Is your teen or a young adult talking about a lean drink? She or he is not trying to lose weight. Instead, it’s another moniker for sizzurp, dirty Sprite, or purple drank. This drug finds ample glorification in hip-hop culture – with deadly consequences.
What is Lean Drink?
Users mix codeine-containing prescription cough medicine with Sprite, Mountain Dew, or another soda that is on hand. Codeine is a narcotic, which falls into the same class as opioids such as heroin or morphine. It relaxes you and creates a sense of euphoria. Concurrently, it has dissociative properties that can make the mind and body feel as though they’re not quite connected.
Another ingredient in prescription cough syrup is promethazine. This substance is an antihistamine that acts as a sedative. Combined with codeine it allows sufferers with severe coughs to rest, sleep, and not deal with pain. When used as a recreational drug, users significantly increase the dosage and take it beyond safe levels.
Moreover, because they mix it with sweet-tasting sodas, it’s difficult to keep an eye on the amount consumed. Although it’s not as addictive as heroin, codeine nevertheless leads to dependence. Once you form a habit, getting off the drug comes with the same withdrawal symptoms as detoxing from other opioids. Since many users mix lean drink with other drugs like alcohol, they heighten the potentially deadly impact of the substance.
Getting Treatment for a Codeine Addiction
If you’ve been using lean drink for a while, you’ve probably developed an addiction to codeine. Addiction treatment experts warn that quitting cold turkey is just as dangerous as suddenly stopping opioid painkillers or heroin. You require the assistance of a medically supervised detox facility to keep you safe and comfortable. After this process, it’s vital to head to rehab.
Residential rehab is probably your best bet. Because lean drink is the kind of substance that thrives on peer pressure, you’ll need space. Getting away from others who’ll try to talk you into using helps you follow through on your plan to quit. Within a residential setting, you’ll have access to various therapies such as:
- Talk therapy to help you get to the reasons why you’re susceptible to drug abuse in the first place
- Relapse prevention support that helps you look forward to returning home without falling into the trap of using again
- Holistic health services that treat not just the addiction but also your body and mind, including Yoga and acupuncture
- Group therapy that introduces you to a new peer group experience where people help you heal
- Vocational training that provides life skills you can put to good use after rehab
Of course, if the residential setting simply isn’t for you, consider an intensive outpatient program. It still lets you handle your responsibilities at home, work, or school while getting treatment. Because meeting your needs is instrumental to your healing success, an extended pre-admission intake interview at Steps to Recovery covers a broad range of subjects. After all, you want customized treatment that works; not someone else’s treatment that might help you, too.
In some situations, this customization also means bringing in your family. If it’ll help you heal and get well, it makes sense to incorporate family counseling into the mix. Sometimes, this means helping family members understand how to support you in your recovery. In other situations, it may require addressing co-dependency issues that could be detrimental to your healing efforts.
Do You Need Help with Quitting Lean Drink?
If you’re ready to break out of your peer group and quit using, Steps to Recovery can help. We’ll provide addiction education, life skills, help you set sober living goals, and prepare you to reintegrate into society. You don’t have to keep risking your health and life by using the codeine concoction. Call an addiction specialist at 866-488-8684 today.