Just dig into the family medicine cabinet and surf the internet to get high. A few ice cubes, lemonade and the cocktail becomes explosive. In The Parisian of the day, Christine Mateus shines the spotlight on the purple drank. A mixture of codeine, found in common cough syrups, and promethazine, which is used in antihistamines, this inexpensive, homemade drug seems to appeal to teenagers.
The Order of Pharmacists has also just called on pharmacies to be vigilant when it comes to selling these drugs without a prescription to minors. “Most often, they are young people aged 16 to 20 (…), confirms Martial Fraysse, president of the Ile-de-France regional council of the Order of Pharmacists. When I ask to describe the symptoms to get to the bottom of it and when I see a young man trying to cough, I’m not fooled”. And the professional acknowledges having already exercised his right of refusal to sell.
At high doses, the consumption of these cough syrups based on dextromethorphan, known for their hallucinogenic properties, can prove to be fatal, underlines the journalist. Cases of hospitalization have been reported but the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) has not observed “a statistically measurable phenomenon??”. No doubt because this consumption is not suitable for collective use, as the OFDT reminds us in its daily newspaper: “the type of effects and the rapidity of the onset of undesirable effects, such as vomiting, mean that this is not a practice that lends itself to partying and this should limit its spread. »
First published May 15, 2015
