As if parents didn't already face enough challenges keeping their children away from drugs.
A growing trend shows some teenagers need only make a quick trip to any pharmacy or department store – or just look in the medicine cabinet at home – to obtain what they need for a cheap, easy buzz.
Dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant found in dozens of products, is becoming the drug of choice for more teens across the country. Siouxland isn't immune from that trend.
“I don't think it's new that it's happening, but I think the rates it's happening are increasing,” said Traci Merchant, program director of adolescent services at Jackson Recovery Centers. “At least 50 percent of the kids we've seen have at least tried it.”
Stacey Jackson, a pharmacist at the Hy-Vee store on Gordon Drive, said she and other store employees have noticed more products containing dextromethorphan missing. Users will take the product from the box and put the empty box back on the shelf. Empty boxes have also been found in the store's bathrooms.
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“We do notice in the store that we find a lot of empty boxes in the store,” Jackson said.
According to a story posted on MedPageToday.com, dextromethorphan, commonly referred to as DXM, played a role in 8,000 emergency room visits in 2008, up 70 percent from 2004. There were five reported deaths in 2008, but in all cases other drugs were also present in the victim's system.
Kids in Sioux City have been hospitalized with DXM overdoses, Merchant said. An overdose can cause seizures, increased blood pressure and irregular heart rates.
It's easy to overdose, Merchant said, because kids don't think of something like cough syrup as a potentially dangerous drug. They think nothing of drinking a whole bottle mixed with grape soda.
“Because it's over the counter, kids assume it's not as dangerous,” she said.
Merchant said DXM abuse is hard to control because it's so easy to get.
Unlike drugs such as alcohol and marijuana, buyers don't have to be a certain age or know a dealer. They don't need a doctor's prescription to obtain it, either.
DXM is found in many common over-the-counter brands such as Coricidin, Dimetapp DM, NyQuil, Robitussin, Vicks. It's easy to walk into any drug store or big retail store and buy several boxes of those products – or find them in the medicine cabinet at home. DXM also can be ordered over the Internet.
“It's very accessible to kids,” Merchant said.
DXM isn't most teens' drug of choice. Merchant said many use it along with other drugs or alcohol. Some settle for it because they can't get other drugs.
A DXM buzz can result in hallucinations, loss of motor control and other out-of-body feelings, Merchant said.
The federal government has looked into classifying DXM as a controlled substance. In September, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted against that recommendation.
Because it's in so many common products, Jackson said, it's hard for pharmacists to police who's buying it, and how much they're buying. She's heard of stores that have put the products behind the counter so customers have to ask for them.
“We have discussed locking it up. We haven't gone that far yet,” Jackson said.
