Purple drank is a slang term for a recreational drug popular in the hip hop community in the southern United States, originating in Houston, Texas. Its main ingredient is prescription-strength cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine. [1] Cough syrup is typically mixed with ingredients such as Sprite soft drink or Mountain Dew. [citation needed] The purplish hue of purple drank comes from dyes in the cough syrup.

There are numerous slang terms for purple drank, including sizzurp, [2][3][4][5][6] lean, [1][3][4][7] syrup, [3][5][8]

drank, [5][9] barre, [5] purple jelly, [4][5] Texas tea, [9] and Tsikuni. [10]

BigTuna1

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12 years ago

The most popular type of codeine syrup is promethazine-codeine, a prescription cough syrup. The active ingredients are codeine, a narcotic, and promethazine, an antihistamine. When taken in large quantities, both medications can lead to sedation and altered levels of consciousness. [1] The inclusion of the antihistamine is intended to deter abuse, as doses higher-than-recommended can produce extreme somnolence, clinical weakness, and ultimately, fatal hypoventilation (inadequate breathing to sustain life). In lower doses, the antihistamine targets cold symptoms through reducing both swelling and vasodilation; it also acts to potentiate the opiate codeine.

Prescription cough syrups containing hydrocodone are also used to make the drink, though they are less popular. [26] Songs like "Sippin' on Some Syrup" by Three 6 Mafia refer to Tussionex, a yellow cough syrup containing extended-release hydrocodone and chlorpheniramine (another antihistamine). [27] Other hydrocodone-containing syrups such as Histinex HC, Hycotuss, and Hycodan may also be used, but Hycodan has added homatropine to deter abuse. [28]

Syrup also is made with over-the-counter cough syrups such as Robitussin DM, which contain dextromethorphan as the cough suppressant. Although dextromethorphan is used recreationally, it has dissociative effects as opposed to narcotic. Dextromethorphan is a synthetic morphine analog, [29]

although without opioid activity that morphine has, that has been on the market in the United States since the 1950s. [30] It is a cough suppressant in small doses, but in large doses it can result in a disassociative state, with hallucinations, similar to that produced by PCP or ketamine. [26]

Promethazine-codeine contains 10 mg of codeine and 6.25 mg of promethazine per 5 mL. [31]

Some users report that the large amount of sugar in drank causes them to experience weight gain, tooth decay, and other medical symptoms.

BigTuna1

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12 years ago

exas producer DJ Screw popularized the concoction, which is widely attributed as a source of inspiration for the "chopped and screwed" style of hip hop music. [3][11] Originally, the active ingredient of "syrup" was cough syrup containing promethazine and codeine. The concoction first gained popularity in the underground rap scene in Houston, [11] where musician Big Hawk said it was consumed as early as the 1960s and 1970s, becoming more widespread in the early 1990s. [12] Its use later spread to other southern states. [3] Because of usage by rap artists in Houston, it became more popular in the 1990s. [13]

In June 2000, Three 6 Mafia's single "Sippin' on Some Syrup," featuring UGK, brought the term "purple drank" to a nationwide audience. [2] Three 6 Mafia's single "Rainbow Colors" featuring Lil' Flip pertains to the consumption of purple drank; the addition of a Jolly Rancher candy to a cup of purple drank creates a spectrum of colors, hence the name.

In 2004, the University of Texas found that 8.3% of secondary school students in Texas had taken codeine syrup to get high. [3] The Drug Enforcement Administration reports "busts" involving syrup across the southern United States, particularly in Texas and Florida. [3]

As of 2011, the price of purple drank in Houston is twice the price as it is in Los Angeles. [13]