See below. For the record, I in fact did a telephone interview with
Dionne Waugh, the re****ter who wrote this. I would say Ms. Waugh fairly
re****ted what I said about Coricidin and DXM. While I have spoke with
re****ters before, I always did so off the record. I even turned down an on
camera interview from a major US TV network covering DXM. I diverged from
custom and principle and actually did an interview for the record. The
interesting thing is I am quoted before the project manager with the
substance abuse and mental health services administration at Central
Virginia Community Services. Wise re****ting, as it appears Ms. Wood was
talking out of her ass about "Physically, the drug can cause serious liver
and kidney damage because the drugs are filtered through those organs...".
Peer reviewed citations please? I am unaware of this being do***ented. As
Ms. Wood doesn't even mention any *deaths* from DXM!? I have numerous
deaths
do***ented on my site. Including mentions in solid, peer reviewed medical
journal articles.
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784715881&image=newsadvance80x60.gif&oasDN=newsadvance.com
'Mad Max' and cough syrup link explored
Dionne Waugh
dwaugh@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
August 28, 2005
Most of us can't imagine taking dozens of cold and cough tablets or
chugging
a bottle of Robitussen just to get high.
But for some teens, those over-the-counter medications are a cheap and
easily accessible answer.
Though the greater Lynchburg area is not seeing a rise in the abuse of
over-the-counter medication by teens, the effects onthose who do use can
be
serious.
A Campbell County teenager accused of committing two break-ins, a rape and
a
beating told authorities he had consumed Coricidin HBP, an
over-the-counter
cold medicine, during the nights of the incidents.
The perpetrator called himself "Mad Max" during the attacks and told his
victims that "this is what I do."
Shay William Ward, who was 17 at the time of the incidents in late April
and
early May, said he had taken the medication and gone for a walk, but could
only remember bits and pieces of the evening, investigators testified in
court earlier this month.
Abuse of over-the-counter medications by teens prompted the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration to issue a warning in May about the abuse of
dextromethorphan (DXM), a synthetically produced ingredient found in many
over-the-counter cough and cold remedies.
The abuse is widespread enough to prompt some Walgreens and CVS stores to
restrict the sale of Coricidin.
Lynchburg is no exception. The Timberlake Road Walgreens, for example,
only
lets customers buy a single pack at a time from the pharmacy.
One Web site, www.coricidin.org, is devoted to educating people about the
dangers of abusing Coricidin, spotlighting more than a dozen violent
crimes
and suicides committed across the country by people while under the
influence of the drug.
Robert F. Golaszewski, who maintains the site, said that Coricidin is
different and much more dangerous than the high-inducing element - DXM -
it
contains.
In addition to DXM, Coricidin also contains chlorpheniramine maleate. This
is a class of drug that in general is very dangerous to take in large
doses
with DXM, the site states.
Worse yet, that drug is also metabolized by the same liver enzyme as is
DXM.
The competition for this limited enzyme by the two drugs makes taking them
together, in large doses, a dangerous combination, the site states.
Golaszewski points out that DXM has been around since the 1960s, it's just
gotten more attention recently. Coricidin, in particular, has become
popular
because of its pill form, as opposed to cough syrup.
The abuse of the drug has multiple physical and psychological effects.
Using Coricidin and any other drug in excess or in combination with other
drugs can cause blackouts, said Sharon Wood, the project manager with the
substance abuse and mental health services administration at Central
Virginia Community Services, which works with the state department to
provide local programs, including substance abuse.
"A person can have blackouts when they can't remember specific periods.
They
may remember up to a certain time and not anything after. My own personal
experience is that not a lot remember bits and pieces, they just don't
remember periods of time," she said.
Physically, the drug can cause serious liver and kidney damage because the
drugs are filtered through those organs, Wood said.
The drugs can also affect a person's memory, concentration and cause mood
swings, restlessness, disturbances in sleep and eating patterns, she said.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the psychological
effects
of abusing medications containing DXM vary depending on the amount taken,
but they can range from depressant and mild hallucinogenic effects to a
sense of complete dissociation from one's body.
Nicknamed "Triple C" or "Skittles" because of its size and red color, the
medications are popular among teens for several reasons, the top being
that
they're easily accessible, some as close as their parents' medicine
cabinet.
The Internet has also encouraged the drug's popularity with the creation
of
Web sites that explain how to use the drug and give recipes for mixing the
medication with other drugs, such as Robitussen, cocaine, marijuana and
alcohol.
Even media stories that seek to raise awareness of the dangers of using
the
drug also pique teens' interest.
"A lot of people didn't know how to do it until someone told them how not
to
do it," Wood said.
But there are often warning signs before the drug use gets serious, she
said.
Wood said parents should look for changes in their child's behavior such
as
their eating and sleeping habits, what kinds of friends they're hanging
out
with, school performance, attitudes at home and at school and if they're
becoming more isolative and irritable.
"A lot of times they see the values go down - stealing, lying, fighting,
the
rudeness, the intimidation, aggressiveness - that they may not have seen
in
this child," Wood said.
"The values have been taken over by the drug. Things they normally would
not
have done they're now are able to do and not have a lot of guilt about
it."
For a variety of reasons, a lot of parents don't want to face the facts
that
their child may be using drugs, Wood said.
"I think sometimes it's their own fears that they haven't been good enough
parents. We brush it off," she said.
"Sometimes there's a history of addiction in the family, so it's a
right-of-passage type thing and we ignore it."
Parents also may not realize that the drugs of today are much stronger
than
they were 10 or 20 years ago, Wood said.
Others parents may be too busy, embarrassed or unsure of where to go to
get
their teen help.
"Parents need to follow through. If their child is using, go and get them
help while they still can instead of waiting until something serious
happens, like this case," she said.
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