Cough-med abuse sites

One in 10 teenagers (2 million+) have abused cough medicine, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. “Both in liquid and gel-cap forms, they're highly accessible and cheap and come with little social stigma attached. But, like other over-the-counter drugs, they can be dangerous when abused,” US News & World Report reports. It adds that “thousands of Web sites promote the abuse of cough medicine” and detail ways to use it. Abuse of its active ingredient, dextromethorphan, can cause “serious cognitive problems, including psychosis and paranoid delusions,” according to US News, which adds that some abusers are taking 25-50 times recommended dosage. Parents should also know that there are no treatment programs or FDA-approved treatment specific to cough-medicine abuse.