3 teens overdose on cough remedies

MARION -- A near-tragedy was averted this week when three 15-year-olds were taken to the hospital emergency room for drug overdoses after swallowing enough cough pills and cold syrup to be deadly.

Marion police Major Tom Robbins said he thinks the youths were simply trying to get a buzz from the over-the-counter drugs. All three recovered from the early Tuesday morning incident and were expected to be released later in the week, police said.

Police responded to a 9-1-1 call made from a northwest Marion home at just after midnight on Tuesday. The boys were at one of the youths' grandmother's house were they shared seven bottles of pills and two bottles of liquid of the generic brand of Robitussin, called Tussin, according to the police report.

The youths have not been charged and are not being named by The Marion Star. No information was available from Marion General Hospital where they were treated.

Police reported a witness said all three of the youths had smoked marijuana that evening. The report also detailed the confiscation of a glass pipe and a bag containing 5.4 grams of marijuana, but no details on drug tests were available at press time.

Larry Babich, an assistant prosecutor with the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, said Thursday he has received the report, however no information on possible charges the youths or others face was available. Officials are also looking for the person who sold the youths the marijuana, according to the report.

Pharmacist Don Wiley of the Marion Prescription Center confirmed combining over-the-counter cold medications with other drugs is one way users aim to prolong a high, but warned combining cold medicine with other drugs can be deadly.

Wiley said high doses of the drugs found in cough medicine, such as Dextromethorphan or DXM, can cause hallucinations as well as drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.

"Taking a bottle of Robitussin, it can just burn your stomach," he said.

He said parents can look for warning signs that their children are using cough medicine to get high such as anxiety when the high is on or lethargy when it's gone. He said the symptoms of drug use are so profound that they would probably clearly exceed typical teen angst.

He said the reason the problem is growing is because of easy access to the drug.

"You can walk into a gas station and get Robitussin," he added. "The problem's out there."

Wiley said youths are simply buying what's available to them to get high.

"They can buy this. They can't buy beer," he said.

A Dec. 29, 2003 USA TODAY article reports at least five deaths have occurred involving the use of cold medicine, which has become popular in the past four to five years. Robitussin is one of those commonly used because of the DXM.

Another reason many youths are opting to get high on Robitussin is because there is no maximum to how much can be purchased, whereas drugs such as Sudafed have a limit, Wiley said. Even if there were a limit, there could be ways around it.

"We've got eight drug stores in Marion," Wiley said. "They could go to all eight of them in one day and get a bottle of Robitussin from each one."

Reporter Jillian Daley: 740-375-5152 or [email protected]

DXM dangers:

# Dextromethorphan, also called DXM, is found in more than 120 non-prescription cough and cold medicines, including Robitussin, Coricidin HBP, Vicks NyQuil and Vicks Formula 44. Other facts:

# Youths' nicknames for DXM: Robo, Skittles, Triple C's, Rojo, Dex, Tussin, Vitamin D. DXM abuse is called "Robotripping" or "Tussing." Users might be called "syrup heads" or "robotards."

# Symptoms of abuse include sweating; high body temperature; dry mouth; dry, itchy or flaky skin; blurred vision; hallucinations; delusions; nausea; stomach pain; vomiting; irregular heartbeat; high blood pressure; numbness in toes and fingers; red face; headache; loss of consciousness.

# How much is too much: A normal dose of DXM is 15 to 30 milligrams. Mind-altering effects can occur at doses as low as 100 milligrams, but many abusers consume enough pills or syrup (say, half a 12-ounce bottle) to result in a dose of 240-360 milligrams.

# Its status: The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies DXM as a "drug of concern" because of its potential for misuse, but there are no legal restrictions on buying the drug.

Sources: National Institutes of Health, Drug Enforcement Administration. From the Dec. 29, 2003 USA TODAY article by Donna Leinwand: "Youths risk death in latest drug abuse trend"

Link: http://www.marionstar.com/news/stories/200...ws/1812963.html

[deadevilfrog]

"Taking a bottle of Robitussin, it can just burn your stomach," he said.

Um yeah, that explains that furnace I have in my gut from the tons of dmx I have consumed.

misinformation!!!

[DXM User]

They ask how much is too much --- and then they don't show the lethal dosage thresh-hold!

ASSHOLES!

Originally posted by DXM User@Dec 31 2004, 11:45 PM
They ask how much is too much --- and then they don't show the lethal dosage thresh-hold!

ASSHOLES!

What else is new. Dex'ers are always wrong no matter what happens. IMO, someone got scared and called 911 unless they really did take too much.

-Ian

[K-ParAdoX]

Near tragedy, my ass.

[Supernaut]

I must admit, this guy is the best anti-DXM propagandaist Ive read. But he still makes some major mistakes like. :

"syrup (say, half a 12-ounce bottle) to result in a dose of 240-360 milligrams."

as well as suggesting that kids do it because they cant buy enough pseudofed.

and they completly omited the dangers of other active ingredients.

[KathrynCoagula]

All three recovered from the early Tuesday morning incident and were expected to be released later in the week, police said

Can you imagine what these kids had to go through?


Thats some bullshit.

[Sgt.Pilcher]

Originally posted by drdªv€@Dec 31 2004, 09:40 PM
The report also detailed the confiscation of a glass pipe and a bag containing 5.4 grams of marijuana, but no details on drug tests were available at press time.

Police pinchers.

[Blue Bear]

Dextromethorphan, also called DXM, is found in more than 120 non-prescription cough and cold medicines, including Robitussin, Coricidin HBP, Vicks NyQuil and Vicks Formula 44

[non dexxer reading this] !@!! WOW IM GONNA GO BUY SOME NOW!!! [/non dexxer reading this]

psh they shoulda said.. "oh yeah and ccc can kill you.. :thumbsup: have fun"