An Upper Tantallon, N.S. family is warning others about the dangers of poppy seed tea, after their 19-year-old son died from drinking it two weeks ago.
The family of Cole Marchand, the cousin of Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, says they hope to save others by sharing his story.
They say Marchand made the tea from a pod he ordered online.
"When you get the pod you take the seeds out of the pod, you grind them up, you add them to hot water and make a tea," explains his father, Darrell Marchand. "If you take too much then your respiratory system starts to break down until eventually you go onto a coma and you stop breathing."
Darrell found his son in bed after he died.
"We are now going to counseling for trauma," he says. "It's a vision that you'll never forget."
Cole suffered from depression. He texted a photo of the drug, which contains morphine and codeine, to his sister just days before his death.
"I said, ‘what is it for?'" says 18-year-old Carissa Marchand. "And he said ‘tea. Deliciously euphoric opium tea.'"
She says he assured her it was safe and she had no need to worry.
"He said ‘yeah, it's safe. It's all natural, so it's much safer than Vicodin or OxyContin. And obviously safer than heroin.'"
Only it wasn't safe and that's what Carissa Marchand wants other teens to know.
"Even though he was extremely smart with drugs, it really doesn't matter how much research you do," she warns. "There's websites on the Internet says it's fine because it's natural, but obviously it's not."
Cole's parents also hope their tragic story will serve as a warning for others.
"He had depression, so I want people out there to know, that take it seriously, do whatever you can for your kids," says his mother, Tanya Marchand.
In the meantime, she says they will remember Cole as a kind and compassionate young man who had a passion for motocross.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell
