The Household Medicine Chest Presents Yet Another Dangerous Drug of Abuse: Dextromethorphan

When a child stays awake with a cough, a mother may feel she is providing good care by giving the child cough syrup so the child can rest. If that syrup contains the drug Dextromethorphan and if that syrup is stored in the family medicine chest between uses, it presents yet another threat to the sobriety of our young people.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is currently sold in cough suppressants Drixoral and Robitussin. It has become a fairly common drug of abuse among young people in America. When abused by taking a higher-than-prescribed amount, the drug has a euphoric effect. At higher doses, intense euphoria and hallucinations may occur. People familiar to the abuser may not be recognized. Very high doses have led to temporary psychosis. DXM abuse even has its own slang term: “robotripping.”

In 2004, more than 12,000 people visited Emergency Rooms due to DXM abuse. Nearly half the people of them were 12 to 20 years old. Fourteen percent of those treated for DXM abuse were attempting suicide.

“One of the most important things a parent can do to prevent drug abuse is to lock up all prescription or over the counter drugs in the home,” stated Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions and Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor at Narconon Arrowhead. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “If a young person can be prevented from drug abuse in their younger years through drug education and by making drugs impossible to get around the home, they have a much greater chance of not becoming substance abusers and not becoming addicts down the road. At Narconon, we replace the loss and pain of addiction with an enjoyable, productive life for 70 percent of our graduates, but it is much better to never start abusing drugs in the first place.”

The Narconon Arrowhead rehabilitation program uses a thorough detoxification program followed by counseling and life skills training to bring about a recovery from addiction to any drug, whether over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drug or alcohol. To find immediate help for someone who is having a problem with drugs or alcohol, contact Narconon’s free addiction consultation and referral helpline at 1-800-468-6933 or visit their website at www.stopaddiction.com. The Narconon program was founded in 1966 by William Benitez in Arizona State prison, and is based on the humanitarian works of L. Ron Hubbard. In more than 120 centers around the world, Narconon programs restore drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to a clean and sober lifestyle.