drdĒv
04-25-2005, 07:32 AM
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Kids guzzle cough medicine to take Robotrip
By Sheila Hagar of the Union-Bulletin
Saturday, April 23, 2005
``Decided to go all out, and bought the 8oz Family Size Robitussin DM. Drank it all within 10 minutes (to the absolute DISGUST of everyone in the room.) Kind of a mistake, but not really. It began like normal, dizziness, then audio- hallucinations, then slight visuals. But it continued on. I began to have more massive visuals. Big colored blobs flowing and oozing in front of my eyes. Staring at any one spot for awhile caused that spot to seem to fly away, almost like I was shrinking. My friends left me alone for awhile, and I sat in the room in the dark. More hallucinations, including one full- blown, `I do not exist, anymore' type hallucination. I thought I was a flower. I could feel myself swaying in the wind, I could see a big field of grass instead of my normal surroundings. I was full of energy, too. ... bouncing off the walls in our hallway, running around, talkative. When I finally sat down, about 6 hours later, I was still buzzing.'_ Internet journal writer's account of a ``Robotrip.' It's called Robotripping, or DXMing, and it's just about the cheapest high available.
And, according to local sources, the experience may have already come to a teen-ager near you.
To add to the mix, it's also perfectly legal, said Alex Luft, a prevention specialist with Walla Walla County Department of Human Services.
Robotripping results from ingesting copious amounts of cough syrup containing DXM, normally a safe and effective cough suppressant.
While the Robitussin brand of cough syrup has long been a favorite of trippers, any cough syrup or cold medicine with the right ingredient will do the trick, Luft said.
At the right price, kids can use their allowance to buy it, agreed Rich Simpson, a drug program coordinator with Walla Walla county.
And if the liquid cough syrup causes vomiting, thereby interrupting the high before it begins, people can order DXM powder from the Internet.
``In that form it can last for days,' he said.
DXM can cause intoxication-like effects and can cause a dangerous increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and possibly seizures, said Walla Walla County Coroner Frank Brown.
Liver damage occurs with long-term DXM use, as well, he said.
``In high enough amounts, the liver is unable to filter the drug effectively.'
Eventually, death by liver failure can result, Brown said, adding that Walla Walla has not experiences those deaths as far as he knows.
Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold tablets - known to users by slang names such as Triple C, Skittles, Red Devils, rojo and velvet - are also a popular avenue to the acid-like high, and have received more notoriety than cough syrup. Coricidin HBP contains 30 milligrams of DXM per tablet, the largest dosage unit on the market, said Kathy Ketcham, a youth advocate with the Juvenile Justice Center in Walla Walla.
``The kids tell me they get it at the big box stores, because they say it's so easy to steal from those places,' Ketcham said.
Pharmacists have told Simpson that Coricidin boxes fly off the shelf, he said.
The most frightening aspect may not be the ease in obtaining the drug, or that no legal authority can prevent a Robotrip, Luft said.
The real scare is that the practice is off the radar for most parents and law officials.
``Just because the parents haven't heard about it, it doesn't mean the kids haven't,' Luft said.
``Nothing measures it. The Healthy Youth Survey doesn't even have a question addressing the use on it. There is no emergency room data for overdoses,' she said.
DXM doesn't show up on a drug screen, either. No one is looking for cough syrup when a kid in trouble comes through the emergency room, Simpson said.
He recalled a story of a teen brought in by the Crisis Response Team to a local hospital. ``He was definitely high. The drug screen showed pot, but his behavior was saying something else.'
When staff was directed to ask about cough syrup, the answer came back positive, he said.
Until recently, Robotripping was not a well known diversion to Walla Walla kids, Simpson said.
``I got the first call last summer from a mom, saying her kids were hanging out behind The Bon (now Macy's), drinking cough syrup. And the police couldn't do anything about it.'
One of the reasons Robotripping hasn't garnered more attention is the age group involved.
It's not appealing to adults - most could never stomach the taste, Luft said - but very popular with 13- to 18-year-olds.
``And for the most part, no one's dealing with it,' she said.
When parents come up with an empty bottle in the medicine cupboard, they usually don't realize there might be a problem. ``They think `Oh, I thought we had some. Oh well, I'll get more,' the prevention specialist said.
That scenario is exactly why it's so difficult to monitor this drug trend - people legitimately need cough syrup, she noted.
Luft and Simpson worry that it might not seem like such a big concern to a population still struggling to adjust to youth methamphetamine use.
``Every kid can claim they are not breaking the law' with Robotripping, Luft said.
The age group involved is still feeling immortal, Simpson added. ``It's magical thinking.'
Robitussin and other brands look safe enough on the shelf. But for some kids, it will be a gateway drug, Luft said.
The high appeals to alienated kids, who are in every generation, Luft said. ``And there's no income bracket around that.'
``Some kids will try the drug and say it's the stupidest thing they ever did. Some will say `I loved it,' Simpson added.
The ones who can avoid the drug or stop using it are those who value their self-worth, he said.
``There's a moment that will come when every person has a choice to use or not.
And unless parents give kids a reason to not engage in the activity then they, too, have made a choice, Simpson said.
If asserting parental control over cough syrup causes queasiness, perhaps another excerpt from an online journal can clarify the situation:
``I haven't had any DXM in a long while since I moved back home with my parents. I slowly went through withdrawal I guess you can call it, cause I craved it. I am soon moving to Colorado and will have access to DXM again and LSD, I think I'll try LSD since it isn't as crazy and harder as DXM.'
http://www.union-bulletin.com/main.asp?Sec...ArticleID=26502 (http://www.union-bulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=26502)
Kids guzzle cough medicine to take Robotrip
By Sheila Hagar of the Union-Bulletin
Saturday, April 23, 2005
``Decided to go all out, and bought the 8oz Family Size Robitussin DM. Drank it all within 10 minutes (to the absolute DISGUST of everyone in the room.) Kind of a mistake, but not really. It began like normal, dizziness, then audio- hallucinations, then slight visuals. But it continued on. I began to have more massive visuals. Big colored blobs flowing and oozing in front of my eyes. Staring at any one spot for awhile caused that spot to seem to fly away, almost like I was shrinking. My friends left me alone for awhile, and I sat in the room in the dark. More hallucinations, including one full- blown, `I do not exist, anymore' type hallucination. I thought I was a flower. I could feel myself swaying in the wind, I could see a big field of grass instead of my normal surroundings. I was full of energy, too. ... bouncing off the walls in our hallway, running around, talkative. When I finally sat down, about 6 hours later, I was still buzzing.'_ Internet journal writer's account of a ``Robotrip.' It's called Robotripping, or DXMing, and it's just about the cheapest high available.
And, according to local sources, the experience may have already come to a teen-ager near you.
To add to the mix, it's also perfectly legal, said Alex Luft, a prevention specialist with Walla Walla County Department of Human Services.
Robotripping results from ingesting copious amounts of cough syrup containing DXM, normally a safe and effective cough suppressant.
While the Robitussin brand of cough syrup has long been a favorite of trippers, any cough syrup or cold medicine with the right ingredient will do the trick, Luft said.
At the right price, kids can use their allowance to buy it, agreed Rich Simpson, a drug program coordinator with Walla Walla county.
And if the liquid cough syrup causes vomiting, thereby interrupting the high before it begins, people can order DXM powder from the Internet.
``In that form it can last for days,' he said.
DXM can cause intoxication-like effects and can cause a dangerous increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and possibly seizures, said Walla Walla County Coroner Frank Brown.
Liver damage occurs with long-term DXM use, as well, he said.
``In high enough amounts, the liver is unable to filter the drug effectively.'
Eventually, death by liver failure can result, Brown said, adding that Walla Walla has not experiences those deaths as far as he knows.
Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold tablets - known to users by slang names such as Triple C, Skittles, Red Devils, rojo and velvet - are also a popular avenue to the acid-like high, and have received more notoriety than cough syrup. Coricidin HBP contains 30 milligrams of DXM per tablet, the largest dosage unit on the market, said Kathy Ketcham, a youth advocate with the Juvenile Justice Center in Walla Walla.
``The kids tell me they get it at the big box stores, because they say it's so easy to steal from those places,' Ketcham said.
Pharmacists have told Simpson that Coricidin boxes fly off the shelf, he said.
The most frightening aspect may not be the ease in obtaining the drug, or that no legal authority can prevent a Robotrip, Luft said.
The real scare is that the practice is off the radar for most parents and law officials.
``Just because the parents haven't heard about it, it doesn't mean the kids haven't,' Luft said.
``Nothing measures it. The Healthy Youth Survey doesn't even have a question addressing the use on it. There is no emergency room data for overdoses,' she said.
DXM doesn't show up on a drug screen, either. No one is looking for cough syrup when a kid in trouble comes through the emergency room, Simpson said.
He recalled a story of a teen brought in by the Crisis Response Team to a local hospital. ``He was definitely high. The drug screen showed pot, but his behavior was saying something else.'
When staff was directed to ask about cough syrup, the answer came back positive, he said.
Until recently, Robotripping was not a well known diversion to Walla Walla kids, Simpson said.
``I got the first call last summer from a mom, saying her kids were hanging out behind The Bon (now Macy's), drinking cough syrup. And the police couldn't do anything about it.'
One of the reasons Robotripping hasn't garnered more attention is the age group involved.
It's not appealing to adults - most could never stomach the taste, Luft said - but very popular with 13- to 18-year-olds.
``And for the most part, no one's dealing with it,' she said.
When parents come up with an empty bottle in the medicine cupboard, they usually don't realize there might be a problem. ``They think `Oh, I thought we had some. Oh well, I'll get more,' the prevention specialist said.
That scenario is exactly why it's so difficult to monitor this drug trend - people legitimately need cough syrup, she noted.
Luft and Simpson worry that it might not seem like such a big concern to a population still struggling to adjust to youth methamphetamine use.
``Every kid can claim they are not breaking the law' with Robotripping, Luft said.
The age group involved is still feeling immortal, Simpson added. ``It's magical thinking.'
Robitussin and other brands look safe enough on the shelf. But for some kids, it will be a gateway drug, Luft said.
The high appeals to alienated kids, who are in every generation, Luft said. ``And there's no income bracket around that.'
``Some kids will try the drug and say it's the stupidest thing they ever did. Some will say `I loved it,' Simpson added.
The ones who can avoid the drug or stop using it are those who value their self-worth, he said.
``There's a moment that will come when every person has a choice to use or not.
And unless parents give kids a reason to not engage in the activity then they, too, have made a choice, Simpson said.
If asserting parental control over cough syrup causes queasiness, perhaps another excerpt from an online journal can clarify the situation:
``I haven't had any DXM in a long while since I moved back home with my parents. I slowly went through withdrawal I guess you can call it, cause I craved it. I am soon moving to Colorado and will have access to DXM again and LSD, I think I'll try LSD since it isn't as crazy and harder as DXM.'
http://www.union-bulletin.com/main.asp?Sec...ArticleID=26502 (http://www.union-bulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=26502)