IT’S name on the street is ‘Purple Drink’ or ‘Dirty Sprite’.
Whatever it is called, it’s hit Zululand and local SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (SANCA) officials are warning parents to be ‘extremely vigilant’ of its use among teenagers.
The drug, made from a mixture of codeine-based cough syrups, a soft drink and any sleeping tablet is highly addictive.
Police say warning signs of abuse include raised body temperature, dilated pupils and muscle tremours, which could lead to dehydration, cardiac arrhythmia and convulsions.
Sources believe it is highly likely that the mixture can be fatal.
SANCA Zululand recorded its first ‘Purple Drink’ case on Wednesday, and Director Shireen Sahadev said she has ‘not heard of anything like it’ in her 21 years with the organisation.
A former addict agreed to talk about his experience with the drug.
The 23-year-old said users mix an entire bottle of cough syrup into a soft drink, usually Sprite or Coke, and add Allergex, Disprin or any over-the-counter sleeping pill.
‘Everything is slowed. It feels like you’re vibrating, you can’t focus on anything when you’re on it,’ he said. ‘You can’t remember anything.’
Variants
He also detailed variants, such as mixing the cough syrup with energy drinks, simultaneously smoking dagga and drinking alcohol, which boost the ten-hour high and is otherwise known as ‘roller coasting’.
The side effects of consuming codeine in high amounts include nausea, vomiting and tiredness, but the new recipe’s additional ingredients counter this, leading to a nerve-numbing high.
‘When you move, it feels like you’re flying. When you walk, it feels like you’re in soft sand. You feel dizzy and sleepy, but if you don’t sleep, you get high,’ he said. ‘The more you drink, the higher you get, and you can sip on it all night.’
He reported to have used the drug for a month before quitting because ‘it was too powerful’, and said long-term abuse left him perpetually lethargic until he drank it again, coupled with severe cravings and withdrawal symptoms, which induced intense headaches.
His said he first encountered the drug in Durban in 2014, claiming there was no incidence of abuse in Zululand then.
Now he says that abuse of the mixture is rapidly growing in popularity with the youth in Ngwelezana and Empangeni.
‘They’re abusing it… a lot,’ he said. ‘It spreads socially through friends and it’s everywhere now.’
Getting help
The SANCA Zululand offices are situated in Empangeni.
Counsellors can be contacted on 035 7723290.
