Those under the age of 18 are prohibited from buying medicines that contain dextromethorphan over the counter in Florida starting this new year.

Senate Bill On Dextromethorphan Medication

Senate Bill 938 bans manufacturers, retailers and distributors from selling medicines containing dextromethorphan to minors. Customers who look younger than 25 upon checkout are also required to provide identification that would verify their age.

Dextromethorphan is a well-known cough suppressant and is found in a number of over-the-counter medications. However, it has been widely reported in recent years that youngsters use the medication as such or in combination with other substances for getting high.

The bill on the retail sale of dextromethorphan was the last one signed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2016. Doug Broxson, the former state representative who will assume office shortly as senator, sponsored the bill.

Doug Broxson On Dextromethorphan

"What we were concentrated on were some of the deaths and the by-products, what some of the kids were doing in reconditioning this in a hypnagogic form," said Broxson, who pushed for the bill after learning about dextromethorphan's adverse effects on youngsters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Broxson added that the bill is brought into effect in an effort to contain medication abuse among minors, who also try to be creative in using the substance by mixing it up with other ingredients. He noted that a sudden increase in the number of cases related to dextromethorphan misuse was reported in Texas, Florida and California, which demanded the need for the new legislation.

Broxson also said that the pressure came from the federal government on this issue. It was decided that the best way to deal with the problem is to put the pressure on people or clerks that handle the medication, noted Broxson.

Vendors that sell the medication need to monitor their customers and verify whether they are above 18 years of age. They are advised to ask for IDs if they suspect the customers to be minors. It is better to put the responsibility on the personnel that sell the medicines than put the product behind the counter, added Broxson.

Pharmacists On Dextromethorphan Medication

Santino Colabianchi, a pharmacist currently with Thrift-T Drugs in Pensacola who has worked for both small pharmacies as well as big chains like CVS and Walgreens, said that when it comes to such medication misuse it could probably be more prevalent in big chains, not in small ones where it's easier to keep an eye on customers coming in.

Another pharmacist, Steve Jackson from Jackson-Pace Pharmacy, said that monitoring kids coming to buy medicines in small pharmacies is easy, something that may be hard to do in bigger ones.