Purchasing over-the-counter cough medicine in California will now require proof that consumers are over the age of 18. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, staring Sunday, California will become the first state to require identification in an attempt to curb the use of dextromethoprhan (DXM) in young people.
DXM is found in popular cold medicines like Robitussin and NyQuil and allows teenagers to get high. Referred to as “the poor man’s PCP,” ingesting high quantities of the ingredient creates powerful hallucinogenic effects and can eventually lead to health concerns like liver damage and seizures.
The law was passed by the state legislature earlier in the year and goes into effect Sunday.
“By limiting the sale to minors, we hope to reduce the number of cases where there’s misuse or abuse of over-the-counter cough medications containing DXM,” the bill’s author, state Senator Joe Simitian, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is really nasty stuff with very serious consequences.
DXM abuse is common in teenagers, with a recent nationwide survey reporting that as many as one in 10 young people have gotten high using cough medicine. In fact, the California Poison Control System says DXM has consistently been the most commonly reported abused substance since 2003. And during that same time period, the number of reports of DXM abuse has increased tenfold.
