Cough medicine now prescription only amid drug abuse concerns

Linctus misused for highs

- Hanna Geissler

A COMMON cough medicine has been made prescription-only after a surge in people using it to get high.

Codeine linctus, sold as an oral solution or syrup, is an opioid medicine used to treat dry cough in adults.

But there has been a rise in people abusing it to make "Purple Drank", a recreational concoction where the drug is mixed with a fizzy drink such as lemonade.

Fruity sweets or other drugs such as paracetamol, cough suppressant dextromethorphan and allergy medicine promethazine are sometimes added to the mixture - also known as Lean, Dirty Sprite and Sizzurp.