Teen abuse of cold pills on the rise.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

In the drug store, they're sold over the counter as Coricidin HBP. But to the young people who intentionally overdose on them to get high, they're known as "red devils."

Maige Redmon and Sandy Canaday say it's a well-deserved moniker for the little red pills.

Canaday says she didn't know what to do when her 18-year-old son overdosed on the pills a month ago. She says his blood pressure was so high he was in danger of having a stroke. Their family doctor later told her she should have taken him to the emergency room for treatment.

"I didn't know what to do," Canaday says. "I'm lucky he made it through that night."

Redmon says she noticed her memory fading, her words slowing, her brain clouding after abusing the drug a few times for its hallucinogenic effect. Alarmed that so many of her friends continue taking the pills, the Springfield teen-ager is sounding the alarm with e-mails to news media and heartfelt talks with her friends - including Canaday's son, who has since enrolled in a drug abuse treatment program.

"I'm afraid we have a serious epidemic on our hands here in Eugene-Springfield," Redmon says. "I know because I am in the middle of it. There are so many parents with kids who do this on a regular basis and they don't even have a clue."

Local adolescent drug treatment specialists say the hallucinogenic effect of cold and cough medications containing dextromethorphan, the ingredient in Coricidin, is well known among young teen-agers who are beginning to experiment with drugs. In January, five youths in Aloha were treated for overdoses after they took dozens of pills. Local treatment experts haven't noticed an alarming increase in over-the-counter drug abuse, but think it's something every parent should know about.

Sylvia Roehnelt, director of the Pathways drug treatment program for youth offenders in Lane County, says awareness is especially important for parents of pre- and early-teen-age children who may begin experimenting with drugs available in the family medicine cabinet.

"You want parents to know about it," she says. "It's one of the early things, one of the things kids can get easily."

Brenda Maynard, a senior counselor at Looking Glass Youth & Family Services, says half to three-fourths of the young people in treatment for abusing illegal hard drugs say they know about dextromethorphan. Most who have tried it don't continue the abuse for long, she says.

"A lot of people get a negative reaction from that from the first time," she says.

The Oregon Poison Center in Portland answered 878 phone inquiries last year about dextromethorphan effects experienced by people who took too much of the drug either intentionally or by accident, says Tonya Drayden, public education coordinator for the poison center.

Symptoms include racing heart rate, high blood pressure and general uneasiness in lower doses. Fatalities are rare, but heart, liver and nerve damage are possible from high dosages. Taken as directed, dextromethorphan generally is considered safe.

"It's a very common preparation for cold and cough medications," Drayden says. "People assume it's an over-the-counter preparation, so it's a safe product. The bottom line is dosage. The key we want people to know is you have to read the ingredients, read the label."

At least two major drug retailers in Lane County - Fred Meyer and Bi-Mart - are taking steps to limit young people's access to Coricidin, which users often shoplift because it contains a comparatively high dosage of dextromethorphan. The drug comes in a 16-pill box, enough for one or two overdoses.

Fred Meyer stores have begun to shelve only a few boxes at one time. Customers are limited in the number they may purchase, spokesman Rob Boley says. "There was a lot of theft taking place," he adds.

Bi-Mart stores require Coricidin buyers be at least 18 years old. Purchases are limited to three boxes, Director of Advertising Don Leber says.

"It looks to be an increasing problem with younger people," Leber says.

Redmon also believes the abuse is increasing.

"The ones who introduced me to it have been telling more and more people," she says.

Canaday says she is grateful Redmon is helping her son stay off drugs. Canaday says every family who faces the problems of substance abuse must find their own way through the issue. But she says her son's dextromethorphan overdose taught her a universal response.

"What parents should do if their child is on these pills, they need to take them to the doctor or the hospital because of the damage that can be done," she says. "Definitely get medical help."

COLD PILL ABUSE

What it is: Dextromethorphan, an ingredient in more than 140 cold and cough medicines, taken in large doses produces LSD-like high. Abuse is popular among young teen-agers who shoplift products like Coricidin, which contains a comparatively high dosage of the drug.

What it does: Produces "out of body" experience, sensation of floating, hallucinations, impaired communication ability, confusion, anxiety, dulled emotions, memory loss.

Physical effects: High doses create racing heart rate, high blood pressure, possible seizures. Combined with other drugs, such as acetaminophen, can cause heart, liver and nerve damage.

More information: American Association of Poison Control Centers, www.aapcc.org; Council on Family Health, www.cfhinfo.org.

- American Association of Poison Control Centers, The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

Maige Redmon and Sandy Canaday (left) both have had experiences with dextromethorphan medication abuse. Coricidin: Stores take steps to limit access Continued from Page A1