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motaman
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Chemical in cough syrup worrisome
#3047815 - 08/25/04 08:12 AM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/08/24/412ae68dcdc90
Chemical in cough syrup worrisome
By Jennifer Gzech Daily Illini (U. Illinois) August 24, 2004
(U-WIRE) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? After the death of Jon Frary last September, it was clear to many members of the Bloomington, Ill., community that something needed to be done to regulate the sale of cough medicine. Yes, cough medicine. Frary died of an accidental overdose of dextromethorphan, an ingredient found in over-the-counter cough suppressants. Teens attempt to get high by taking much larger than recommended doses of DXM in the form of over-the-counter cough syrup, tablets and gel caps. In high doses, DXM can produce hallucinogenic and dissociative effects.
Concerned parents around the country are pushing drug stores to move medicine with DXM behind the counter so sales can be monitored more closely, said Linda Frary, Jon's mother.
Because Jon's death was the result of ingestion of DXM in its pure form, Linda hopes her son's death will be a red flag to teens who think DXM is safe.
Recently, the Illinois State Medical Society recommended banning pure DXM. In the meantime, activists like Linda Frary say the only way to fight DXM abuse is to raise awareness among parents.
Products that contain DXM include such common brand names as Coricidin Cough and Cold Tablets, Dimetapp DM, Robitussin, Sudafed, Triaminic cough syrup and Vicks Nyquil LiquiCaps.
"Parents just are not aware that this is a drug kids are using," said LouAnn Lord, a certified alcohol and drug counselor and registered nurse. Lord said 2 to 3 percent of the teens she sees use DXM on a regular basis.
In the Champaign-Urbana area, Lord said high school students between the ages of 14 and 18 are the main users of recreational DXM. These students ingest large doses of cough suppressants in order to experience hallucinogenic effects. Lord said their product of choice is Corcidin.
There are different levels of hallucination that occur when using DXM, depending on the amount ingested. Students that are interested in reaching higher levels, or plateaus, tend to become hooked on cough medications, Lord said.
Lord also said that many teens are caught stealing bottles of cough syrup and boxes of cough and cold tablets. Two boxes of Corcidin, the typical amount needed to reach the first or second plateau, can cost up to $15.
Teens find out about DXM from their friends who have tried it, or by word of mouth, she said. She said it is more of an isolated activity, which is why there is not a lot of talk about DXM on the streets.
Kurt Hegeman, specialist at the Alcohol and Other Drug Office at McKinley Health Center, agrees. He said "robotripping," a popular slang term for using DXM, is a closet activity. He said most students that try it are alone in their rooms.
DXM abuse has been around for a long time, Hegeman said, but has never become a large enough problem to create a reaction from authorities.
"Basically, people know that it is happening, but it is not getting a lot of attention," he said.
A number of Web sites include information on DXM, recommending how much to take, suggesting other drugs to combine with DXM, instructing on how to extract DXM from cough medicines and even selling a powder form of DXM for snorting.
Jon Frary ordered pure DXM from one of these sites, recommended to him by a friend. Now his family has made it their mission to stop bulk DXM from being sold on the Internet. Heading this mission is Jon's uncle, Steve Welch.
Welch began the fight by enlisting the help of U.S. Representative Ray LaHood of Central Illinois to take the problem to the government. However, Welch said he is not having much luck.
"A big reason is that there have not been enough deaths resulting from DXM abuse," Welch said. "The government is interested in statistics and death. Until more people die from it, they are not willing to help."
Welch said the government is not willing to take DXM completely off the market because it would interfere with the pharmaceutical lobby. Welch said he does not want to see it banned, just not available in pure form.
Besides its availability on the Internet, another problem with pure DXM is that people are buying it in bulk, repackaging it in capsules and selling them.
"It's a new way to traffic drugs," Welch said. He said one reason why DXM is rising in popularity is because it is completely legal to buy and sell. He said the FDA controls certain substances, but has chosen not to control DXM. An FDA spokesman was unavailable for comment.
The other reason is that it is cheap. Welch said Jon Frary took 1,200 milligrams of pure DXM that he got from a Web site for about $2.80. He said that for $50, anyone with a credit card can order 12 grams of DXM from the Internet. Welch said that one bottle of extra-strength Robitussin contains 30 milligrams of DXM. Jon ingested the equivalent of 40 bottles.
The Illinois State Medical Society will present its position to the American Medical Association later this year. Until then, Welch is waiting for the government to take action.
"The government responds to the mass population," he said, "and until the mass population knows about DXM, nothing is going to happen."
Many parents, including Linda Frary, are patiently awaiting the day when bulk DXM will no longer be available to the general public.
"Everybody's life still goes on," she said. " But ours stopped as of Sept. 24, 2003."
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Twirling
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3048388 - 08/25/04 11:45 AM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
motaman said: The other reason is that it is cheap. Welch said Jon Frary took 1,200 milligrams of pure DXM that he got from a Web site for about $2.80. He said that for $50, anyone with a credit card can order 12 grams of DXM from the Internet. Welch said that one bottle of extra-strength Robitussin contains 30 milligrams of DXM. Jon ingested the equivalent of 40 bottles.
Uh, I think he means doses, not bottles, correct? I don't think a whole bottle would have only 30 milligrams when 30 milligrams would be the recommended dosage.
-------------------- The very nature of experience is ineffable; it transcends cognitive thought and intellectualized analysis. To be without experience is to be without an emotional knowledge of what the experience translates into. The desire for the understanding of what life is made of is the motivation that drives us all. Without it, in fear of the experiences what life can hold is among the greatest contradictions; to live in fear of death while not being alive.
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Aneglakya
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: Twirling]
#3048767 - 08/25/04 01:36 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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yeah that is seriously off.. How in the fuck could someone ingest 40 (FORTY!!!) BOttles of cough syrup!! SWIM Can barely down one! sounds like BS to me.
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stefan
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: Twirling]
#3048826 - 08/25/04 01:55 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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they're stupid, what thy mean is dosages. usual dosage is 30mg right for medicinal purposes...
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THE KRAT BARON
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3050345 - 08/25/04 08:16 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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What a load of BS. A friend of mine ended up in the E.R. after taking Coricidin Cough and Cold pills. It's not the DXM that caused his very near fatal O.D. , rather it was misinformation. He did not know the dangers of another active chemical "Chlorpheniramine Maleate" in the cough and cold pills. They want to see pure DXM taken off the net??? WHY? So these kids can down bottles of cough syrup/pills with chemicals in them that will cause their livers to fail??? Why not take the dangerous chemicals out of the cough medicine reducing the risk of fatal OD's and ER visits that happen all the time as a result of these chemicals. Pure DXM is fairly safe IMO, if dosages are properly measured of course.
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_info2.shtml
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baraka
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: THE KRAT BARON]
#3050617 - 08/25/04 09:05 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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I like how they tell you how many of there poisonous pills it takes to get high.... what the ???
I am not a fan of DXM tho, never tried it and do not want to. Except for its theuputic effect, which i believe is placebo or doesnt work on me.
-------------------- This is the only time I really feel alive.
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THE KRAT BARON
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: baraka]
#3050700 - 08/25/04 09:24 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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You know Baraka, I didn't even catch that the first time I read the article.. That really fucking pisses me off. They state in the article to eat two boxes of Coricidin Cough and Cold Pills. Two boxes of Coricidin Cough and Cold Pills is 16 pills. ONE Coricidn pill contains 4mg of Chlorpheniramine Maleate. 16 pills x 4mg = 64mg of Chlorpheniramine Maleate.
Quote:
We have seen recommendations that no more than 24 mg of CPM be taken in a day.
The quote is taken from Erowid...
My friend ate 18 CCC pills and ended up in the hospital with a near fatal OD, after going into a seizure and losing consciousness. These people truly have some nerve to post that in an article readily available to the masses.. They could have already been the cost to a near fatal OD or a fatal OD. I have no respect for these motherfuckers and I think I am going to personally contact them and let them know my feelings.
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Ravus
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3050883 - 08/25/04 10:17 PM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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Coricidin is not DXM. It pisses me off how many people assume it is, and judge DXM purely on that
DXM is awesome, but people need to learn their shit. Articles like these should be written by people who know what they're talking about
-------------------- So long as you are praised think only that you are not yet on your own path but on that of another.
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luckytriple6
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3051913 - 08/26/04 02:55 AM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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i hate misinformation more than anything, few days ago i had a guy telling me that all acid is just rat poison...if that were so it would be so much cheaper and easier to find...
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Twirling
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3053126 - 08/26/04 11:30 AM (19 years, 7 months ago) |
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What I love about these articles, is they say all this negative stuff about cough syrup, but provide no solution to replacing it. Even though I don't think DXM should be taken off the market, if you're going to demand that it's banned, you're going to have to have an effective replacment for cough suppression. Doesn't quite make sense.
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debianlinux
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: Twirling]
#3066812 - 08/29/04 08:55 PM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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FYI, there are 354mg DXM HBr in a single 4oz bottle of Robo Max-Cough. A number I could never forget..
Anyways, these guys have been very successful. The more prominent and better sites are down. Good luck ordering any DXM off the internet without some srious digging and probable price gouging.
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wrong
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: THE KRAT BARON]
#3072349 - 08/31/04 02:21 AM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
mattzdope said: You know Baraka, I didn't even catch that the first time I read the article.. That really fucking pisses me off. They state in the article to eat two boxes of Coricidin Cough and Cold Pills. Two boxes of Coricidin Cough and Cold Pills is 16 pills. ONE Coricidn pill contains 4mg of Chlorpheniramine Maleate. 16 pills x 4mg = 64mg of Chlorpheniramine Maleate.
Quote:
We have seen recommendations that no more than 24 mg of CPM be taken in a day.
The quote is taken from Erowid...
My friend ate 18 CCC pills and ended up in the hospital with a near fatal OD, after going into a seizure and losing consciousness. These people truly have some nerve to post that in an article readily available to the masses.. They could have already been the cost to a near fatal OD or a fatal OD. I have no respect for these motherfuckers and I think I am going to personally contact them and let them know my feelings.
two boxes is actually 32 and there claim that that is how much you need to get to the first/second "plateau" is false thats a gram of dxm which is quite a bit
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Anonymous
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: luckytriple6]
#3072469 - 08/31/04 02:52 AM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
i hate misinformation more than anything, few days ago i had a guy telling me that all acid is just rat poison...
no shit. yeaaaah, lets feed the rodents lsd! that will teach em
WTF? that dude has got to be a fucking idiot.
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nessa11
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: THE KRAT BARON]
#3125929 - 09/12/04 12:38 PM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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my friend and i both took cough and cold pills a few weeks ago, i took 20 and she took maybe close to 30. a friend of the family saw us and called 911. we didt over dose of anything we were just really out of it. when we got to the hospital all are levels were checked and we were told that this is safe because there is no Tylenol in it. so none of our organs could get messed up from taking cough and cold pills
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gdman
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: nessa11]
#3126065 - 09/12/04 01:45 PM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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don't take CCC's
and why did you let someone take you tot the hospital? what's the deal here, I'm not getting it.
-------------------- Got a question about a substance? Erowid might already have your answer! Have questions about the mushroom experience? The Tripper's FAQ may have your answer or someone else might have had your question before. I know up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights. - Theodor Seuss Geisel Dr. Suess "I didn't come here to be easily understood" - Steve
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Ekstaza
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: nessa11]
#3126096 - 09/12/04 01:59 PM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
nessa11 said: when we got to the hospital all are levels were checked and we were told that this is safe because there is no Tylenol in it. so none of our organs could get messed up from taking cough and cold pills
It's not so much tylenol that is the problem with taking CCC's but rather the Chlorpheniramine Maleate. At DXM trip levels it can be fatal.
-------------------- YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ANY GIVEN DRUG ISN'T THE DEFINITIVE MEASURE OF THE DRUGS EFFECTS.
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tomk
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Re: Chemical in cough syrup worrisome [Re: motaman]
#3175263 - 09/24/04 01:53 PM (19 years, 6 months ago) |
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DXM is my favorite drug.
These people would rather have people die from CPM overdose then have psychedelic experiences on DXM.
Any mention if the kid was on any other drug, like non-drowsy allergy medication?
-------------------- "I am eternally free"
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