Desperate kids turn to OTC drugs to get high

Disturbing new government statistics reveal that approximately 3.1 million people between ages 12 and 25 have used – are you ready for this? – over-the-counter cough medicine to get high.

I don't know about you, but a number that high certainly sticks in my craw.

That means that more kids are abusing cough medicine than those abusing methamphetamines! The drug that's found in most cough syrups that don't require a prescription is DXM. Ingesting large amounts of DXM can cause disorientation, blurred vision, slurred speech, and vomiting. Essentially, the same effects that you can get from a bottle of tequila.

Statistically, the incredibly misguided kids who are using this peculiar method to get a buzz are also users of marijuana, other inhalant drugs, and hallucinogens such as Ecstasy or LSD. More than 5 percent of teenagers and young adults have done this.

The word that comes to my mind when I hear this: desperation. Clearly, the kids who are willing to turn to such a strange (and distasteful) form of drug to achieve a high have a problem. It reminds me of alcoholics who are so overtaken by their disease that they're willing to chug vanilla extract just for its alcohol content.

Think about it: How much cough syrup must you drink to achieve the desired effect? If you've been to the drug store lately, you also realize that these cough syrups can run for more than $5 per bottle … it makes you wonder. It's one thing for kid under the age of 21 who's living at home to resort to easy-to-obtain cough syrup. But what about the kids from 21 to 25 who turn to cough syrup?

This isn't the time or place for a breakdown of the drug problems in this country. But I think it says a lot that such a large number of youths are willing to go to such an extreme to simply "catch a buzz." It exposes a serious rift in our cultural mindset that's in desperate need of repair.

Fortifying my stance on genetically modified foods,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

__________________
Boren's Laws of the Bureaucracy: 1. When in doubt, mumble. 2. When in trouble, delegate. 3. When in charge, ponder.