Southern Lean (Barre, Oil, Purple Tonic, (Purple) Drank or Syrup/Sizzurp) been popularized in the pseudo-neo hip hop industry. Whether it’s Future’s DS2 (Dirty Sprite II) or Juicy J’s Lean and Blue Dream, the audiences of these “artists” are being compelled to drink themselves to death with purple poison.
Codeine, one of the ingredients in “Lean” is an opiate substance used to treat mild-moderate pain. Other opiates are morphine, heroin and Oxycontin. The other main ingredient is promethazine. Promethazine is known to have a sedative effect in even mild doses. This deadly combination is a detriment to the body as it is a central nervous system respiratory depressant. When the CNS is affected by a depressant, it gives the user an euphoric feeling and slows down the breathing, however can slow down the breathing until death.
SHORT-TERM EFFECTS
- “Rush”/Euphoric Feeling
- Slowed breathing
- Clouded mental functioning
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sedation; drowsiness
- Hypothermia (body temperature lower than normal)
- Coma or death (due to overdose)
Those side effects are not only of those users of heroin, but purple drank as well.
Many people have died from overdosing on lean, although codeine is not as additive as heroin, the combination with sugary soda and hard candies are still highly addictive. The bright purple color and sweet jolly ranchers that people add to their cups make it especially appealing to the youth, and even to their elders. Those that have reached the addictive stage can have withdrawals as if they were users of heroin.
If not codeine, there are deadly alternates such as PCP, cocaine and hydrocodone.
You’re drinking cough syrup, ladies + gents.
Drinking lean as shown to cause seizures, muscle stiffness, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, loss of muscle control and death.
The following are a few promoters of “lean” or purple drank have died from an overdose:
- Big Moe
- DJ Screw
- Pimp C
- ASAP Yams
If crack-cocaine is not killing the Black community fast enough, there’s lean, a legal way of catching a high and a potential suicide.