After using cough syrups to get high Thamesville, Ont. man wants tougher rules for access

A Thamesville, Ont. man believes there should be rules restricting access to over-the-counter cough syrups that can be used to get a cheap high. 

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Austin Kerr said he used Benadryl products "to get high" from January to February this year because it contains the ingredient dextromethorphan — a drug with sedative and dissociative properties.

"I've been smoking weed for some time to get high," said Kerr. "I decided rather than going to a drug dealer or something where I don't particularly know what's going to be in it, I thought I would try what I read online that this over-the-counter medication being able to give you a pretty intense high."

The 20-year-old said at the peak of his addiction, he would take up to 24 extra-strength Benadryl pills at one time. He added cough medicine is accessible and affordable.

"I could just walk into any Shoppers [Drug Mart] — they're open until midnight — with $20 and that'd get me high for eight hours," he said, adding the drugs should be behind the pharmacist's counter.

But putting those drugs out of reach is easier said than done, according to pharmacists.

"If you look at every possible medication that's other there that can be abused, you'd have a bigger behind-the-counter section than you would out in the open market,"  said Rob Modestino, who owns a pharmacy in LaSalle, Ont.

Modestino said the solution he would like to see is for cough medication to be placed close enough to the pharmacists so they can "observe and regulate it."

"I think it's up to the professionals to pay attention to how often products are being purchased," he said. "I mean there's really no reason why somebody should be buying 200 Benadryl tablets."

Drinking a full bottle of cough syrup

Kerr says his "lowest point" came after drinking a full 120-millilitre bottle of cough syrup.

"That was actually my worst experience that made me stop because the effects lasted for about 18-20 hours," Kerr recalled. "I was expecting something around six-to-eight hours, so I was starting to get really concerned after 10 hours or so. I didn't sleep that whole night, I was vomiting, basically my whole body was numb." 

The experience scared him from taking the cough syrup and encouraged him to speak up. He said he relies on support from his family and friends, but worries about other youth who may not have a strong support system.

"There's other people that are doing this, that's where I learned how to do it myself and learn the appropriate dosages to avoid hospitalization — or worse," he said. 

Concerns about bulk cough syrup sales

Staff at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit aren't surprised cough syrups and tablets are being misused by some, but said they were unaware of it becoming a trend.

"There has been some evidence that, in the past, some of those cough medications and herbal medications are used as a drug of abuse by some," said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, Associate Medical Officer of Health. "Typically it's not the first drug that they're trying. They're typically trying to wean off from something else and try some other types of medications to get their high."

Ahmed said some cough medications require a prescription but he would like to see additional steps in place to keep over-the-counter medications "out of sight," especially in larger drug stores.

"If a pharmacist or a vendor notices somebody is getting a large quantity of medication, they can possibly deny giving them that much medication," he said, adding this could result in a difficult conversation. "Especially at some of the bigger stores that sell these medications in bulk quantity, I think those are the ones that need to be monitored as well."