News >> Plain cold medicine becomes 'new high'

[PeoplesMind]

In the seemingly endless search for cheap highs from which spring any number of low-rent forms of drug abuse comes the latest over-the-counter fad.

The drug being used is Dextromethorphan hydrobromide (DXM).

It is commonly found in non-prescription cold medicines such as the cough syrup Robitussin DM (15 mg) and the cold pill Coricidin HBP (30 mg).

As with other street drug usage, there are slang terms for each behavior utilized by users to describe what they are doing.

Taking a higher dose of Robitussin, Tussin or any of its counterparts containing DXM is referred to as "Robo-trippin'," while taking a deliberate overdose of Coricidin or "happy pills" is called "skittling." Coricidin comes in small, red pills that resemble the popular candy, Skittles.

Abuse of DXM is not entirely new. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency has been aware of DXM abuse for many years, according to the Web site, Drug Free AZ (www.drugfreeaz.com).

Taken in large quantities, DXM can have effects similar to LSD. Users can experience hallucinations, vivid dreams and a feeling of being outside of one's body.

Signs to look for are a host of the usual suspects: dilated pupils, impaired judgment, loss of coordination, slurred speech, dizziness, nausea and increased heart rate.

And while cold medicine may seem like an unlikely place to find real danger, some of the more damaging effects of DXM abuse can include respiratory distress, high blood pressure, kidney damage, liver damage, seizures, brain damage and even death.

According to high school resource officers Trish Higgins at Thomas Jefferson High School and Chris Hite at Abraham Lincoln High School, the abuse of cold medicine does not appear to be rampant in Council Bluffs schools; but that silver cloud comes with a dark lining.

"In my dealings, I haven't seen much cold medicine," Hite said. "Meth is still the drug of choice."

Hite said he had heard of skittling and the use of Coricidin. It was a point of interest among some students who had heard about the practice. But the use of Robitussin was not a habit with which he was familiar.

"I get on the Internet all the time to try and keep one step ahead," Hite said. "The dangerous thing with Coricidin is that it has acetaminophen in it. Kids take a large number at a pop, and it can cause the liver to shut down."

Hite said he had no idea how Coricidin came to be abused, but said he knows that coming down from DXM can be as hard to tolerate as the harmful side effects.

"The high is high, but the low is really low," Hite said. "It can cause really bad depression and low self-esteem. You take a kid who has a problem already, and it just makes it that much worse.

"What we've noticed with the few kids we've dealt with up here who've had it is they are very vulnerable to peer pressure to begin with and started doing it because someone pushed them into doing it."

Hite said that usually straight kids aren't going to suddenly be turned on to a drug like this, though it is much easier to access and experiment with because it is legal and often available in the home.

At-risk kids are often the ones experimenting with alcohol, marijuana and drug-mixing already.

"A lot of kids aren't just using that type of pill alone," Hite said. "They're mixing with alcohol, marijuana and meth. You start mixing drugs in you and anything can happen."

Higgins attributed the willingness of teens to experiment in this way to the sense of invulnerability many kids have at that age.

"When you are at that age, you just don't think anything bad can happen to you," Higgins said. "But the body can only take so much abuse, even at that age."

Higgins is in her first year at T.J. and said she hasn't come across DXM abuse in the hallways and classrooms that are her beat, either.

"Weed seems to be becoming very popular again," Higgins said, noting that marijuana is more dangerous than ever. "It's often laced with other things and does plenty of damage even when it's not laced with other things."

Higgins said she is always concerned that once a drug becomes news, it is at that point that kids start to take notice.

"Once they hear about it in the media, they become curious," she said, noting that parents need to stay one step ahead.

So where does the alarm come in? Why is there national media attention paid to cold medicine abuse when there seems to be no corresponding epidemic?

The kids at risk aren't going from caffeine and candy to Coricidin, that's true. The at-risk kids are the ones who already have identified substance abuse problems who are looking for alternative ways to get high.

Reva Evans is a substance abuse therapist for Family Service in Council Bluffs. She said that in her experience, the majority of skittling cases have been identified privately by parents who found themselves at home with a child tripped out on cold medicine.

"The majority of the skittling cases I've seen have been overdoses," Evans said. "Parents were concerned after a trip to the hospital where the client was extremely paranoid or freaking out."

Evans said that it is usually at that point that parents and doctors discover that the child has taken an overdose of Robitussin or Coricidin. Clients are often referred to Family Service at that point.

It is rare that someone actually abuses cold medicine as their drug of choice, said Evans, but it does happen.

"You will occasionally have the client who prefers Coricidin because of its effects, but that is not the common trend," Evans said. "I have seen it most often with kids who have alcohol and drug problems already. The first time I heard about Robitussin was at a previous job at a youth shelter for kids with drug problems. They couldn't get anything else, so they were stealing Robitussin to trip on."

In addition to "freaking out" or becoming paranoid, losing feeling in one's legs can occur as well. The individual side effects can be as random as the people who take it and the brands they take.

Evans agreed with Hite that the after effects of DXM and cold medicines include extreme lows, depression and lethargy lasting for several days.

"The extreme physical effects would suggest that physical dependency is possible, but we just don't know how it affects the body."

Pharmacists are often on the front lines in any community battle against over-the-counter and prescription drug abuse.

"If DXM were being abused, we'd notice it," Baker said. "We haven't seen that. In our case, we pretty much know 99 percent of the people who come in here; and we have a small enough inventory that we can see what's selling and how fast it's moving."

DXM is available in 140 over-the-counter products. The letters "DM" or the word "Tuss" is usually an indication, but a quick glance at the active ingredients would reveal the presence of Dextromethorphan hydrobromide.

READ ARTICLE : http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=...id=507134&rfi=6

Once again, the media blows it by failing to make the obvious and very important distinction between products containing DXM as the only active ingredient and that other crap that we all know to stay far away from. Some mention was made of aceteminophen (sp?), but as I understand it, that's not even the worst ingredient in Coricdin anyway. If I weren't concerned about being branded a "druggie," I'd be all over the media for their failure to disseminate truth and useful information instead of propaganda, but I'm just too gutless to take a public stand on this.

I just couldn't resist another reply: Yeah (paraphrasing here), "the weed is often laced with other stuff." Right. How the hell does she know anyway?? Proven untrue the DEA's own analysis. O.K., I'm making that up, but I've smoked quite a bit of marijuana in my life (from many different states and countries) and not once did I ever experience anything that would indicate what I was smoking was adulterated. Neither have I ever heard anecdotal evidence (except for some stuff about PCP laced weed back in the 70s) about marijuana being adulterated. What's the point anyway.

And while cold medicine may seem like an unlikely place to find real danger, some of the more damaging effects of DXM abuse can include respiratory distress, high blood pressure, kidney damage, liver damage, seizures, brain damage and even death

i thought that was just from ccc's

while taking a deliberate overdose of Coricidin or "happy pills" is called "skittling."

yeah they'll be really happy when their liver fails or they go into a coma

[WarBird69]

I know drinking syrup is hard on the kidneys and liver. Lots of stuff to break down and get rid of that your body doesn't really want! I work in a lab and have access to chemistry analizers. I've noticed after dex'ing most of my liver enzymes and markers are a little elevated for a few days.
I'm curious as to what effect high doses of cough syrup has on the basic urinalysis tests (like would glucose be detected in urine post consumption of syrup?) Maybe I should do a little study... :chug:

[EvS]

"I get on the Internet all the time to try and keep one step ahead," Hite said. "The dangerous thing with Coricidin is that it has acetaminophen in it. Kids take a large number at a pop, and it can cause the liver to shut down."

DEAR EVERYBODY,

STOP BEING SO DAMN STUPID.

LOVE,
EVS

[friendofthedevil]

"The high is high, but the low is really low," Hite said. "It can cause really bad depression and low self-esteem. You take a kid who has a problem already, and it just makes it that much worse.

Uh. . .DXM is not a drug that has a bad come-down, in my experience. Coming down from a psychedelic is actually a good experience, since you often have so many new insights to share. Perhaps he has confused "dextromethorphan hydrobromide" with "heroin."

"Weed seems to be becoming very popular again," Higgins said, noting that marijuana is more dangerous than ever. "It's often laced with other things and does plenty of damage even when it's not laced with other things."

Apart from a (temporary) decrease in lung capacity, I was not aware that herb has been proven to have any "dangers." Furthermore, laced weed is VERY RARE. I've only possessed laced weed (with PCP) once in my life, and anyone who wasn't brain-dead could tell it was laced--it was covered in whitish chemicals, tasted funny, and caused us to see stars and tunnels and stuff. The whole myth of the innocent young person who is corrupted by being given hard drugs against their will is just that--a myth.

is the higher quantity of articles posted here indicative of more dxm news stories (due to media copycatting/piggy backing/FUding/fear mongering)

or are the posters doing better at finding and posting these articles, and the number of them is the same?

[WarBird69]

Originally posted by hatd0g@Jan 19 2004, 07:32 PM
is the higher quantity of articles posted here indicative of more dxm news stories (due to media copycatting/piggy backing/FUding/fear mongering)

or are the posters doing better at finding and posting these articles, and the number of them is the same?

More media attention. It really burns me up too...

[levomethorphan]

There is no reason for dealers to lace their marijuana product. Marijuana is the cheapest illicit drug I can think of. If they are looking for something to cut it with, they can use oregano or something like that. Also, penalties for marijuana are so slight compared to other drugs. Under Federal Law, it takes 100 kilos of marijuana to trigger a 5-year sentence, while 5 grams of crack or speed will trigger the same sentence. Why risk stiffer penalties and higher costs? Weed is only laced if you want it that way (and are willing to pay more)