Featured Articles

The abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications is a growing problem among both adults and young people. A March 10 article on the website of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reports on efforts to fight a rising prevalence of cough medicine abuse among teens in Victoria, British Columbia:

Teenagers in Victoria looking for an easy, legal high, have started downing cough medicine, with at least five overdosing in the past two weeks, according to the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

Workers at Victoria's Specialized Youth Detox centre are getting daily calls from parents, relatives and teachers as 14- to 18-year-olds swallow products containing dextromethorphan (DM or DXM).

"This is such a new thing for us," said Raegan Scott-Haspect, co-ordinator at the youth detox centre where teenagers trying to break addictions from crack cocaine, alcohol and marijuana are the norm.

Only two weeks ago, Grade 9 student Sarah Hackett started the Facebook group "DXM Is Not Cool!" after her friends began popping up to two dozen pills at a time.

Labels: over-the-counter drug abuse, cough medicine

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

In response to increasing reports of kids using cough medicine to get high, school officials in Salem, Mass., plan to film a one-hour program to warn and educate parents.

The problem centers on cough and cold remedies like Coricidin that contain the ingredient Dextromethorphan, also called DXM, according to police and information on the KidsHealth.org Web site, provided by the DanversCares prevention coalition. Kids call the practice "dexing" or "robotripping." [Source: Salem News]

High doses of DXM can cause confusion, impaired judgment, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, seizures and even death. The planned hour-long program will include a roundtable discussion with high school officials, police, and a substance abuse doctor.

Labels: over-the-counter drug abuse, cough medicine, prescription-drug-abuse

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments