"Sizzurp"may seem like a sweet and simple way to get high, but the practice can bring on some dangerous side effects.
The drug is made of soda, candy, and cough syrup containing codeine.
"This is a very dangerous drug It can lead to seizures and essentially lead you to stop breathing." Doctor Robert Glatter of Lenox Hill Hospital, told TODAY. "It's quite addictive. The sweetness of the soda and candy combined with the drug itself makes people want to have this all day long. ... They just don't know how much they've had throughout the day and by then, it's almost too late."
The drug, which also goes by "purple drank" and "lean," also contains the antihistamine promethazine.
"This is a very common cough syrup that, when taken in appropriately prescribed quantities, is quite safe," George Fallieras, an emergency room physician and hospitalist at Good Samaritan Hospital, told the Los Angeles Times.
Promethazine acts as a depressant of the immune system and codeine is a respiratory depressant. If the "drank" is taken in too large of a quantity it can could cause the user to stop drinking.
"A lot of times these guys are not just drinking the purple drink, they're also drinking alcohol," Fallieras said. "And potentially in combination with alcohol and other drugs -- all of these together can be a lethal cocktail."
Rapper Lil Wayne claimed to enjoy the drug in the past, but was hospitalized in March because of a codeine overdose, TODAY reported. The concoction has also been linked to the deaths of "rapper Pimp C in 2007 and DJ Screw in 2000."
"These are dangerous prescription drugs," Steve Pasierb, president and CEO ofThe Partnership at Drugfree.org said. "Whether they're mixed with soft drinks or mixed with Jolly Ranchers, it doesn't change that fact. This is one of the more dangerous ways, frankly, to get high."
It has been rumored that Justin Bieber is addicted to sizzurp and his handlers wish to put him in rehab for the dangerous habit, the N.Y. Daily News reported.
