Cough Syrup Cocktail: Is someone lying?
Product out of stock yet bottles are strewn everywhere.
A pharmacy assistant at a large pharmacy chain, who wants to remain incognito, has revealed some new and very disturbing information regarding the abuse of codeine-containing over-the-counter medication.
This comes after a relative of a boy at a well-known high school in the area discovered that the abuse of a dangerous cocktail of cough syrup and fizzy drinks is rampant on the West Rand. She found this out after the school called her in saying the boy often fell asleep in class and that this might be due to the abuse of the codeine-containing cocktail.
Read the initial article here:
https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/11/15/is-cough-syrup-cocktail-addiction-rampant-in-witpoortjie/
The pharmacy assistant, whom we will call Linda for the sake of the article, said that lately the pain-killer syrup, Stilpane, has been out of stock and is nearly impossible to get hold of. Linda phoned several pharmacies in the area and all of them assured her that the product was still out of stock. Eventually she did find a pharmacy that still had stock, but it was not nearby.
Linda said what baffles and concerns her is the fact that the park opposite her residence in Witpoortjie, close to a primary school, is littered with empty Stilpane bottles. This raises a number of questions. Are pharmacies lying and hiding the fact that they carry the product and sell it to addicts? Are primary school children also abusing the product? And if not from a pharmacy, then where do all the bottles in the park come from?
Also Read:
https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/11/15/cough-syrup-cocktail-pharmacy-denies-allegations-against-it/
Linda speculated that there might even be suppliers selling it on the black market, knowing that pharmacists with integrity will show minors the door if they suspect that they are abusing codeine.
The slang names for the dangerous cocktail include ‘Lean’, ‘Purple Drank’ and ‘Dirty Sprite’.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
