USA - Bipartisan bill to ban bulk sale of DXM

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Bipartisan Bill to Ban Bulk Sale of DXM.


For Immediate Release
Contact: Amanda Mahnke
(202) 225-2605
Measure bans bulk sale of cough syrup ingredient commonly abused by kids – Cases of abuse have resulted in deaths across the country

March 3, 2009

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) today re-introduced bipartisan legislation to crack down on the bulk sale of dextromethorphan (DXM), an ingredient of cough syrup that kids are abusing to get high. The Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2009 will 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 approved under federal or state law. Larsen and Upton’s bipartisan legislation passed the House in both the 109th Congress (December 2006) and the 110th Congress (October 2007) but failed to clear the Senate. With research indicating that more kids than ever are abusing cough medicine, Upton and Larsen are hopeful the bill will finally gather enough support to become law.

“In 2005, two teenagers in my district died after overdosing on unfinished DXM they bought online,” said Larsen. “The loss of these children is a tragedy that will be forever felt by their families and our community. In spite of these and other DXM-related deaths, kids continue to have easy access online to large quantities of this dangerous drug. Banning the bulk sale of DXM on the Internet is a commonsense step that will save lives.”

“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 father of two, I am alarmed by the growing trend of teens abusing cough syrup and pure DXM to get high – 1.7 million teens last year gambled with their lives at least once by abusing cough syrup. Our kids are engaging in a game of Russian roulette each time they get high off of DXM, and sooner or later someone dies. As it stands, DXM is only a click of a mouse away from arriving on our kids’ doorsteps. This commonsense 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."

“The abuse of dextromethorphan has lead to the deaths of young people across the country. Whatcom County suffered the loss of two teenagers who purchased the drug from a supplier in Indiana through use of the Internet,” said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, who investigated the DXM overdoses in Larsen’s district in Washington state. “The ready availability of this drug is attributable to inadequate controls. Congressman Larsen and his colleagues have shown true leadership in their pursuit of regulations that will better control the distribution of this product.”

"Studies have shown that teenagers are obtaining unfinished DXM to get high by consuming large amounts of the powder or mixing it with alcohol, and research indicates that abuse of DXM has increased sharply in recent years. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America last week announced the findings of its 20th annual teen study which revealed nearly 7 percent or 1.7 million teens have used cough medicines to get high in the past year."

“The abuse of dextromethorphan is an urgent health threat facing teens in our country,” said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for a Drug-Free America. “Controlling bulk supply of DXM is a critical step toward reducing the prevalence of a dangerous behavior that 2.4 million teens report engaging in during their lifetime. The work of policymakers, combined with the efforts of concerned parents communicating the risks of DXM abuse to their kids, will have a significant positive impact on this issue.”

"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."


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