With names like Syrup, Urple and Skittles, how is it not supposed to appeal to kids?

No one is saying it so I’m just going to go out and say it.  Maybe I’m oldschool but what ever happened to good old natural weed?

Pimp C, Big Moe, and DJ Screw are just a few rappers that died foolishly, yes I said it, foolishly. If I were to start a rapper death pool right now…Lil’ Wayne would be a safe bet, followed by Young Buck and [insert Southern rapper here]. Since it broke as news some months back that Lil’ Wayne is very obviously addicted to codeine enhanced prescription cough syrup (as well as perhaps other drugs, considering his camp has been found with cocaine, etc.) Wayne has been defensive, cocky and unappologetic at the accusations.

Now I’m not saying he needs to appologize to anyone…but he has admitted himself that perhaps the reason he’s so hard-headed is because he’s surrounded by Yes-men due to his enormous success in the music industry…and so “it’s gonna be hard to tell me I’m slippin'”, he admits.

As of 2004, 8.3% of Texas teens reported using cough syrup to get high. I can only imagine that the number has grown tremendously in recent years with the increased media attention this trend has gotten.

I remember once taking half a bottle of NyQuil when I was 15 because I was extremely sick. The result was I started to see little stars and felt mad sleepy…I had an awesome night’s rest and my cough all but dissappeared but I can only imagine the toll that continuous use would take on my body…oh that’s right…it would kill me!

Now the active ingredient in NyQuil is Dextromethorphan or DXM…but it also has other active ingredients.  Generally speaking people make “syrup” by mixing a juice or soda with cough syrups containing DXM (and only DXM) or with prescription cough syrups containing Codeine and Promethazine.

Serious Sidenote: If you decide to get high never ever use products that have active ingredients other than DXM (even apparently harmless ones such as Acetaminophen) as high doses of these other ingredients can and will lead to severe heart problems and irreversible liver damage.  As a matter of fact high doses of DXM can also kill you.

A recent VIBE Magazine feature article touches on the topic of Syrup and asks Lil’ Wayne about his “addiction”.  He admitted he went to see a doctor because he couldn’t stop using it himself and the doctor ended up giving him pills that would help with withdrawal symptoms…pills Lil’ Wayne later threw away.  Lil’ Wayne’s solution?  He now let’s his entourage pour his syrup for him (so he doesn’t overdo it).  It’s good to know he’s got supportive friends. 

In the article Wayne goes on to talk like he has a deathwish, saying things like, “I wanna be a Bob Marley.  I wanna be a Tupac – their lives mean so much when they gone.  Fuck right here.  I wanna mean so much after I’m gone.” 

When Pimp C was found dead with a bottle of prescription cough syrup on the counter next to his bed it was reported that he actually had a prescription for the syrup and did not get it on the black market as many others do. Pimp C was obviously using syrup for years.  What I want to know is who the fuck is his doctor and why the Hell is he still practicing medicine?  As for Wayne and his delusions of martyrdom…ain’t shit glamorous about dying with Robitussin coming out your nose.

With all that said…who ever died from weed?  I mean…Ah fuck it, excuse me while I pour this purple drank.