Teens using over-counter cough syrup to get high

Gannett News Service ^ | 12/30/03

[Holly_P]

Robitussin and Coricidin are becoming popular recreational drugs nationwide with at least five deaths reported in the past two years, but Tucson drugstores and doctors say they see no problem here.

Emergency rooms and schools across the nation are reporting that waves of youths are overdosing on nonprescription cough and cold medicines widely available in drugstores and supermarkets. The dozens of overdoses in the past two years - including at least five deaths in which the abuse of over-the-counter medicines was a factor - reflect how medicines such as Robitussin and Coricidin are becoming more popular as recreational drugs for kids as young as 12, police and doctors say.

[max_rpf]

I saw a guy in HS strip naked in a snow storm and scratch most of the skin off his back on this stuff. It can be very powerful...

[farmfriend]

Those that want to will find a way.

[Pikachu_Dad]

My 4 year old nephew got high on this stuff. The doctor accidentally prescribed the adult dosage for the cough syrup instead of the childs dosage.

While researching the medication, I found this drug abusers web site.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm.shtml

[MattAMiller]

They called it Roboing when I was in High School.

[xrp]

Quick! We better outlaw all this stuff!

[DefCon]

Next thing you know, they'll be sniffing model airplane glue.

[speedy]

Right you are. Somewhere out there is a kid experimenting with Pepto-Bismol and Vick's Vapo-Rub.

[whereasandsoforth]

News: Two people die in a pool of water not prescribed by doctor! Two others die from heart ailments not recognized by the AMA. More to follow...

[SShultz460]

We used to do this 10 years ago...called it RoboTripping

[DBrow]

Coricidin is quite toxic in large doses! There have been lots of health problems from this "cold medicine" used as a legal high. If you are a parent you should learn about this and teach your kids what the risks are.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=5903

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=20821

DXM has been a "recreational drug" for some time now; there are websites where you can purchase Dextromethorphan in gram quantities. It is exempt from narcotics scheduling by law. People get in trouble when they try OTC preparations in doses high enough to cause the mental effects they are looking for.

Not a safe drug, worth knowing the details because it is so easy to get ahold of.

[Hacksaw]

Quick! We better outlaw all this stuff!

Hmmm - it's legal and people still abuse it. Looks like that angle of legalization is a non starter.

[DallasMike]

...when taken in heavy doses can produce hallucinations and a loss of motor control, much as PCP does.

Call me a stick-in-the-mud but being paralyzed and seeing huge purple spiders crawling on the wall just doesn't sound like a lot of fun.

[JoJo Gunn]

There was a kid back in the mid '70's we called "Romilar"....

[tet68]

Romilar and Estidil EC but you can't get that anymore,
we used to get Turpin hydrates from the sick bay.
Now if you really want to catch a buzz, get Renalginized
serious abusers drink nose drops.

Oops it's so easy to remember when you're straight.
Don't even drink beer any more.

Mankind will ALWAYS find a way to warp reality.

Hmmm feeling kinda sniffly, better go slug down some Nyquill, now what did I do with that duct tape?

[Dont Mention the War]

The acetaminophen alone in the cough syrup could blow out your liver, though anyone taking that much Coricidin would have far more immediate problems. PCP and ketamine is some of the nastiest stuff out there, so to get high on drugs that produce similar results is not the smartest idea in the world.

On a different tangent, I have to give a virtual smack to the author of this article for his or her complete lie that this is a new phenomenon.

[WackyKat]

I like to go out in the yard and spin around in circles while breathing real fast.

Man, what a high!

I heard the feds are setting up a "task force" to go after dopers like me, though

It seems some children are getting "hooked" on the "stuff", too

[Dont Mention the War]

Romilar and Estidil EC but you can't get that anymore, we used to get Turpin hydrates from the sick bay. Now if you really want to catch a buzz, get Renalginized

I've never heard of any of that stuff! How old are those drugs?

serious abusers drink nose drops.

Regular decongestant nose spray?

I have to admit I would have liked, just once, to have seen what the big deal was about Quaaludes.

[IndependentSouthernDemocrat]

We did a lot of robo during AIT while I was in the Army because beer and liqour was almost impossible to get. I recall trippin' on it, but also remember the miserable aftermaths. A good friend of mine from the Bronx introduced me and several others to robotrippin'. We all quit this after beer became more accessible. This is something that I do not reccomend to anyone else.

[boris]

This is not new; I encountered sites about Robitussin DM and "how to chug" sufficient quantities several years ago. Unfortunately the dose that gives "the effect" is very close to the fatal dose. Darwinism in action.