By Staff
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives Monday unanimously approved by voice vote U.S. Rep. Fred Upton's, R-St. Joseph, bipartisan legislation to crack down on the bulk sale of dextromethorphan (DXM), an ingredient of cough syrup that kids are abusing to get high.
Upton and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., co-authored the Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2007 (H.R. 970) which makes it illegal to distribute unfinished DXM to a person or company not registered with the FDA and will help prevent the abuse of this drug, which has resulted in deaths across the country.
Upton called on the U.S. Senate to follow suit and pass similar legislation to prevent the unapproved production, sale and use of DXM as a "street drug."
"This is a matter of life and death, and we must shatter the myth that it is safe for our kids to get high off of DXM because it is a common ingredient in cough syrup," said Upton.
"As a parent of two teenagers, I am alarmed by the growing trend of teens abusing cough syrup and pure DXM to get high.
"Our kids are engaging in a game of Russian roulette each time they get high off of DXM, and sooner or later, someone dies. This common-sense piece of legislation will put an end to the bulk sale of DXM over the Internet and keep our kids safe from the dangers of this type of drug abuse."
DXM is a non-narcotic cough suppressant used in many over-the-counter cough and cold medicines.
While medicines containing DXM are used safely by millions of Americans each year, taken in extremely large quantities DXM produces a hallucinogenic high and can cause brain damage, seizures and death. Studies have shown that teenagers are obtaining unfinished DXM to get high by consuming large amounts of the powder or mixing it with alcohol. Recent research indicates that abuse of DXM has increased sharply in recent years. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 1 in 11 teenagers has used cough medicines to get high.
"In 2005, two teenagers in my district died after overdosing on unfinished DXM they bought on the Internet," said Congressman Rick Larsen. "The loss of these children is a tragedy that will be forever felt by their families and communities. We cannot continue to allow this dangerous drug to be only a click of the mouse away from our homes and our children. I urge the Senate to act quickly and approve this common sense measure to protect our kids."
There are a number of disreputable websites that provide "how-to" guides to get high off of DXM. These sites include information recommending how much DXM to use, suggest other drugs to combine with DXM, provide instructions on how to extract DXM from cough medicines, promote drug abuse in general, and even offer for purchase a raw, unfinished form of DXM for snorting.
"This is too important an issue, with kids' lives hanging in the balance, not to get done," said Upton. "This legislation sends a strong message to those individuals who are illegally peddling this drug to our teenagers to cease at once or suffer severe consequences. The statistics do not lie – we must act now before abuse of DXM reaches epidemic proportions."
The Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2007 is endorsed by the American Pharmacists Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Food Marketing Institute, National Association of Chain Drug Stores and The Partnership for a Drug Free America.
For more information, Upton encourages everyone to visit the website for the Partnership for a Drug Free America at www.drugfree.org. The site has a feature entitled "What every parent needs to know about cough syrup abuse."