WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Calif. bans kids from buying cough syrup

December 28, 2011

The doctor's office isn't the first place Jennifer Berrios turns to when she has a cold and cough. The 16-year-old almost always relies on over-the-counter cough syrup. But starting Jan. 1, Berrios will no longer be able to buy a bottle on her own.

California lawmakers are banning the sale of most cough medicines to anyone under 18 because teens are getting high on one of the ingredients. In large doses, dextromethorphan of DXM can cause hallucinations and even death.

"The number one drug of choice for children under 18, more common than even marijuana because it is so easily accessible," said Dr. Janesri De Silva, a pediatrician in Van Nuys, Calif.

Teens will be able to buy the cough syrups if they have a prescription. If not, pharmacists will have to check IDs for proof of age.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 5.5 percent of 10th-graders got high on cough medicine this year.

"People using it for recreational purposes might be taking half a bottle to a full bottle, maybe even more than that on a daily basis," said Kimberly Curtin, a pharmacist in West Hollywood.

The makers of cough medicines support the change and are trying to raise awareness about DXM online, like on the website DXMStories.com.

But Berrios isn't convinced the law will prevent misuse.

"If they want to get it they will," she said. "It doesn't matter if there's a law against it or not."

And she says it only makes it harder for people like her who want to take the right dose for the right reason.

California pharmacies caught selling the medicine to minors face a $250 fine.