Youths getting high on cough syrup rounded up in Bangkok swoop

[webfact]

Youths getting high on cough syrup rounded up in Bangkok swoop
Thaivisa Reporters


Image: Khaosod.co.th

BANGKOK:-- Police and soldiers swooped early Tuesday morning to clear an area of teenagers drinking tea laced with cough syrup, reports Thaivisa News.

The sweep followed complaints from residents that teenagers of both sexes in the Taweewattana area of Thonburi, western Bangkok, had been creating a disturbance for some time.

The forty strong taskforce took eleven juveniles in for questioning and arrested one adult for selling alcohol without a licence. Youths were searched and backgrounds checked. Five motorbikes were also seized.

The delinquents were found to be drinking iced tea mixed with the cough syrup Dutross that helped them become intoxicated. One of the youths told officers it was an easy way to get high. He said they were friends who attended a well known technical college in the Petchkasem Soi 110 area.

Thanakorn Khomkhai, 36, was charged with selling alcohol without a permit in front of the mini mart in the area.

Police called parents and teachers of the youths to the local station and asked them to take better care of the young people who they later released with warnings.

-- 2016-03-29

[Roomuck]

Boys will be boys.

Youths will be youths.

All around the world.

I never had to resort to drinking cough syrup tea though. We could always find something a little better.

[JetsetBkk]

At least they should be able to give their names clearly.

[thesetat2013]

In the major drugstore chains we have had to sign a document and give our phone number due to a crackdown on trying to prevent kids from misusing this type of medicine for getting high. I hope they make it even more strict without taking drastic measures like removing them completely. Thais have a problem then take the most drastic measures thinking it will stop it. Yet, if there's a will then there's a way.

[nikmar]

Maybe they should stop selling cough syrup within 300m of a college or educational facility.

[maoro2013]

Obviously they should ban within the 300 mtr as the adult presumably providing this elixir was arrested for selling alcohol.

[steven100]

next thing will be you need to be 21 yrs old to purchase cough syrup ....

[mrrizzla]

Maybe they should stop selling cough syrup within 300m of a college or educational facility.

I'm not gonna lie. I LOL'D

[balo]

next thing will be you need to be 21 yrs old to purchase cough syrup ....

Cough syrup in Thailand actually contains opium . Maybe a good idea.

[Jimbo2014]

Those boys are giving me some ideas for a good night out. Can I be piss tested for cough syrup?

[terminatorchiangmai]

on my way to the pharmacy now , think it works better with hot tea.

[KC 71]

The main ingredients for meth !

[KC 71]

Ephedrine

[roamer]

Neither of the active ingredients in Dutross cough syrup are reported as having psychotropic effects, nor are they meth precursors. More likely just the alcohol content we are talking about here. As for the opium content of the cough sryup pictured above, it's a tincture and a tincture can be any strength, like homeopathic medicines you could probably screen it with the best equipment and still come up blank.

Edited March 29, 2016 by roamer

[gandalf12]

I dont see how the person selling the cough mixture was selling alcohol. Most cough mixture contains a small amount of alcohol but I would not have thought he needed a liqueur license to sell cough medicine

[chiang mai]

next thing will be you need to be 21 yrs old to purchase cough syrup ....

Cough syrup in Thailand actually contains opium . Maybe a good idea.

To put that statement into perspective:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric

[Elreeco]

Eradicate the 'common cough' and the problem is solved....

[mankondang]

Many cough syrups have opiate based ingredients. I knew a very successful business man who initially took the the syrup so that he could work through a common cold. When the cold persisted he bought more, unknown of the opiate ingredient. Slowly this escalated until he went pharmacy shopping every day. He became addicted, lost his wife and business and entered a detox center. He was devastated to find that he was an opiate addict, who like heroin addicts was placed on a methadone maintainence program.

Many cough and cold medications contain addictive substances. Opiates are in some cough syrups, whilst sudoephedrin, the base for making amphetamine are in nasal decongestants, are in others (Sudofed). Many countries have banned these products or made them available via doctor's prescription only (The latter has led the addict to doctor shopping). Hence the young are finding new highs all the time. Many on this topic have joked that these products should be banned, well they are in several countries, whilst others have made them "by prescription only". The problem with the latter is that many pharmacies are broken into, whilst others display large notices stating that these such products are not kept on the premises.

Edited March 29, 2016 by mankondang

[Nemesis7]

This is a serious addiction issue throughout south east Asia and some corrupted company's are spoiling the generation by selling these addictive sin the name of cough syrup.

Police should get hold of the god fathers and ban these companies from marketing such products .

[starky]

Many cough syrups have opiate based ingredients. I knew a very successful business man who initially took the the syrup so that he could work through a common cold. When the cold persisted he bought more, unknown of the opiate ingredient. Slowly this escalated until he went pharmacy shopping every day. He became addicted, lost his wife and business and entered a detox center. He was devastated to find that he was an opiate addict, who like heroin addicts was placed on a methadone maintainence program.

Many cough and cold medications contain addictive substances. Opiates are in some cough syrups, whilst sudoephedrin, the base for making amphetamine are in nasal decongestants, are in others (Sudofed). Many countries have banned these products or made them available via doctor's prescription only (The latter has led the addict to doctor shopping). Hence the young are finding new highs all the time. Many on this topic have joked that these products should be banned, well they are in several countries, whilst others have made them "by prescription only". The problem with the latter is that many pharmacies are broken into, whilst others display large notices stating that these such products are not kept on the premises.

Yeah except we are talking about dutross which has nothing in it you might as well be taking tiffy. Thailand to my knowledge is extremely strict on the sale of pseudo and ephedrine based products to my knowledge they are banned. Doesn't mean you couldn't get them but not easy ( believe me I've tried) far easier to buy other drugs that will do more damage (valium, xanax) and I have never seen the heavy cough syrups like benadryl and that purple stuff that you can get in many other countries. There are far more illicit drugs readily available in Thailand that they should worry about controlling before they go after pharmacies IMHO.

[starky]

This is a serious addiction issue throughout south east Asia and some corrupted company's are spoiling the generation by selling these addictive sin the name of cough syrup.

Police should get hold of the god fathers and ban these companies from marketing such products .

Oh yes only a problem in South East Asia no other countries are over medicated or have addictive drugs pushed on them by big Pharma

[anotheruser]

What about the people selling them?