needed]
During this process, Vedas maintained that this was "usual weekend behavior" for him and that he had consumed similar quantities of the same substances on previous occasions.[2] "I told u I was hardcore" was one of the last things Vedas typed,[5] a phrase often quoted sarcastically on Internet message boards and discussion sites.[citation needed]
^"Net grief for online 'suicide'". BBC News. February 4, 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
^ abcdefKennedy, Helen (February 2, 2003). "He Takes Fatal OD As Internet Pals Watch: Chatroom vultures egged him to pop more Rx pills". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
death, brandon, vedas, brandon, carl, vedas, april, 1981, january, 2003, also, known, nickname, ripper, american, computer, enthusiast, recreational, drug, user, member, shroomery, community, died, multiple, drug, overdose, while, discussing, what, doing, chat. Brandon Carl Vedas April 21 1981 January 12 2003 also known by his nickname ripper on IRC was an American computer enthusiast recreational drug user and member of the Shroomery org community who died of a multiple drug overdose while discussing what he was doing via chat and webcam His death led to debate about the responsibilities and roles of online communities in life threatening situations 1 2 3 4 Brandon VedasBornBrandon Carl Vedas 1981 04 21 April 21 1981DiedJanuary 12 2003 2003 01 12 aged 21 Phoenix ArizonaCause of deathDrug overdoseOccupation s Computer enthusiast recreational drug userKnown forOverdose caught on webcam Contents 1 Overview 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksOverview EditThe video chat session began when Vedas logged into the IRC channel and announced i got a grip of drugs inviting other users to access his webcam feed and watch him take them 2 While some of the substances were illicit most of them had apparently been obtained through legitimate prescriptions for treatment of various illnesses from which Vedas was said to have suffered 2 Vedas then began consuming psilocybe mushrooms which had been stored in a prescription medication bottle As the chat session progressed one of the users in the channel grphish noted that s a lot of klonopin 2 and this is thought to be when Vedas consumed 8 mg of clonazepam citation needed Vedas continued by showing the webcam viewers what would be one of four bottles of methadone that he would consume over the course of the session and after noting this on the channel proceeded to consume an entire bottle reportedly 80 mg of methadone 2 After a brief respite Vedas then consumed 110 mg of propranolol Inderal two Vicodin tablets and 120 mg temazepam which seem to have been taken in between descriptions given on the IRC channel citation needed During this process Vedas maintained that this was usual weekend behavior for him and that he had consumed similar quantities of the same substances on previous occasions 2 I told u I was hardcore was one of the last things Vedas typed 5 a phrase often quoted sarcastically on Internet message boards and discussion sites citation needed See also EditSocial media and suicide Drug overdose Suicide of Kevin WhitrickReferences Edit Net grief for online suicide BBC News February 4 2003 Retrieved July 23 2010 a b c d e f Kennedy Helen February 2 2003 He Takes Fatal OD As Internet Pals Watch Chatroom vultures egged him to pop more Rx pills New York Daily News Archived from the original on July 9 2010 Retrieved July 23 2010 Obituary Brandon Carl Vedas The Arizona Republic January 16 2003 Craig Olga February 9 2003 Chatmates watched internet suicide Telegraph co uk Retrieved December 17 2008 Brandon Vedas aka Ripper Chat room Log egomania nu Archived from the original on January 27 2013 Retrieved January 3 2013 External links EditMemorial site created by his brother IRC log of incident part 1 at the Wayback Machine archived June 18 2009 IRC log of incident part 2 at the Wayback Machine archived October 9 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Death of Brandon Vedas amp oldid 1109029827, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
