Dozens of empty cough syrup bottles found on Medway street

MEDWAY, Mass. — Trash can be telling and the story in Medway this weekend is troubling.

During this weekend's clean sweep, one resident reported on Facebook after finding dozens of empty bottles of dextromethorphan, an over-the-counter cough suppressant, discarded along Ellis Street.

Monday morning, Boston 25 News found three more empty bottles a short distance away on Applegate Road.

Dr. Christopher Rosenbaum is a medical toxicologist and emergency department physician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

"It's an extremely common drug of abuse. We see it regularly. We see it in teenagers and underage pediatric populations who are looking for a first drug of abuse to experiment with," said Rosenbaum.

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Knowing this, some pharmacies prohibit the sale of dextromethorphan products to minors and legislation is pending on Beacon Hill that would make those sales illegal.

"We should be concerned that our kids are taking drugs," said Jordan Warnick, SAFE Coalition.
Warnick is a former member of Medway's board of health and is a member of the SAFE Coalition, which deals with substance abuse.

He says there is an upside to finding those empty bottles.

"Bringing awareness to the community is of prime importance. Whether you're on the board of health or whether you're a parent in the town," said Warnick.

Dextromethorphan is found in many over-the-counter products and in therapeutic doses, it simply reduces coughing.

"When you start to take doses above the recommended regimen, you run the risk of getting a little high or even a lot high to the degree where you can have an out of body experience," said Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum says those out of body experiences can have hazardous consequences. For example, he had one patient who had been hit by a car - and didn't even know it.

The bottom line, "parents should be aware that their children could be abusing this drug."

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