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drdĒv€
04-02-2005, 06:47 PM
Article published April 1, 2005

An unexpected menace

MOST parents of teenagers know they must remain vigilant against alcohol and illegal drugs. But how many pay attention when a teenager possesses over-the-counter cold medicines? Too few, and that's unfortunate because the abuse of cold medicine is sending teens to hospitals, jails, and even early graves.

Who would think they would have to worry about cold medicine or cough syrup? Yet incredibly, in the last several months, a growing number of teenagers have been hospitalized and even died after abusing them. The abuse of cold medicines with dextromethorphan, or DXM for short, has been blamed for altering some youths' behavior so much that they have become violent and mentally ill.

Internet web sites tell teens how to abuse cold medicine and about the effects it produces. Teens assume it isn't dangerous like heroin, cocaine, or marijuana, but it can be. And although they might try to hide the medicine from their parents, they don't have to risk arrest to buy it. Instead, they can get it from any grocery or discount store pharmacy, no questions asked.

Many cold medicines warn consumers not to drive or operate machinery after taking them, and for good reason. DXM can produce a euphoric state, and too much can adversely affect vision and breathing, cause a fever, coma, or acute anger, and increase the heart rate. Some ingredients in most cold medicines are toxic if taken in large doses.

What is alarming is that while the number of teens abusing DXM doubled between 2000 and 2003 in several states, including Ohio, there is little discussion about the problem. This needs to change, now. Parents and schools must start a dialogue with teenagers before more of them are harmed.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...0329/-1/OPINION (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050401/OPINION02/504010329/-1/OPINION)

Shadow
04-02-2005, 08:11 PM
Internet web sites tell teens how to abuse cold medicine and about the effects it produces. Teens assume it isn't dangerous like heroin, cocaine, or marijuana.....

pot's dangerous? wow.

rfgdxm
04-02-2005, 10:54 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhh. rfgdxm just finds this news report.

Internet web sites tell teens how to abuse cold medicine and about the effects it produces. Teens assume it isn't dangerous like heroin, cocaine, or marijuana, but it can be.
Yep. There's just no way a teen could find on the Internet that DXM can be dangerous. Surely no teen could be aware of Google.
Yet incredibly, in the last several months, a growing number of teenagers have been hospitalized and even died after abusing them.
Yeah, it's incredible DXM could kill.

http://www.dextromethorphan.ws/dxmdeaths.htm

Read the first report, written by me in 1999. Who'd have thunk DXM could kill?

I have but one word for this news report: BULLSHIT!

rfgdxm
04-02-2005, 10:56 PM
Originally posted by Wicked@Apr 2 2005, 08:11 PM
pot's dangerous? wow.
It's as bad as heroin and cocaine. Haven't you ever seen Reefer Madness?

spud
04-02-2005, 11:06 PM
Toledo (not to mention ALL OF OHIO) sucks shit.

elven darkness
04-03-2005, 01:27 AM
Dangerous drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

Wow, they just took 3 completely different drugs and lumped them all together and labeled each as equally dangerous.

rfgdxm
04-03-2005, 01:15 PM
Originally posted by elven darkness@Apr 3 2005, 01:27 AM
Dangerous drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

Wow, they just took 3 completely different drugs and lumped them all together and labeled each as equally dangerous.
What really bothers me is they are implying the dangers of DXM are comparable to marijuana. I have a website up pointing out that unlike marijuana, you can OD and die on DXM. When was the last time you heard of a kid ending up in the morgue from a fatal marijuana OD? (And YES, I know there are many behavioral toxicity deaths caused by pot. However, why would anyone assume this is less a concern with DXM?)

My first reaction when reading this was because of news reporting like this, I should just take down my sites and redirect the domains to dare.com. It now occurs to me this would be a Bad Idea. This would mean that kids would just read that DXM is a "dangerous drug" like pot. Someone has to point out the relative risks.

Suburban_Prince
04-04-2005, 04:46 PM
Originally posted by drdĒv€@Apr 2 2005, 06:47 PM
The abuse of cold medicines with dextromethorphan, or DXM for short, has been blamed for altering some youths' behavior so much that they have become violent and mentally ill.


watch out its pyscho killer dexing kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Midknight
04-04-2005, 06:53 PM
reminds everyone of the event of the people on dextroverse where on stabbed another before fatally stabbing himself.

Psycho dxm killers have happened...though I don't know the exact circumstances, but seriously, cocaine is higher on the danger scale than heroin or maijuana, at least heroin and pot don't kill people in normal dosages, where as cocaine *can*.

JayMark
04-13-2005, 08:54 PM
Originally posted by Midknight@Apr 4 2005, 05:53 PM
cocaine is higher on the danger scale than heroin or maijuana, at least heroin and pot don't kill people in normal dosages, where as cocaine *can*.
But heroin is physiclly addicive unlike cocaine and pot.