Cough Syrup Abuse

Posted on July 26, 2003 in Addictions Consuming

Cough syrup proves to be dangerous stuff and teenagers have been ingesting Coricidin as a way to get high off its active ingredient, dextromethorphan. Billy over at Back from the Edge writes passionately about the dangers and about a website that promotes the use of the pure ingredient over cough syrup: they are telling kids how to get high.

Billy, who is a parent, writes:

Any use of these OTC drugs without the knowledge of a parent and without supervision of a parent is abuse and a significant problem that needs to be addressed. Part of addressing this problem is talking to your child — and not just telling your child that drugs are bad, like we see in TV commercials — cross-examining your child, making your child uncomfortable, investigating behavior, searching a room with and without their knowledge (it’s your house!). Get some help and advice from a certified substance abuse counselor, if you would rather hear this from a “professional.”

Comments about this approach have been favorable so far, except for a brief one that I made. First, I want to make it clear that I do support parents in their fight to curb substance abuse before it ruins the child’s life. I would, for example, favor laws preventing children from buying cough medicines with DXM. I also favor parental alertness on the issue.

Second, for the record, I never experimented with drugs until I went to college and I refused to use the stronger substances such as cocaine, heroin, PCP, etc. that some of my classmates were trying. I didn’t buy the “safety” stories that some of my classmates invoked for these or, in time, for alcohol.

However, in the absence of signs suggesting abuse, I caution against treating your teenager as a convict in his own house. This was done to me. I was told not to bring friends into the house when there were no adults at home. I was told to come directly home and stay there, alone (both parents worked), not going out anywhere. My mother checked me for drug tracks, made scenes of checking my eyes, etc. I had no social life. I didn’t bother to make friends. And because of this I came under additional pressure: why don’t you have any friends? Why don’t you talk about your friends?

The word for what I went through was hell and it formed some lifelong habits of agoraphobia and social phobia that I am just now breaking out of.

Billy’s advice to work with your doctor on these issues and to work with counselors are also good. I would add that if you see signs, you should also get the whole family into therapy. Be aware of the Dobson model which holds that children are just troublesome, just naturally evil. Children are born innocent. They may be doing this for many reasons, including your failure to deal with them as human beings and your own drug abuse habits, especially alcohol. Be courageous and face the facts. A good family therapist will support you in your efforts to control substance abuse in your house, but you should be ready to face the fact that your parenting methodology is actually promoting the behaviors you wish to stop.

Too much emphasis on drugs while the child is living in your house may cause them to explode into dangerous, risk-taking behaviors as adults. Trying to do this without self-examination will be picked up by your teenager as evidence of your cruelty and hypocrisy. Frank discussions in the context of family therapy will go far in abating this concerns about your parenting on the part of your teenager. Swallow your pride when the conversation turns to you. If you love your child and want her or him to be happy and drug free, you will do this.