novapsyche: Sailor Moon rising into bright beams (Default)
[personal profile] novapsyche
Grr. My friends page has updated, but my personal page hasn't shown any of the posts I've made since I got home tonight. I've restarted my computer several times, so I know it's not an old cookie.

Anyway, the New York Times has gotten into the fun of reporting about DXM. Again, the article doesn't report on the problem with CPM (the antihistamine in Coricidin that makes overdosing so dangerous) but insists on colluding CCC with over-the-counter syrups.

Here's just a couple of paragraphs:

Officials at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association in Washington, the trade group that represents Schering-Plough and other manufacturers of over-the-counter medications, say dextromethorphan is not an addictive substance and does not produce a chemical dependence.

Experts say DXM is safe in the 15- to 30-milligram doses recommended for treating coughs or colds. But in the large doses, 100 milligrams or more, typically taken by recreational users, it can cause hallucinations and feelings of unreality. It also carries a risk of high fever, seizures and other serious adverse reactions. Teenagers sometimes refer to dextromethorphan products as Skittles, Red Devils, Robo or Triple C's. The high that the drugs produce is called "robotripping" or "skittling."


Hmm. Three out of four of the above terms can only refer to Coricidin. But the problem is expanded to encompass all "cough and cold medicines". Let me say that unless you lack the enzyme required to metabolize DXM, you probably won't die from a seizure by drinking cough syrup. My experience to the contrary, on the main DXM really is a fairly benign substance (as far as substances go).

ummm....

Date: 2004-06-15 04:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
except for the Olney's Lesions....

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-16 05:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] novapsyche.livejournal.com
Which have never been proven to happen to humans, only to rats. And that was not with DXM, that was with MK801 (or whatever that chemical is called).

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-16 02:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
that's not what I read...

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-16 05:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] novapsyche.livejournal.com
Are you sure? A lot of people get their information from the DXM FAQ on erowid; that's where I got a lot of my information, too. But there is a new(er) page that states that "the facts are not in" on Olney's lesions.

If you have different information, I'd love to look at it. I'm all about increasing my drug knowledge.

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-16 06:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
dissasociatives should not be classed with psychedelics, they are different animals - with different risks.

drugs that don't have a close natural neurotransmitter analog in the brain are problematic for many reasons.

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-16 07:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] novapsyche.livejournal.com
I agree with your statements (although I would posit that DXM is psychedelic, though not a true hallucinogen). So I should infer from these very broad statements that Olney's lesions occur in the human brain?

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-17 04:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
From the evidence I have seen, for the moment, I believe they do.

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-17 06:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] novapsyche.livejournal.com
Can you point to that evidence?

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-17 07:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
I don't have it all in front of me. Google it yourself. But I have a lot of friends who are very diminished beings due to extended use of dissacociatives.

They also ruined John C. Lilly.

and killed D M Turner....

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-17 09:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] novapsyche.livejournal.com
Thanks for the help.

I'll point out that 1) I google stuff about DXM all the time, and have yet to find anything that proves that Olney's lesions occur from use; and 2) Lilly died from ketamine, not DXM, which is in the same family of drugs but are not the same. I mean, vicodin and heroin are in the same family of drugs, but they have different risk factors.

Re: ummm....

Date: 2004-06-17 04:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hyparxis.livejournal.com
Lilly did not die from ketamine. It drove him rather crazy.

He died from prostate cancer, at a very advanced age.

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