News / Education
Cold Medicine Drug Abuse
A person can get high to the point of hallucinating by taking doses larger than the recommended amounts
A person can get high to the point of hallucinating by taking doses larger than the recommended amounts. The extra large dose can also cause respiratory and cardiac arrest. Long-term substance abuse can cause liver damage and decreased brain function that one ex-user described as "never feeling like I would be normal again."
The desired effect can only be achieved after an extremely large dose is taken, and the drug which causes the effect is most often not the primary ingredient, exposing the user to dangerous amounts of stimulants and acetaminophen. Acetaminophen has been established to cause liver damage in high doses.
Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) replaced the narcotic codeine with dextromethorphan as an over-the-counter over-the -counter cough suppressant in the 1970s, teens were simply guzzling down cough syrup for a quick buzz.
Over the years, teens discovered that they still could get high by taking large doses of any over-the-counter medicine containing dextromethorphan (also called DXM).The drugs are as easy to get as they are to steal from a drug store or buy over the counter. Those too young to buy them can probably find a supply at home.
Most parents and children are unaware of the severe risk of using cold and cough medicines to get high. Parents are encouraged to keep a close eye on the drugs and limit the amount that can be found in a household in order to minimize drug abuse.
Above all, talk to your kids about drug abuse and explain that even though taking lots of a cough or cold medicine seems harmless, it's not. Even when it comes from inside the family medicine cabinet or the corner drugstore, when taken in large amounts DXM is a drug that can be just as deadly as any sold on a seedy street corner. And even if you don't think your teens are doing it, chances are they know kids who are.
Narconon of Georgia is a Non-Traditional Drug Rehab program.
