The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Detroit Office Has issued a safety warning to parents, schools and local communities regarding a recent escalation in the abuse of dextromethorphan, the cough suppressant in over-the-counter cough and cold medications.
Dextromethorphan abuse in the Detroit area has seen a disturbing increase recently with the Northeastern Wayne County area showing above average abuse. Isolated deaths and overdoses have been reported throughout the U.S. involving teens experimenting with dextromethophan or “DXM” as it is referred to by users.
Dextromethorphan abuse is often referred to as “Robo Tripping” since many teens consume excessive amounts of Robotussin cough medication to obtain the dextromethophan.
The users of DXM are generally teenagers and young adults. Teens typically purchase and consume these large quantities of over-the-counter cold medications to reach the desired effects. Effects from over ingestion include slurred speech, hyper-excitability, lethargy, sweating, hypertension and hallucinations.
Unfortunately, in addition to over-the-counter medications, some predatory distributors have sought to sell dextromethophan on the Internet.
“Parents need to remember that ruthless and dangerous individuals try to entice our children with risky products on the Internet. We need to continually communicate and inform our kids of the dangers that lurk on something as innocent as the home computer,” said Michael A. Braun, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Detroit Field Division.
Departments should disseminate the following information to parents in their communities:
- Monitor their teens’ behavior for sudden and extreme changes in personality
- Are their teens eating habits changing dramatically, especially if they are less interested in eating?
- Are their kids excessively secretive about their computer use?
- Are their children receiving unusual mail or mail without return addresses?
- Are their children interested in obtaining private mailboxes without the apparent need?
Teens are often under the mistaken impression that abusing substances such as dextromethorphan, inhalants and nitrous oxide as not as dangerous as traditional “street” drugs. This is a fallacy that law enforcement, parents and the media need to work hard to dispel. These myths can in fact be deadly.
For more information on dextromethorphan, go to www.dea.gov.
Source: DEA