It remains unclear "exactly what the Snurf product actually contains," but "the kids' symptoms -- and the effects reported by Snurf takers in online drug-user message boards -- point to dextromethorphan ( DXM), the cough suppressant ingredient in Robitussin and other over-the-counter medicines."

According to Deborah Levine, M.D., of New York's Bellevue Hospital Center, DXM "is a synthetic morphine analog that lacks opioid-like effects." Dr. Levine explained that, "at extreme doses...DXM causes the same kinds of dissociative symptoms -- memory loss, depression, anxiety, detachment from self, sense of unreality, blurred sense of identity -- seen with ketamine, a very dangerous drug of abuse known as 'special K.'"

Michael Windle, Ph.D., of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, explained that "use of DXM and other over-the-counter drugs is on the rise." He warned that "these products can produce a very severe side effect that, under some conditions, could require hospitalization, or even result in death."

Related Links:

- "Experts Say Abuse of 'Herbal' Snurf Pills, Over-the-Counter Drugs Is Up in Young Teens," Daniel J. DeNoon, WebMD Health News, September 9, 2008.