ImageTake a Dose of Truth
Knowledge is a powerful tool in the fight against prescription and OTC drug abuse/misuse in Iowa. Encourage parents, older adults and their caregivers to become familiar with the general classes of prescription drugs commonly abused by Iowa teens or misused by older adults:

  • Narcotic Painkillers- or opioids, are prescribed to treat pain and with proper medical management are safe and rarely cause addiction. Opioid medications can affect regions of the brain that mediate what one perceives as pleasure. This results in the initial euphoria or sense of well being that many opioids produce. When abused, these drugs cause symptoms similar to those of heroin – a surge of euphoria followed by alternating wakefulness and drowsiness and cloudy mental thinking due to depression of the central nervous system. Opioids are often associated with addiction and fatal overdose.

Some of the more common prescription painkillers are:

OxyContin® / Oxycodone; Street Names: oxy 80s, oxycotton, oxycet, O.C., killer,  hillbilly heroin, percs
Vicodin® / Hydrocodone;  Street Names: vike, Watson-387
Dilaudid® /  Propoxyphene hydrocodone hydromorphone; Street Names: juice, dillies
Demerol® / Meperidine; Street Names: demmies, painkiller
Lomotil® / Diphenoxylate
Darvon® / Propoxyphene
Morphine
Codeine

  • Central nervous system (CNS) depressants  - slow normal brain function and are often prescribed to treat anxiety and sleep disorders. They are usually taken orally, sometimes in combination with other drugs or to counteract the effects of other licit or illicit drugs. CNS depressants should not be combined with other medications or substances that cause sleepiness such as alcohol, prescription pain medication or some over-the-counter allergy and cold medications. Doing so can slow heart rate and respiration, which can be fatal. Common CNS depressants include:

Barbiturates: Nembutal® / Pentobarbital sodium; Street Names: barbs, reds, red birds, phennies, tooies, yellows, yellow jackets 
Benzodiazepines: Valium®/ Diazepam; Xanax® / Alprazolam; Street Names:  candy, downers, sleeping pills, tranks
Sleep medications:  Ambien® / Zolpidem; Sonata® / Zaleplon; and Lunesta® / Eszopiclone

  • Stimulants  - are often prescribed to treat narcolepsy, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Teens are more likely to abuse stimulants than older adults, as stimulants provide both “performance enhancement” and a means for teens to “get high.” Stimulants increase energy, alertness and attention accompanied by increases in heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. High doses of stimulants can cause an irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperature, and the potential for cardiac arrest and/or seizures. Some of the commonly prescribed stimulants abused by teens include:

    Dexedrine® / Dextroamphetamine; Street Names: bennies, black beauties, crosses, dexies, hearts, LA turnaround, speed, truck drivers, uppers
    Ritalin®/ methylphenidate; Street Names: JIF, MPH, R-ball, Skippy, the smart drug, vitamin R

  • Over-the-counter (OTC) Drugs  Some OTC medications, such as cough and cold medicines, have beneficial effects when taken as recommended, but they can also be abused and lead to addiction or serious adverse health consequences. Dextromethorphan is the active cough suppressant found in many OTC cough and cold medications.

    About Dextromethorphan® (DXM) Street Names: Robo, Triple C

    DXM is taken orally and when taken in recommended doses, it is safe and effective. But in order to experience the mind-altering effects of DXM, teens must consume excessive amounts of the liquid or the gelcap version. Large quantities of DXM can impair motor function, cause numbness, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, increased heart rate and blood pressure, coma and even death.

    In many cases DXM is combined with other ingredients such as Acetaminophen or pseudoephedrine, which increases the potential for negative effects, including, depending upon the ingredient, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, liver failure, vomiting, nausea, dissociative hallucinations, and others. 

    Due to these additional risks, abusers will often seek out products whose only active ingredient is DXM (e.g., Robitussin® Maximum Strength Cough Suppressant, Vicks Formula 44® Cough Relief).  
    Chronic use of DXM can lead to mental impairment, loss of motor and language skills, muscle degeneration, dissociative depression, and antisocial behavior.

Retail DXM Medicines
There are more than 100 OTC medicines that contain DXM, Some familiar examples include:

         
    • Alka-Seltzer Plus® Cold & Cough Formula
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    • TheraFlu® cough products
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    • Coricidin HBP® Cough and Cold 
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    • Triaminic® cough products
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    • Dimetapp® DM  
      		•  Tylenol® Cough and Tylenol® Cold Products
       
    • Mucinex® DM tablets  
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    • Vicks Formula 44® Cough Relief Products
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    • PediaCare cough medicinesli
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    • Certain Vicks® DayQuil® and NyQuil® LiquiCaps
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    • Certain Robitussin® cough products
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    • Sudafed® cough products

Other OTC Drugs
Over-the-counter drug abuse also occurs with laxatives, diuretics (increase urination), emetics (cause vomiting) and diet pills, as teens try to achieve an idealized weight. Teens may start by taking just a few diet pills but graduate to full addiction and dependence. Herbal products, sometimes referred to as “natural” weight loss aids, can be just as dangerous as diet pills. Some of the dangerous and addictive substances found in diet pills are:

Caffeine
Phenylpropranolamine

    These substances act as stimulants to the central nervous system and present potentially serious or fatal side effects.

    The Office of National Drug Control Policy in January 2008, release a report about the abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs by America's youth.  Click on the link below to see the report.