Dear Readers,
I am very pleased to bring you this special issue of Counselor, focusing on adolescents and young adults. As we all know, adolescence is a time of growth and change. For many young people, it also is a time for experimentation with alcohol and drugs. Since research indicates that early onset drug use may increase the likelihood for subsequent drug abuse later in life, as well as increase the potential for involvement in the criminal justice system, it is vital that we take a proactive approach toward education and prevention efforts with ­children.

To further our efforts to reach children, adolescents, parents and the community at large, Counselor is working with Informed Families/
The Family Partnership, Inc., in Miami on a series of Prevention columns, beginning with this special issue on adolescents and young adults. In addition to offering a wide variety of programs and services across the State of Florida aimed at preventing children’s substance abuse and promoting healthy families, Informed Families hosts parent peer groups, which serves as an informal support system to provide parents with the skills to set boundaries and monitor their children’s behaviors. For more information on topics of discussion at the parent peer groups, check out the Prevention column in upcoming issues of Counselor.

While many parents are concerned about alcohol and illegal drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, they often overlook the cheapest and most easily obtained substances, many of which can be found in the average household.

In April, more than a dozen students between the ages of 13 and 14 became ill after overdosing on an over-the-counter decongestant at a Miami area middle school. Rescue personnel arrived at the school after receiving the call that some of the kids were vomiting and fainting, and 11 students were taken to area hospitals where they were treated and released.

School officials reported that the other students said the kids had been taking Coricidin HBP for about two weeks prior to the incident. According to the U.S. Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), the drug, which contains dextromethorphan, also known as DXM, has gained popularity among adolescents because it is inexpensive and can be easily obtained at most supermarkets and pharmacies. When taken in recommended dosages, the drug is generally considered safe. However, acute overdoses of the drug may cause blurred vision, body itching, rash, sweating, fever, hypertension, shallow respiration, diarrhea, toxic psychosis, coma and an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.

The NDIC refers to the practice of overdosing on Coricidin HBP and other products containing DXM, such as Robitussin DM, as “Triple C Abuse.” Kids often refer to the drugs as “candy,” “skittles” and “red devils,” and the act of taking the drugs as “dexing,” “robotripping” or “robodosing,” since users usually chug the medicine.

Just two weeks prior to the incident at the Miami middle school, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office in Buffalo, NY, issued a warning about young people abusing over-the-counter cold medicines. The agency also said that the drugs were frequently shoplifted from area stores.
According to NDIC, this problem is not likely to go away, as long as the adolescents continue to perceive this drug as low risk, as compared with street drugs. There needs to be more education and awareness on the potential for abuse with these over-the-counter medicines, as well as about the inherent risks associated with abusing DXM, NDIC said.

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