drdĒv
04-02-2007, 07:33 AM
Over-the-counter cough suppressant is new threat to kids
Monday, April 2, 2007 1:37 AM EDT
When he was 9 years old, Dina Iverson's son inadvertently purchased Energy Blast tablets, an herbal stimulant, from the candy aisle of a convenience store. She has been on a crusade to keep risky, over-the-counter drugs out of the hands of kids ever since.
Iverson is a pharmacy technician and EMT living in Warrensburg, where last week a student was arrested for distributing eight tablets of the drug Coricidin to a classmate for the purpose of getting high.
Coricidin, or "CCC" as it is known on the street, is a cold medicine containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan hydrobromide (DXM), which, when abused, raises dopamine levels in the brain to provide a euphoric rush. Often the drug is crushed and snorted as a faster means to a high.
According to Patty Kilgore, clinical director of The Prevention Council in Saratoga County, the potency of drugs containing DXM is designed to be broken down slowly by the digestive system. When it is snorted, it goes directly to the bloodstream and can lead to septum deviation, hallucinations, cardiac arrest and possibly death when overused.
Kilgore also said prolonged use of DXM can lead to addiction.
"It's a cheap high," said Kilgore, "but I tell my kids that if a high that good could come from something sold over-the-counter, we wouldn't have an illegal drug problem in this country. You have to question anything that is that easily available and ask what it is you're risking."
But Dina Iverson is convinced that the problem has tragic potential.
"After a while, these kids are going to be crushing more than what they should be crushing, and there's going to be a fatality, without a doubt," she said.
In cooperation with the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, all medicines containing pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine or ephedrine must be held behind the counter and signed for by the purchaser, with no more than 9 grams sold during a single transaction. Drugs containing DXM do not qualify.
Though she declined to provide the name of the pharmacy where she is employed, Iverson did say the pharmacy has pulled Coricidin from the shelves and made it solely available from behind the counter.
But Iverson's pharmacy is not the only local store taking action. When a reporter attempted to purchase a box of Coricidin at the Eckerd Pharmacy at 128 Ridge St. in Glens Falls, the drug was only available from behind the counter.
A representative from the Brooks Eckerd Pharmacy Corp. explained that there is no corporate policy that requires stores to hold the drug at the counter, but due to an increase in theft, local stores have decided to do so.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland, whose office was responsible for the Warrensburg arrest, said he is starting to notice a trend in the abuse of cold medications.
"It's only recently that we've picked up on it ... but you're talking about three or four cases this year, as opposed to three or four cases in the last five years," he said. "My money says that within a couple of years, you'll see all those drugs put under control and require supervision to be sold."
Cleveland also said that the schools have become "very vigilant" in combating the abuse of drugs with DXM.
"Some (incidents involving student drug use) go unreported and get deferred to the nurse's office or the principal, but when it does get to us, it's pretty much a done deal," he said.
Timothy Lawson, the superintendent of Warrensburg Central School District, is making the effort to educate his staff. During a superintendent's conference on Friday, Warren County Sheriff's Investigator Kibby French lectured teachers on current drug trends.
Dina Iverson is taking measures of her own.
"I've gone around to the other local pharmacies and alerted them to this problem," she said.
Years ago, after her young son purchased the Energy Blast tablets, Iverson launched a similar campaign to get them out of the reach of minors. She wrote the company and contacted the media.
"To this day, it says right on the package, 'Do not sell to persons under 18,' " she said.
Iverson is hoping for a similar result with DXM products.
"These are our kids. I would hope someone would keep an eye on my kid," she said.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/0...2b100086460.txt (http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/02/news/local/92e272e209b5491e852572b100086460.txt)
Monday, April 2, 2007 1:37 AM EDT
When he was 9 years old, Dina Iverson's son inadvertently purchased Energy Blast tablets, an herbal stimulant, from the candy aisle of a convenience store. She has been on a crusade to keep risky, over-the-counter drugs out of the hands of kids ever since.
Iverson is a pharmacy technician and EMT living in Warrensburg, where last week a student was arrested for distributing eight tablets of the drug Coricidin to a classmate for the purpose of getting high.
Coricidin, or "CCC" as it is known on the street, is a cold medicine containing the cough suppressant dextromethorphan hydrobromide (DXM), which, when abused, raises dopamine levels in the brain to provide a euphoric rush. Often the drug is crushed and snorted as a faster means to a high.
According to Patty Kilgore, clinical director of The Prevention Council in Saratoga County, the potency of drugs containing DXM is designed to be broken down slowly by the digestive system. When it is snorted, it goes directly to the bloodstream and can lead to septum deviation, hallucinations, cardiac arrest and possibly death when overused.
Kilgore also said prolonged use of DXM can lead to addiction.
"It's a cheap high," said Kilgore, "but I tell my kids that if a high that good could come from something sold over-the-counter, we wouldn't have an illegal drug problem in this country. You have to question anything that is that easily available and ask what it is you're risking."
But Dina Iverson is convinced that the problem has tragic potential.
"After a while, these kids are going to be crushing more than what they should be crushing, and there's going to be a fatality, without a doubt," she said.
In cooperation with the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, all medicines containing pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine or ephedrine must be held behind the counter and signed for by the purchaser, with no more than 9 grams sold during a single transaction. Drugs containing DXM do not qualify.
Though she declined to provide the name of the pharmacy where she is employed, Iverson did say the pharmacy has pulled Coricidin from the shelves and made it solely available from behind the counter.
But Iverson's pharmacy is not the only local store taking action. When a reporter attempted to purchase a box of Coricidin at the Eckerd Pharmacy at 128 Ridge St. in Glens Falls, the drug was only available from behind the counter.
A representative from the Brooks Eckerd Pharmacy Corp. explained that there is no corporate policy that requires stores to hold the drug at the counter, but due to an increase in theft, local stores have decided to do so.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland, whose office was responsible for the Warrensburg arrest, said he is starting to notice a trend in the abuse of cold medications.
"It's only recently that we've picked up on it ... but you're talking about three or four cases this year, as opposed to three or four cases in the last five years," he said. "My money says that within a couple of years, you'll see all those drugs put under control and require supervision to be sold."
Cleveland also said that the schools have become "very vigilant" in combating the abuse of drugs with DXM.
"Some (incidents involving student drug use) go unreported and get deferred to the nurse's office or the principal, but when it does get to us, it's pretty much a done deal," he said.
Timothy Lawson, the superintendent of Warrensburg Central School District, is making the effort to educate his staff. During a superintendent's conference on Friday, Warren County Sheriff's Investigator Kibby French lectured teachers on current drug trends.
Dina Iverson is taking measures of her own.
"I've gone around to the other local pharmacies and alerted them to this problem," she said.
Years ago, after her young son purchased the Energy Blast tablets, Iverson launched a similar campaign to get them out of the reach of minors. She wrote the company and contacted the media.
"To this day, it says right on the package, 'Do not sell to persons under 18,' " she said.
Iverson is hoping for a similar result with DXM products.
"These are our kids. I would hope someone would keep an eye on my kid," she said.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/0...2b100086460.txt (http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/02/news/local/92e272e209b5491e852572b100086460.txt)