USA - Upton 'cough syrup' bill approved

[chillinwill]

WASHINGTON - Four weeks after being introduced, the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday approved Rep. Fred Upton's 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, R-St. Joseph, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., introduced the Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2009 (H.R. 1259) to help prevent the abuse of the drug by making it illegal to distribute unfinished DXM to a person or company not previously registered with the FDA, or registered or licensed clinics, compounding pharmacists, pharmacies and researchers.

The measure, which passed the House by a vote of 407 to 8, now awaits consideration in the Senate.

"The deadly reality is that our teens think that it's safe to get high off of DXM because it is a common ingredient in cough syrup - the passage of the DXM bill in the House is an important step in shattering that myth," said Upton.

"This is too important an issue not to get done - kids' lives literally hang in the balance and I urge the Senate to swiftly follow suit. 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."

"Four years ago, two teenagers in my district died after overdosing on DXM they purchased online," said Larsen. "Kids today continue to have easy access to large quantities of this dangerous drug. Banning the bulk sale of DXM on the Internet is a common-sense step that will save lives."

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 12:10 PM EDT
Niles Daily Star
http://www.nilesstar.com/articles/20...ws/ndnews5.txt

[ganjahero420]

well its unfair but cant say swim personally will mix dxm that much if it becomes difficult to get. but ugh, these politicians drive me absolytely nuts, that guy will sit there and use kids deaths who obviously took obscene amounts of the drug as an example. well i wonder how many under age drinkers died in your district last year...

[RaverHippie]

bring on the CCC's now soon that will be the only product left

[sandoz1943]

It's almost like what they have done with other drugs they restrict access to the safer drugs (yes I know no drug is safe) The kids aren't going to stop and there will be alot more casualties because the CCC's are cheaper and easier to get. Well at least they will save the failing News Paper business " Kids Die After Drinking Cough Syrup" makes a more sensational headline than " Schools Failing Our Children" and best of all it helps insue we will never see " Medical Marijuana Available For The Sick" in any headlines soon. Evil Bastards!

[fnord]

Originally Posted by RaverHippie

bring on the CCC now soon that will be the only product left

well cough syrup will still be around,this is aimed at pure powdered DXM,but those who are used to ordering pure dxm will now have to switch to an impure product that has other active and sometimes dedly ingreadiants. Another failure for the war on drugs..


That girls hot!

Actually i think its just the fact shes chugging robotussiun..

[Joe-(5-HTP)]

I hate it when people say things like "The deadly reality is that our teens think that it's safe to get high off of DXM because it is a common ingredient in cough syrup"

Kids don't care if it's safe or not- hell, those same kids will probably inhale solvents to get high... Just because something is legal doesn't mean people presume it safe. All the kids care about is whether it gets them high or not.

[Lady Codone]

The "deadliest" aspect of kids abusing DXM products comes from those who aren't educated on the risks and either take waaaay too much or get ahold of a product with other ingredients like pseudephed or acetominophen.

The bigger question is, would people have any real reason to try DXM in the first place if they had access to pure, reasonably priced, and arguably safer drugs like marijuana, mescaline, mushrooms, etc.? Seems to me that the whole "legal high" thing is an outgrowth of the Drug War and people finding new and bizarre ways to get high.

[Greenport]

There should be mandatory warnings on the bottle. Past that, sales should be restricted to people 18 and older (younger bees may disagree but swiM's hamster did the whole dxm thing when a teen, and it was astonishingly easy for it to get. One time the hamster walked right in, bought two bottles and nothing else and didn't even get a funny look!)

Also parents should be warned to watch their medicine cabinets and to warn their kids about drug abuse before it can become a problem. But sensibly of course. Chugging cough syrup is bad for the body, especially the developing body. Even without the other ingredients, there's still likely a bunch of sugar and gunk in there.