The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 5:36 p.m. ET

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A federal judge sentenced two men to prison Wednesday for selling a powerful cough syrup drug known for its mind-altering effects over the Internet, leading to the overdose deaths of five teenagers.

Jess A. Johnson and Robert R. Denman, both 31, received sentences of more than six years each after pleading guilty in January to introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. They sold a concentrated form of the chemical dextromethorphan, known as DXM.

Johnson and Denman apologized at the hearing to families of the teens, who were from Florida, Washington and Virginia.

Neither man faces federal charges in the deaths, but they could face state charges.

Investigators estimate the pair made about $70,000 selling DXM before their Internet business, Chemical API, was shut down.

The Web site had noted that the DXM was not intended for human consumption, but prosecutors said the men knew their customers were buying it for its mind-altering effects. They also violated federal law by shipping it without information about safe dosage levels or other warnings, prosecutors said.

DXM is approved by the FDA for use in over-the-counter cough suppressant medications. Excessive doses can cause hallucinations, brain damage, seizures or death.

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