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02-02-2007, 12:28 AM
Robotripping: Are Your Kids Doing It?
Kids Use Cough Medicine To Get High
PITTSBURGH -- It's dangerous and it could be deadly. It’s called Robotripping. The name comes from Robitussin, one of the many over-the-counter cough medicines teenagers and young adults are using these days to get high.
It’s certainly not a new concept. Children started abusing cough syrup back in the 1960’s, but the Internet has apparently sparked a new surge.
It's celebrated all over the Web site YouTube.com where kids post videos claiming they're Robotripping -- that is, swallowing excessive amounts of medications that contain the cough suppressant dextromethorphan.
It’s sold over the counter, but when abused, the medicine can cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences.
A local 16-year-old, we'll call “Mike”, knows all about it.
Karen Welles asked, "So you would drink a whole bottle of Robitussin?"
Mike replied, "Uh huh."
Welles said, “And what, would you get high or what?"
Mike replied, “Yeah it would be like, I don't know, for me it was like a cheaper way to get like hallucinate things, like I’d see, see things that make my vision go out and in and hear different things that weren't there at all."
Welles asked, “So you would actually hallucinate?"
“Mike” answered, "Uh yes."
Welles said, "And you liked that?"
“Mike” replied, “I uh won't lie, yes I did."
Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa said, “They can go into a coma, they can even die."
Capretto added, "It’s commonly seen in our area right now. Especially in the middle schools and high schools."
In fact, a recent study by the Partnership for Drug Free America, estimates that nearly 2.5 million teenagers, about one in 10, got high on cough medicine in 2005.
And it's not only liquid cough medicine being abused. Kids are popping pills. One popular medication is Coricidin HBP, Cough and Cold. It has several nicknames.
It’s called CCC, Triple C and Skittles, because the pills look like candy.
Welles asked Mike, “What did the Coricidin do for you?”
Mike said, "It actually made you feel numb. You would drool different things like that. You could not control anything on your body at all. Every single time I’d do it I would, I would think that I would need more and more, so it would be like 12 to 16 and then 16 to 24 and then more and more."
Mike often shoplifted the medicine, and we found it's very easy for a teenager to not only buy it but buy large quantities of it.
One 16-year-old girl was able to buy three bottles of Robitussin at one time at three different area drug stores, no questions asked.
Some stores are now keeping it behind the counter or asking for identification. A few are keeping an eye on the medicine.
Tom Riley, a local pharmacist said, “That aisle is right in front of us so kids coming in trying to steal that sort of thing, it's not gonna happen as easily."
Mike ended up in rehab after getting his stomach pumped.
Capretto said, “It’s like playing Russian roulette. You never know what the outcome is gonna be."
Capretto said there are signs your child may be misusing the medication.
He said if they appear intoxicated, have dilated pupils, are uncoordinated or walk in a jerky manner, they may need help.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/10904146/detail.html
Kids Use Cough Medicine To Get High
PITTSBURGH -- It's dangerous and it could be deadly. It’s called Robotripping. The name comes from Robitussin, one of the many over-the-counter cough medicines teenagers and young adults are using these days to get high.
It’s certainly not a new concept. Children started abusing cough syrup back in the 1960’s, but the Internet has apparently sparked a new surge.
It's celebrated all over the Web site YouTube.com where kids post videos claiming they're Robotripping -- that is, swallowing excessive amounts of medications that contain the cough suppressant dextromethorphan.
It’s sold over the counter, but when abused, the medicine can cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences.
A local 16-year-old, we'll call “Mike”, knows all about it.
Karen Welles asked, "So you would drink a whole bottle of Robitussin?"
Mike replied, "Uh huh."
Welles said, “And what, would you get high or what?"
Mike replied, “Yeah it would be like, I don't know, for me it was like a cheaper way to get like hallucinate things, like I’d see, see things that make my vision go out and in and hear different things that weren't there at all."
Welles asked, “So you would actually hallucinate?"
“Mike” answered, "Uh yes."
Welles said, "And you liked that?"
“Mike” replied, “I uh won't lie, yes I did."
Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa said, “They can go into a coma, they can even die."
Capretto added, "It’s commonly seen in our area right now. Especially in the middle schools and high schools."
In fact, a recent study by the Partnership for Drug Free America, estimates that nearly 2.5 million teenagers, about one in 10, got high on cough medicine in 2005.
And it's not only liquid cough medicine being abused. Kids are popping pills. One popular medication is Coricidin HBP, Cough and Cold. It has several nicknames.
It’s called CCC, Triple C and Skittles, because the pills look like candy.
Welles asked Mike, “What did the Coricidin do for you?”
Mike said, "It actually made you feel numb. You would drool different things like that. You could not control anything on your body at all. Every single time I’d do it I would, I would think that I would need more and more, so it would be like 12 to 16 and then 16 to 24 and then more and more."
Mike often shoplifted the medicine, and we found it's very easy for a teenager to not only buy it but buy large quantities of it.
One 16-year-old girl was able to buy three bottles of Robitussin at one time at three different area drug stores, no questions asked.
Some stores are now keeping it behind the counter or asking for identification. A few are keeping an eye on the medicine.
Tom Riley, a local pharmacist said, “That aisle is right in front of us so kids coming in trying to steal that sort of thing, it's not gonna happen as easily."
Mike ended up in rehab after getting his stomach pumped.
Capretto said, “It’s like playing Russian roulette. You never know what the outcome is gonna be."
Capretto said there are signs your child may be misusing the medication.
He said if they appear intoxicated, have dilated pupils, are uncoordinated or walk in a jerky manner, they may need help.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/10904146/detail.html