"ID? Not Required"...Warehouse Pharmacies Fueling Drug Misuse

Sold Without ID Checks or Medication Guidance
Drugs Used in Suicide Attempts Easily Purchased
Teen Drug Poisoning Cases Up 35% in Five Years

"Just leave out one or two packs. Then I won’t need your contact information."

On April 13, at a warehouse-style pharmacy in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, when a customer poured 10 packs (100 tablets) of a sleep aid containing diphenhydramine—a drug reportedly linked to teen overdose deaths abroad—onto the counter, the pharmacist hesitated, saying, "Technically, we’re supposed to take your name and phone number for more than 10 packs..." When the customer said they would remove two packs, the transaction was completed immediately without any ID check or even minimal medication guidance. The process was no different from buying a snack.

In a warehouse-style pharmacy in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, medications including sleep aids known for being used in teenage 'Overdose (OD) Parties' are displayed. Photo by Jee-Ye Lee

Amid growing controversy over the trend of 'Overdose (OD) Parties' among teenagers both domestically and overseas, warehouse-style pharmacies—where large quantities of drugs can be purchased without restriction—are being pointed out as a blind spot. Unlike regular pharmacies, where pharmacists recommend or suggest medicines based on symptoms, these establishments allow consumers to select and bag drugs themselves, with little to no regulation even for bulk purchases, fueling concerns that this encourages drug misuse and abuse.

According to the medical community as of April 21, there are over 30 warehouse-style pharmacies nationwide, with at least 9 in Seoul alone. When reporters checked at five warehouse-style pharmacies in Seoul to see if it was possible to purchase large quantities of sleep aids and cold medicines commonly used in OD parties, all of them had neither ID checks nor purchase limits. One pharmacy said, "It’s only a problem if you buy 20 to 30 packs of sleep aids," while another said, "Let us know in advance so we can bring the stock from the warehouse."

Warehouse-style pharmacies sell medicines at prices up to 30% lower than regular pharmacies. With such aggressive low pricing, these locations have become places where teenagers can buy medicines discreetly. On social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), recipes are being shared for mixing dozens of pills—including specific medicines—with high-caffeine drinks to achieve a dazed, hallucinatory state. A teenager, identified only as A (18), who regularly attends OD parties, said, "It’s much easier to buy here because they’re not as strict as my neighborhood pharmacy."

According to the National Health Insurance Service, over the past five years (2021–2025), the number of drug poisoning patients increased only slightly from 15,789 to 15,894, a 0.7% rise. However, during the same period, the number of teenage patients surged by 35.0%, from 1,619 to 2,185—over 50 times the overall rate of increase. The number of male adolescent patients rose from 295 to 408, while female adolescent patients increased from 1,324 to 1,777, showing a much larger increase among females.

Medicines displayed at a warehouse pharmacy in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with customers pulling carts among them. Photo by Jiyé Lee

The most common drugs for OD parties available at warehouse-style pharmacies are classified as general medicines that require caution for youth, as designated by the Korean Pharmaceutical Association. Active ingredients in sleep aids, such as diphenhydramine and doxylamine, can paralyze neural transmission in the brain when overdosed, resulting in delirium or hallucinations. They may also cause permanent damage requiring lifelong dialysis. Acetaminophen, found in antipyretic analgesics, is a substance often used in suicide attempts by adolescents and requires particular caution. In addition, more than 20 other ingredients are classified as dangerous substances.

There are growing concerns that the unchecked sale of potentially lethal drugs at warehouse-style pharmacies could fuel not only teenage drug poisoning, but also widespread drug misuse in society. A representative from the Korean Pharmaceutical Association warned, "Medicines should only be taken when necessary for treating illnesses, but the structure of warehouse-style pharmacies encourages bulk purchases as if they were snacks, inevitably leading to pathological issues. Especially amid mounting concerns about youth misuse, this could pressure children into a 'medicine-taking society.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.