Why our work is so important

I have talked to my daughter. She hates taking medicine/cough medicine. I hate the taste too. You would think the taste alone would deter abuse. Keep up the good work!

i'm not a mom and i can only imagine what i put my mother through. i overdosed on cough medicine. i came home and snuck into bed. my mom knew something was wrong - she probably thought i was drunk or high and she was pretty pissed.
i was in my room trying to go to sleep and i felt like my soul was being ripped away from my body and i knew if i didn't do anything i would die. i went into my mom's room and told her i needed to go to the hospital. she made me call poison control and tell them what i had done and they told me to go to the emergency room.
my heart was going three times the normal rate and they said they had to give me something to stop my heart so that, hopefully, it would go back to normal - if it didn't, they said they'd have to use the paddles on me. luckily, stopping my heart worked, but it was a horrible experience. it felt like i died and it hurt.
i didn't know that could happen, but i know now - and i have to say, it may be fun, but it's not worth almost dying.
it does make me wonder why this is over-th-counter and pot, which you can not overdose on, is illegal. i'm not saying kids should be smoking pot, but at least it won't kill them.

Thank you for sharing your life experience. From my point of view as a law enforcement and D.A.R.E. officer and a Five Mom, drug abuse to get high is dangerous, whether it's cough medicine abuse or marijuana use. And there are many negative health effects to both. (Five Moms lists many for cough medicine abuse, and you can find information on marijuana and other drugs of abuse on D.A.R.E.'s web site.) As a Five Mom, I focus on cough medicine abuse, of course. But as a mom (lowercase-m), I really want young people to understand the dangers of all drug abuse. For example, marijuana smoke contains carcinogens and tar. Not to mention the added breathing problems, colds, and upper respiratory problems. And it's even more dangerous when combined with other drugs. I hope you have the strength to resist all types of drugs. And thank you again for sharing your story!

Thank you, Heather, for your comment. I am so glad you have talked to your daughter about the dangers of medicine abuse. Thanks for the great comment and for reminding us all that educating our kids is the best way to keep kids from abusing drugs, including medicines. We can't rely on taste to deter abuse. I Thank You for the great work also!"