Robotripping' grows among younger teens

[C20H25N3O]

Robotripping' grows among younger teens

Candice Ferrette
The Journal News

Francine Krulak of Pelham got a startling call from the school nurse one morning two weeks ago.

Her 14-year-old son's blood pressure was skyrocketing, his pulse racing and he was "out of it," the nurse told her. "You have to come get him," Krulak recalled the nurse saying.

The worried mother jumped into her car and called the pediatrician on her way to the school. Her son, whom she doesn't want to name for fear of embarrassing him, later admitted he had taken 50 liquid gel caps of a common cold medicine to get high.

"I had no idea. He's 14 years old. I didn't think he would ever be doing something like that," Krulak said.

Her son went to the emergency room and is now getting counseling. Krulak now knows the practice is called "robotripping" - getting high on cold and cough medicines, such as Robitussin - and has gained popularity among teens and "tweens" in her relatively affluent community.

In the first 3 1/2 months of this year, 10 adolescents have been taken to local hospitals for detoxification after abusing cough medicines, said Dr. Thomas Caraccio, a toxicologist with the Long Island and Westchester Regional Poison and Drug Information Center.

Now, bans on some cough and cold medicines are being considered by Westchester County, some states and Congress. If Westchester enacts restrictions, it would become the third county in New York to have them, after Suffolk and Nassau on Long Island.

The active ingredient in the medicines is the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, or DXM, which can cause out-of-body sensations and hallucinations if ingested in large quantities. Public health officials say children as young as 11 years old are looking to the local drugstore or the bathroom medicine chest for the inexpensive, smokeless, odorless and legal over-the-counter drug.

Excessive amounts of DXM have caused vomiting, seizures, high blood pressure, blackouts, irregular heartbeat and even death.

Hospitalizations in Westchester for cold-medicine overdoses have quadrupled since 2000 among 13- to 19-year-olds, according to data from the Regional Poison and Drug Information Center, which fields voluntary calls from hospital emergency rooms.

That number is likely to be even higher because many cases go unreported, Caraccio said.

"This is a trend that's been happening in a lot of areas. This just shows you it's something that's happening in Westchester, too," Caraccio said.

At times, they are pairing it with other substances, such as beer, substance-abuse counselors say.

"They will go into a drugstore and buy them out of all the cough and cold medicine," said Dr. Abby Wasserman of St. Vincent's Westchester, a drug rehabilitation and mental hospital in Harrison.

"They'll chug-a-lug several bottles of the cough syrup and a lot of times take it with other alcohol - which is very dangerous," said Wasserman, who gives educational talks to parents and teachers on over-the-counter drugs.

DXM, a synthetic drug similar to morphine, is a narcotic with addictive potential. For some adolescents, it is a segue to prescription drug abuse in later years. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications have been on the rise among young people, Wasserman said.

"Mostly it's because they think it is safer than the street drugs like marijuana and acid," Wasserman said. "Parents need to know that the problem is right in their medicine cabinets."

A Westchester survey found that 5 percent to 9 percent of 3,241 middle-schoolers reported having used cough syrup or cold medicine to get high, said Student Assistance Services, which provides drug and alcohol counseling to the county's school districts.

Educators added robotripping to the drug- and alcohol-abuse program held at local schools for parents, teachers and police, said Tom Meier, director of the county's Drug Prevention and STOP DWI Program.

Westchester lawmakers are considering enacting a law that would limit the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines with DXM. One proposal would ban the sale to anyone under 18; another might limit the number of bottles a person could buy at one time.

Nilesh Patel, owner of Trottas Pharmacy on Halstead Avenue in Harrison, said he hasn't noticed teenagers buying up cold or cough medicines. The store's inventory program identifies when shelves need to restocked every time an item is purchased.

"If someone were to come in and buy three or four bottles at a time, a red flag would definitely go up," Patel said.

But, he said, he would comply with any county legislation that might require putting products with DXM behind the counter.

It may mean retraining his staff and reorganizing his store, as he had to do when a requirement to put Sudafed behind counters took effect three years ago because it can be used to make crystal meth.

"Even though it would be a burden, I would do it for the safety of the community. ... I'm sure some stores just don't have the space behind the counter to put the equivalent of 8 feet of store shelves back there," Patel said.

Krulak, the Pelham mother, said that since her son's episode with robotripping, she has spoken to other parents in the area who have had similar experiences. She was surprised to find out how many other children have tried doing what her son did. She would definitely support any kind of legislation, although she also thinks there are other places where teens are going to get drugs, such as the Internet.

"I caught him smoking pot in the house, and I told him he couldn't do that. He thought he was doing a good thing by doing something legal (by taking cough medicine)," Krulak said. "It's legal, but it's still dangerous," she said.

(sourece)

[Hot Rod Zoidberg]

"I had no idea. He's 14 years old. I didn't think he would ever be doing something like that," Krulak said.

Ohhh my kids perfect, teenagers never use drugs!!

...inexpensive... drug

I hope they are joking right?

Excessive amounts of DXM have caused vomiting, seizures, high blood pressure, blackouts, irregular heartbeat and even death.

More bullshit please. Anyone I have known who does dextromethorphan has had their hearts race faster on normal doses of caffeine. Death would be from CCC's anti-histamine shit or combinination with other drugs like MAOI's that will cause dangerous hypertension.

At times, they are pairing it with other substances, such as beer, substance-abuse counselors say.

Most of the real dangers of 'DXM' come from irresponsible polydrug use such as this, it would be safer to say alcohol is much much worse for your health.

"They'll chug-a-lug several bottles of the cough syrup...

I am sorry but this made me laugh a bit

DXM, a synthetic drug similar to morphine, is a narcotic with addictive potential. For some adolescents, it is a segue to prescription drug abuse in later years.

Is a semi-synthetic drug which is the dextrorotatory enantiomer of levorphanol which is the laevorotary stereoisomer of the synthetic drug morphinan and dextromethorphan posses no affinity for any opioid receptors, it is a NMDA antagonist. Far from narcotic.

Anything that brings a certain degree of pleasure but someone wants more can be said to increase behaivior to seek out other drugs, this can be said for alcohol or masturbation.

"Mostly it's because they think it is safer than the street drugs like marijuana and acid," Wasserman said. "Parents need to know that the problem is right in their medicine cabinets."

First you know what is in legal medicinal products as opposed to street drugs, second marijuana and LSD are safe on their own not generally causes death, perhaps panic but not going to destroy your body and mind, probably the opposite.

Westchester lawmakers are considering enacting a law that would limit the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines with DXM. One proposal would ban the sale to anyone under 18; another might limit the number of bottles a person could buy at one time.

I agree with the 18 year old proposal. Young kids should not be using psychadelics.

[§əāИ ΜĉĐə√îŧŦ]

its not cheap really lol.900mg or 3 robo gel bottles is like 15 bucks. lol
and all these stories are the same.some dumb kid does dxm in public and people freak out.keep the drug to yer rooms. :thumbsup:

[coatrackofsatan]

Originally posted by HoodHop@May 6 2008, 05:02 PM
its not cheap really lol.900mg or 3 robo gel bottles is like 15 bucks. lol
and all these stories are the same.some dumb kid does dxm in public and people freak out.keep the drug to yer rooms. :thumbsup:

these kids probably get it 5 finger discount

[JitterBob]

Fucking narcs



Everytime I read one of these stories they mention SEIZURES, that is NOT a typical overdose symptom or symptom at all to my knowledge. I have done a LOT of dxm and NEVER had a seizure, nor has any of my dex head friends. To my knowledge, nobody here has either... I'm sure there will be SOMEBODy who sais "Oh my friend had a seizure once!!!" but like come the FUCK on, this is sOOOO uncommon.... They just mention seizures to make the drug sound more dangerous!!!

When my grandmother foudn out about my doing DXM she read online it coul dgive you SEIZURES and that's the one thing she would harp on allll the time. She was always afraid of me having a SEIZURE.... fucking stupid... The whole "seizure" thing is a myth in my opinion. If somebody has a seizure I think there had to have been something else that contributed, a previous condition, something.

[vapor]

I NEED TO POINT THIS OUT FIRST PLEASE:

"I caught him smoking pot in the house, and I told him he couldn't do that. He thought he was doing a good thing by doing something legal (by taking cough medicine)," Krulak said. "It's legal, but it's still dangerous," she said.

he was smoking cannabis. about as begign as a recreational substance can get. you tell him " NONE OF THAT!" he does dxm instead. "NONE OF THAT EITHER!"

what the fuck are you expecting next? i have a whole list mrs. dumb shit. i dont give a fuck who's looking or cares. think realistically about your son's situation and his feelings.

"They'll chug-a-lug several bottles of the cough syrup

LMFAO.....

that we will.. that we will..

..inexpensive... drug

hard times you know.. unfortunately not every "tween" has the afghani/bush smack hook up (yet) so dxm is the next cheapest hit for bored ignorant suburban kids.

this can be said for alcohol or masturbation.

that they can, but unfortunately the general public is embarrassed about their own legal vices..

the fact that people can in fact accept many of these substances into their lives and moderate them without great physical or psychological harm completely mind fucks most so-called affluent people.

[Metal0321]

I agree with the 18 year old proposal. Young kids should not be using psychadelics.

Age shouldn't be a determination for maturity.

I actually happened to meet someone who's 28 and acts like he's 13.

I was dosing up DXM at 13 very responsibly.. but on the other hand.. I was also doing various other stupid things (like huffing butane out of a can.. and the good ole cans of air duster..eek..:X) that aren't even that controversial, but WAYYYYYYY more dangerous.

[Keith's Rain]

I have done a LOT of dxm and NEVER had a seizure, nor has any of my dex head friends. To my knowledge, nobody here has either...

there are different types of seizures. ive had points in a trip where my body would have violent flopping-fish-like spasms every few seconds, and if I tried to mentally supress them, I felt like my brain was being shocked, until my body could convulse and then my head would feel relieved. And then a few seconds later, the same thing. That was usually on the comedowns or from high doses.

And it started to occur after years of use, not when I began 5 years ago.

[Hot Rod Zoidberg]

Originally posted by Metal0321@May 7 2008, 01:50 PM

Age shouldn't be a determination for maturity.

I actually happened to meet someone who's 28 and acts like he's 13.

I was dosing up DXM at 13 very responsibly.. but on the other hand.. I was also doing various other stupid things (like huffing butane out of a can.. and the good ole cans of air duster..eek..:X) that aren't even that controversial, but WAYYYYYYY more dangerous.

Maybe I should have said no lack of maturity type kids, my brother is 14 and he uses dextromehtorphan and is rather responsible with it, but most kids are idiotic and irresponsible and pop corcidrin.

Seizures are probably from poly-drug use be it prescription or recreation (I would assume a stimulant with dxm would cause a seizure?)

[dianne]

Originally posted by KeithParadox@May 7 2008, 02:48 PM

there are different types of seizures. ive had points in a trip where my body would have violent flopping-fish-like spasms every few seconds, and if I tried to mentally supress them, I felt like my brain was being shocked, until my body could convulse and then my head would feel relieved. And then a few seconds later, the same thing. That was usually on the comedowns or from high doses.

And it started to occur after years of use, not when I began 5 years ago.

Yeah, I'd think if someone was having seizures from it, they're either seizure prone (epileptic) and something triggered it (while on DXM, although the DXM could potentially be the cause too), or it's a sign of very long term abuse.


I've been using for ages now (7+ years), though very sporadically, and I have never once had a seizure.

I have had some "common" side effects, but who hasn't? :P


That chug-a-lug thing was really funny. I'm gonna say it to myself every time I down a bottle now.