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01-22-2005, 02:33 AM
Information on early dexers:
If This Be Heresy
Pike, James A. (1967).
New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN: none
Description: hardcover, xiv + 205 pages.
Contents: 8 chapters, index.
Excerpt(s): Research and discovery in the fields of anthropology and the history of religions have established that connected with most primitive religions has been the use of one or another of the many psychedelic drugs as part of the sacramental rites of the cult. This has been found to be true of various American Indian tribes and of the primitive stages of Oriental religions. Too, there is some reason to think that the oil of anointing and shew bread of primitive Judaism was psychedelic in nature. And now one of the prominent developments of our times has been the discovery (or rediscovery) of a variety of consciousness-expanding drugs and the rapid increase in their use by individuals, alone or in groups, in an explicitly religious context or apart from such. Many persons have been able to describe their 'trips' and articulate to a degree the meaning such trips have had for them — whether on LSD, psyilocybin, a species of Mexican mushroom, mescaline, peyote, romilar, marijuana, or hashish.
Also from 1967, from Ramparts magazine:
"Lady Day's way wasn't the way of the new generation, Chester Anderson will be quick to tell you, because she was on 'body' drugs. Whatever else body drugs - heroin, opium, barbiturates, alcohol, tranquilizers -may do, they eventually turn you off, and contemporary heads like to be turned on - i.e., senses intensified, stimulated rather than depressed. 'Head' drugs, which do the latter, are both cheaper and easier to get than body drugs, and come in approximately 18 varieties in three different classifications - natural drugs like marijuana, hashish, peyote, morning glory seeds, Hawaiian wood rose seeds, and certain types of Mexican mushrooms; artificial psychedelics like mescaline, LSD, psilocybin and psilocin, and whatever the ingredient is that makes Romilar cough syrup so popular with young heads; and synthetic stimulants which, used in large doses by heads, are known as 'speed' - dexedrine, benzedrine and methedrine."
Again, from 1967:
TOXIC PSYCHOSIS DUE TO DEXTROMETHORPHAN
A 23 year-old male, a well-known drug addict, recently presented with a toxic psychosis due to taking 20 tablets of "Romilar" (dextromethorphan), which he bought from a chemist. This was characterized by hyperactive behavior, extreme pressure of thought, marked visual and auditory hallucinations, and association of sounds with colours (synaesthesia). This experience was likened to that experienced when he was under the influence of L.S.D.
As this substance is readily available from chemists, it is felt that general practitioners should be aware of similar toxic psychoses which may occur with large doses of this drug.
Angus Dodds, Psychiatrist-in-Charge.
Rozelle Psychiatric Clinic, N.S.W.
E. Revai, Registrar in Psychiatry.
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney.
Citation:
Dodds A, Revai E (1967) Toxic psychosis due to dextromethorphan. Med J Aust 2:231.
From 1968:
Apropos of a case of voluntary medicinal intoxication with dextromethorphan hydrobromide
Annales Medico-Psychologiques
Volume 1, Issue 3, 1968, Pages 447-451
Bornstein, S.; Czermak, M.; Postel, J.
from abstract: "The case of a 23-yr-old female patient who used dextromethorphan, a synthetic antitussive morphine derivative, for hallucinogenic purposes revealed different elements of an induced psychosis, similar to those described in 1948 by Delay and Gerard in mescaline intoxication: bodily disturbances, strangeness felt vis-a-vis the world and objects, loss of identity and self-regulation with respect to people and things, auditory perception modifications, spatial and temporal estimation, and hallucinatory manifestations, etc."
Also:
"‘In 1967, when I was a freshman in college and had never imbibed cough mixture in sufficient quantities to place me among the illuminati , there came one day into my possession one tab of acid and one bottle of Romilar,' he wrote. ‘As was my wont at the time, I threw the I Ching to find out which drug I should take. When I asked it what would happen if I took the acid that day, it tossed back a section called "Inner Truth." When I asked what would happen if I drank the Romilar, I got the passage on ‘Confusion.' I took the tab of acid, and did not get off a fraction of a flash. The moral of my tale is simple: Confusion is the only thing left which makes any sense.'
"The Block Drug Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, introduced Romilar in the late 1950s to replace codeine based cough syrups, which those in search of illicit highs had begun to abuse. Romilar turned out to be useful for the same purposes thanks to its key ingredient, dextromethorphan. The synthetic cough suppressant is chemically analogous to morphine, but rather than prompting opiate-like effects, it acts as a powerful psychedelic when consumed in quantities of six to eight ounces or more. Manufacturers discovered this in the late 1960s and began to lace their cough medicines with chemicals designed solely to induce nausea, but while drinking a bottle became stomach-churning adventure, the psychedelic trip was undiminished.
"'Romilar is the ultimate street drug, ‘ Lester wrote. ‘Why? Because every street has a drugstore on it, and every drugstore has a shelf loaded with you-know-what.' Dextromethorphan made him feel both numb and jittery. ‘You call it a "stone" or a "high" because it changes your consciousness and your physical sensations. But it changes them to emptiness – a total vacuum, a total absence of self.' Like many psychedelics it could enhance the experience of listening to music, producing synaesthesia, the sensation of ‘seeing' sounds as colors."
(DeRogatis, Let it Blurt, pp. 37-8)
...
In regard to Robitussin, I believe there were varieties available in the 60s and 70s that contained codeine.
"As anesthesiologists, we want to help family members not only recognize the signs of Robo tripping but also to ensure that children are aware of the danger inherent in this type of drug abuse."
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