Seemingly innocent cough medicine can and has been abused, not only in prescription form, which often contains opiates to suppress the coughing impulse, but over-the-counter cough medicine with DMX. Cough medicine is more often abused by teens and children because it can be bought easily over the counter. Some pharmacies now keep cough medicine with DMX behind the counter to prevent minors from buying it to abuse. It is abused by taking extra-large doses, far beyond the recommended dosage.
As with any drug, extreme doses bring dangerous side effects. Youth report they get “high” and sometimes experience hallucinations. However, mega-doses of this medicine can cause serious, life-threatening side effects, and not just from DMX. High doses of analgesics such as Tylenol are usually included in cough medicines. In extreme doses these analgesics can cause kidney failure.
Articles on the web about cough medicine abuse: