drdĒv
05-10-2006, 09:57 AM
03:54 PM CDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006
By Vicente Arenas / 11 News
Parents listen up - your kids may be using over-the-counter cold remedies to get high.
Local drug counselors say they have noticed a spike in the number of kids getting dangerously hooked on over-the-counter cold medicines.
Amanda Wiederhold is a local teenager who knows all too well about addiction.
"Emotionally I couldn't take it because I was hurting so bad that I was trying to make myself feel better. You know, drown my problems," said Wiederhold.
At 16, she found herself hooked on alcohol and illegal drugs. The Caldwell teenager said she'd down handfuls of over- the-counter Coricidin pills - kids call skittles.
"If I took enough of them, it would kind of be fuzzy with what happens," Wiederhold said.
Also online
The Right Step
She ended up at the Right Step - a private drug treatment center in Houston where she admitted she was a drug addict.
"They saved my life, literally, " said Wiederhold who has been sober for more than 100 days.
17-year-old Jacob Kilson of Humble said he would pour Robitussin in a drink and drink it. He says that is called robo-dosing or robo-tripping.
These are not isolated cases. The Right Step says most of the teenage clients they are treating are using drugs containing dextromethorphan or DMX. It is an ingredient in more than 100 cough medicines including Coricidin and Robitussin.
"Used in the quantities that these kids are using this stuff is extremely dangerous," said drug counselor Bob Wright.
Wright said they're using it in huge quantities.
The number of DMX-related deaths has increased from 14 in 1986 to 132 in 1999, the most recent year for which numbers are available.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/kho...s.7874e72c.html (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou060427_jj_otcdrugs.7874e72c.html)
By Vicente Arenas / 11 News
Parents listen up - your kids may be using over-the-counter cold remedies to get high.
Local drug counselors say they have noticed a spike in the number of kids getting dangerously hooked on over-the-counter cold medicines.
Amanda Wiederhold is a local teenager who knows all too well about addiction.
"Emotionally I couldn't take it because I was hurting so bad that I was trying to make myself feel better. You know, drown my problems," said Wiederhold.
At 16, she found herself hooked on alcohol and illegal drugs. The Caldwell teenager said she'd down handfuls of over- the-counter Coricidin pills - kids call skittles.
"If I took enough of them, it would kind of be fuzzy with what happens," Wiederhold said.
Also online
The Right Step
She ended up at the Right Step - a private drug treatment center in Houston where she admitted she was a drug addict.
"They saved my life, literally, " said Wiederhold who has been sober for more than 100 days.
17-year-old Jacob Kilson of Humble said he would pour Robitussin in a drink and drink it. He says that is called robo-dosing or robo-tripping.
These are not isolated cases. The Right Step says most of the teenage clients they are treating are using drugs containing dextromethorphan or DMX. It is an ingredient in more than 100 cough medicines including Coricidin and Robitussin.
"Used in the quantities that these kids are using this stuff is extremely dangerous," said drug counselor Bob Wright.
Wright said they're using it in huge quantities.
The number of DMX-related deaths has increased from 14 in 1986 to 132 in 1999, the most recent year for which numbers are available.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/kho...s.7874e72c.html (http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou060427_jj_otcdrugs.7874e72c.html)