A few months ago, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) gave high school and middle school students the opportunity to ask questions to a panel of scientists through an online chat. Last week, U.S. News wrote an article with the questions teens asked about the abuse of legal substances. One thing I noticed in the article is that teens have questions about cough medicine abuse. Look at what one teen asked the experts from NIDA:

plbaby – Point Loma high school – some of my friends drink a lot of cough medicine to get high? is that dangerous? Nicolette Borek – It is dangerous – dextromethorphan, which is often abbreviated DXM, is the drug in cough syrup that gives the high and abusing it can lead to various negative side effects especially if it is used along with alcohol.

Your kids probably have lots of questions about all kinds of drug abuse, but a professional expert like Nicolette Borek, who is a NIDA psychologist, won’t always be around. If you get educated about cough medicine abuse, you can be the person they turn to for the answers that will help keep them safe.