In an alarming trend, teens and some kids as young as middle- schoolers are overdosing on common over-the-counter drugs such as the cough syrup Robitussin and the cold tablets Coricidin HBP, doctors and pharmacists say.
"It's widespread," said Dr. Michael Shannon, who began to notice the problem in the emergency room at Children's Hospital several years ago. "Depending on how much you take, it can be life- threatening."
It's called "Robotripping" or "dexing," a reference to dextromethorphan, or DXM, the active ingredient in more than 100 nonprescription drugs which, taken in large enough doses, can produce hallucinatory effects similar to those of angel dust, or PCP.
In 2002, the poison-control center serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island reported receiving 1,048 calls about misuse of DXM, up from 870 the previous year.
Nationally, poison-control centers received 3,200 calls of teenagers abusing DXM last year, and 15,021 involving abuse of other cold medicines in 2002. Fourteen people died in 2002 from abusing such drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
"It's definitely prevalent," said Pascale Boucicaut, 18, a Brookline High senior. "It's becoming more popular than alcohol."
Within the last two years, at least 20 students in Brookline and Newton have been treated after getting high on cold medicines.
"It's a starter drug," said Bill Phillips, the founder of New Beginnings, a Framingham drug-prevention program. "It's a mini-acid trip, except kids don't know the damage it does."
At Blackstone-Millville Regional Junior/High School, Principal Mary Shimkus had questions after a student was found last year with 72 Coricidin tablets in his pocket. Shimkus called the local pharmacy, which told her about the active ingredient and its potential effects, and confirmed that several packages were missing.
Shimkus launched a probe and found a student under the influence of the drug, with all its usual symptoms - sluggishness, dilated pupils, slurred speech.
She also found more than a half-dozen other seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders who had either the tablets or the packaging they come in.
"These kids were taking them in huge doses - 15 to 20 at a time - and quickly becoming dependent on them, but at that age, kids have no perception of danger," she said. "They think, it's an over-the- counter drug, so how bad can it be?"
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Last updated: 02/10/2004 - 05:56 PM