There’s something deeply satisfying about soda as it fizzles and pops in the mouth, but seeing as it’s virtually like liquidized sugar, drinking soda moderately is recommended. On the other end of the spectrum is a medication like cough syrup, which eases scratchy throats. What do both substances have in common? Nothing in particular, but mixing them creates a bubbly, heavily medicated drink that can get anyone intoxicated with just a few sips, so much so that anyone who drinks too much of it will have to lean on something to stay upright.
Infamously known as a lean drink, blending cough syrup with soda results in a sickly sweet drink that can bring the mood up to a euphoric state. It’s been making waves and quenching cravings in the streets for years as prominent rappers sing praises over the addictive drink, but lean can make even grown men fall over after taking a swig.
Lean and Mean: Codeine Disguised as a Candy-Like Drink in the Streets
Lean is a drug-laced drink that was first glamorized in the streets of Houston, Texas, which has been dubbed many names by the younger users as purple drank, sizzurp, purple stuff, drank, barre, Texas tea, Tiskuni, purple jelly, Memphis mud, dirty sprite, or purple sprite.
The deep, purple color is often due to the combination of soft drinks with large doses of prescription cough syrup, typically made with codeine. Cough syrups with promethazine-codeine ingredients in them are considered as a Schedule V drug, so they’re only legal to consume if it comes with a prescription.
The inebriating effects of the cheap drink made it booming among teens since they’re easier to get than alcoholic beverages or drugs, though some are known to lace more dangerous drugs like cocaine, hydrocodone, or PCP to push the drink’s high-like effects to greater heights.
What’s Inside a Lean Drink?
Lean drinks are often passed around in the streets in a white Styrofoam cup, but inside, the seemingly innocent liquids contain a powerful form of opioid: codeine. With that in mind, it’s not a surprise to see that codeine-laced soda such as lean drinks gives an uplifting, euphoric feeling that hooks its drinkers.
In addition to opioid codeine, prescription cough syrups also contain antihistamine promethazine. The common lean drinks are generally made from these combinations, but drinkers can often customize it to suit their taste, so some add hard candies like Jolly Ranchers and even alcohol to kick the effects up a notch.
Those who can’t access prescription cough syrups use over-the-counter alternatives like cough syrup made with dextromethorphan (DMX) to mimic the intoxicating effects. On the other hand, some add codeine tablets to the cough syrup-laced soda, which boosts the dosage to dangerously high levels.
What are the Effects of Lean Drink?
What makes the drink even more deadly is that codeine has addictive properties, which means drinkers can quickly build their tolerance and develop dependence. Once people start to increase the amount of prescription cough syrup to feel the effects just as strongly as their first few chugs, it will get more difficult to quit drinking as it also leaves lasting changes in one’s behavior.
As the moniker suggests, drinking a lean drink makes you want to lean on something since it creates a floating sensation. The dreamy, out-of-this-mind high recreates the sensation of an out-of-body experience as the substance depresses your central nervous system (CNS), while its interaction with your brain activity eventually leads you to a heavily sedated state.
Casual lean drinkers may also quickly develop the following damaging side effects:
Short-Term Effects
- Feelings of euphoria
- Dizziness
- Slowed heart rate
- Slowed breathing
- Constipation
- Dental decay
- Weight gain
- Urinary tract infections
- Impaired vision
- Memory loss
- Hallucinations
- Seizures (in at-risk individuals)
As for people who have grown dependent on lean drinks and abuse them on an almost regular basis, then the drug-laced beverage can impact your health in the following ways:
Long-Term Effects
- Liver damage (noticeable through the yellowing of skin or eyes, upper abdominal pain, nausea, dark urine, dark, tarry tools, and constant fatigue);
- Brain lesions that lead to memory loss, behavioral changes, and cognitive impairment;
- Permanent psychosis;
- Epilepsy
The Dangers of Lean Drink and Overdosing
The amount of codeine added to lean is often unmeasurable and varies per batch, making it even more difficult to track and assess whether one cup can push a person to experience an overdose. The unpredictability of a lean drink’s contents means everyone can quickly become a victim of codeine overdose, which appears as the following symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing
- Cold, clammy skin
- Drowsiness
- Itchiness
- Extreme confusion
- Blue fingers and lips
- Constipation
- Muscle spasms
- Dizziness
- Loss of consciousness or coma
- Low blood pressure
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pinpoint pupils
Ingesting too many opioids mixed into the drink can overwhelm the brain with opioid molecules, which is what causes the lungs to collapse and become life-threatening on the spot. When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it only has six minutes to recover, or else the victim goes into a coma or dies.
Famous names like DJ Screw, Big Moe, Pimp C, and Fredo Santana are some of the high-profile cases that died due to codeine overdose from drinking the “purple stuff.”
We’ve mentioned that some swap out codeine cough syrup for DMX cough medicine, known as either NyQuil®, Robitussin®, or Theraflu®. DMX produces different effects from codeine, so it results in a more hallucinogenic high and is dubbed as “robotripping.” With that in mind, DMX-laced drinks result in the following effects:
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Increased blood pressure
- Loss of coordination
- Numbness
- Rapid heart rate
- Hallucinations
- Memory loss
- Seizures
- Reduced oxygen to the brain (in rare cases)
In other cases, mixing either codeine lean drinks or DMX lean drinks with other substances like alcohol can quicken the onset of effects. This can lead to severe drowsiness that eventually results in breathing difficulties and a high risk of overdose.
Death-Dealing Syrup: The Addictive and Life-Threatening Nature of Lean Drinks
Many drugs and other substances are not made to interact with each other, especially since some can result in deadly combinations. Lean drinks are one of the many drugs found on the streets that can be lethal to anyone who drinks them, particularly teenagers and young adults.
Seeing as the younger population are the most at-risk of being exposed to lean drinks without your awareness, it helps to understand the dangers involved with this popular beverage so you can spot the signs of addiction and get the appropriate help you need to put a stop to it before their dependence completely alters your loved one’s behavior and overall health.
