Effects of Purple Drank Abuse

Purple Drank, also known as Lean, is a mixture of a prescription cold medication with a soda drink like Sprite or Mountain Dew, plus ice and Jolly Rancher candies often added for color and taste. The cold medication is one that contains promethazine (an antihistamine) and codeine. These ingredients combined make a purple liquid that is then sipped until euphoria and dissociation from one’s body occur. The effects of taking Purple Drank will last between three and six hours.

It is common for the high associated with this combination to be called a “swooning euphoria.” The combo also has a sedative effect and makes a person woozy.

There are other effects of Purple Drank abuse that are not so sought-after.

Effects of Purple Drank include:

Constricted pupils that do not respond well to light

Rough, raspy voice

Slow, slurred speech

Uncontrolled eye movement

Droopy eyes

Slowed heart rate

Drowsiness

Loss of balance

Loss of coordination

Paleness

Constipation

Urinary tract infection

Dental problems

Addiction

It is possible to take an overdose of codeine when abusing Purple Drank, resulting in an opiate overdose and death. If the use of the drink is combined with alcohol or other drugs, the combination can also contribute to death.

This drug was widely abused in Texas in 2000, but then the number of people abusing it began to drop. By 2011, numbers of users were back up again.

But in fact, the origin of this drug goes back to the 1960s in the Houston area. From there, it spread to other parts of Texas and Alabama and the South, then recently on to Philadelphia.

The Effects of Purple Drank on the Hip Hop Industry and Sports

Among rappers and football players, there have been a number of arrests and deaths related to this drug combination. Most famously, rapper Lil Wayne talks and raps about the use of this drink, as does the group Three Six Mafia. At least three hip-hop rappers or producers have died, including DJ Screw and musician Big Hawk, both from Houston.

In 2005, JaMarcus Russell, a quarterback who had just been released from the Oakland Raiders because he was reportedly “drowsy and weak” too often, was arrested after being found with a codeine-based cough syrup.

In 2006, Terrance Kiel from the San Diego Chargers was arrested for trying to send a shipment of cough syrup to a friend. He was cut from the team and died in a car crash two years later after he left a Fourth of July party. News reports stated that his friends had tried to talk him out of driving but he took off anyway.

Johnny Jolly of the Green Bay Packers was arrested in Houston in 2008 after a traffic stop for loud music. Police found codeine in his car and discarded styrofoam cups—the preferred container for Purple Drank.

Is it Possible to Build a New, Sober Life after Addiction to Purple Drank?

The main addictive substance in Purple Drank is the codeine which is an opiate. Thousands of people who are addicted to opiates have built new, sober lives for themselves after the Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

Narconon centers all around the world use the same procedure to help people overcome the cravings and eliminate the guilt and depression that can drive an addicted person back to substance abuse. Each person must not only recover physically from the damages of drug abuse, he (or she) must also gain a brighter outlook that enables him to look forward to that productive new life he will build for himself.

He must have the life skills to take actions like these:

Choose friends and associates who will enable him to stay sober

Know how to deal with associates who might jeopardize his sobriety

Understand how personal integrity is lost

Know the process to recover one’s personal integrity and use it for his own relief

Repair his muddied perceptions resulting from substance abuse

Learn problem-solving techniques for dealing with setbacks and obstacles

These changes and more are available on the innovative Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. All it takes is an earnest desire to recover from addiction. Even those who don’t really believe they can recover when they first arrive soon see this program working and realize that they can achieve a new sober life.

Learn how the Narconon rehab program can be the last one you ever need.

See also Signs and Symptoms of Purple Drank Abuse

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