It's not illegal, so my folks shouldn't worry about it. It seems like this is a rationale among some teens who abuse medicines, either prescription or over-the-counter. But the fact is that medicine abuse is dangerous. Teenagers who abuse cough medicine could be taking as much as 25-50 times the recommend dose of the products. And this abuse can lead to dangerous health effects, like loss of physical coordination, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart beat, and disorientation. And the dangers can be increased if the teen is abusing cough medicine in combination with other medications, alcohol, or illegal drugs. We urge you to educate yourself at Five Moms about cough medicine abuse and the importance of always knowing exactly what medicines, prescription and over-the-counter, are in your medicine cabinet.