"Purple Drank" the new New Coke

[Sun Tzu]

Maybe this is why JaMarcus was playing like he was half asleep on the field. He really was.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)

'Purple drank' has been quietly growing in popularity the last decade. Now it's reached the NFL.

JaMarcus Russell was arrested for possession of codeine syrup, a key ingredient in purple drank. The concoction: typically codeine and the antihistamine promethazine, mixed with Sprite or 7Up and Jolly Ranchers or other hard candy.

Former NFL player Marcellus Wiley doesn't believe consumption is widespread within the league, ''but obviously I think it's picking up some steam.''

''It doesn't have the negative connotation it should, the same negative connotation there is with crack cocaine or heroin,'' said Wiley, an ESPN analyst. ''People think of this purple drank as kind of a cool thing. Because people think it's cool, it invades that mentality, invades that culture, without alerting people to the dangers of it.''

Dr. Ronald Peters knows purple drank - also called sip-sip, syrup or lean - is hardly limited to the cultures of hip-hop or pro sports.

He remembers a decade or so ago visiting inner-city schools in Houston, where teachers were wondering why kids were so drowsy or what were they doing passing around purplish liquid-filled Sprite bottles one sip at a time.

''They kept talking about codeine-promethazine,'' said Peters, an associate professor at the University of Texas Health Service Center in Houston. ''You would go to schools and, literally, kids were falling asleep. I spoke to teachers and they asked why are kids falling asleep in the classroom? Why are eight people drinking from one Sprite bottle?''

Purple drank made its way from that youthful urban setting to the sports headlines with Monday's arrest of Russell at his home in Mobile. The unemployed former Raiders quarterback and 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick, released from the team in May, was charged with possession of a controlled substance: codeine syrup.

Russell's attorney, Donald Briskman, said the ex-LSU star will plead not guilty at his arraignment July 20.

Codeine syrup has landed several NFL players in trouble.

The late San Diego Chargers safety Terrence Kiel, a teammate of Wiley's, pleaded guilty in 2007 to felony and misdemeanor drug charges for shipping prescription cough syrup to Texas. Kiel died in a car crash in July 2008.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly is scheduled to go to trial at the end of this month after his July 2008 arrest outside a club allegedly for illegally possessing at least 200 grams of codeine. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Wiley said the codeine issue crept onto his radar when his teammate Kiel was arrested.

''Before that, it was more relegated to the entertainment world,'' he said. ''I had heard that in the South especially, some of the rappers mentioned syrup, purple drank. It was kind of part of that subculture, but it never invaded the locker room, it never invaded pro athletics, until the Terrence Kiel incident.''

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said codeine is among the banned substances the league tests for, but said he didn't know if there had been any codeine-related suspensions.

''We do not see evidence of a particular problem among NFL players beyond what we see in normal society,'' Aiello said.

Purple drank's origin is generally regarded as the Houston rap scene, where it's been trumpeted in such songs as Three 6 Mafia's 2000 hit, ''Sippin' on some Syrup.''

It's had tragic effects, too.

Texas rapper Pimp C's 2007 death was attributed to the combination of codeine and promethazine, an antihistamine medication, with the sleep disorder apnea. DJ Screw, a popular Houston disc jockey, died of a heart attack in 2000 after a reported overdose of codeine-laced cough syrup. Rapper Big Moe, whose albums included ''City of Syrup'' and ''Purple World," died in 2007 of a heart attack.

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne of New Orleans has mentioned purple drank in his songs, including one entitled ''Me and My Drank'' where he references both Pimp C and Big Moe.

The drug is nothing new to the Mobile area, where Russell starred at Williamson High School. In fact, it's become increasingly prevalent over the last decade.

Dave Peacock, an assistant district attorney in Mobile County, said there were no codeine-related arrests in 2000, and just three the following year. In the last five years, though, there have been an average of more than 56 annually.

There have been 31 so far in 2010, Peacock said.

He said the drug goes for about $350 a pint. It carries a strong odor, has a syrupy thickness and a purple tint.

The cost of the drug has increased along with its popularity. Peters says the cost has nearly tripled from about $125 a pint four or five years ago.

''Because of that, it's not as accessible to kids,'' he said. ''But it is accessible to people who have resources and money, and it's still one of the most popular drugs on the streets.''

The high price also has made it something of a ''status symbol'' and ''sort of the drug of choice for people who can afford the so-called better drugs,'' he said.

He compares it to the popularity of powder cocaine in the 1970s and 80s.

The risks include overdose, liver damage, trying to drive while drowsy from the drug and ''syrup comas,'' Peters said.

Peters said what makes purple drank unique is the combination of the opiate (codeine), the depressant (alcohol) and the antihistamine. He said it's become a common sight in some areas, like drinking alcohol in a bar.

''If you see someone out on the street with a two-ounce cup of codeine-promethazine, they're not looked at as being maladjusted, they're looked at as normal,'' Peters said.

[Passacaglia]

teachers were wondering why kids were so drowsy or what were they doing passing around purplish liquid-filled Sprite bottles one sip at a time.

Why are eight people drinking from one Sprite bottle?''

When I was getting my teaching certificate and doing my field observation, the teacher I was observing noticed a couple kids passing around a water bottle -- I don't think they ever looked into exactly what it was, but it was obviously some kind of alcohol. I think it's pretty much a no-brainer to think that if kids are drinking out of the same bottle, they've got a damn good reason to.

[JediKooter]

Poor Jamarcuss, so young and immature.

[Wolfpack]

I'm trying to understand the appeal of this. This doesn't sound like a drug with a major high or has the same sort of "fun" factor that marijuana might have. Sounds like a stupid way to get drunk for drunk's sake or something. Then again I've never understood that mentality even with plain alcoholic beverages, so maybe I'm being too logical about it.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Let's just start the rumor that "Purple Drank" will give you a "Tinky-Winky." See how cool it is in a few years...

[Noop]

I've tried it a few times and its not my type of drug/drink. The only thing good about it is it will take away any headache you have in a split second.

[Passacaglia]

It actually sounds like it could be a pretty good drink if you took out the alcohol and drugs.

[Sun Tzu]

I dig codeine

[BishopMVP]

I like Jolly Ranchers

[Mantle2600]

I like purple drinks

[JediKooter]

What's in Crunk Juice?

[BishopMVP]

Seriously, is this any different than drinking Nyquil and having a couple beers? Because I knew (white) kids in college that did that, they just didn't have any special names or fancy colors.

[stevew]

nyquil lacks codeine

[BishopMVP]

I know that, but does Codeine have that much worse an effect than the tranquilizers/painkillers in Nyquil? Acetaminophin metabolizes into a cannabanoid, and levorphanol is a painkiller 5x the strength of morphine. I've only taken Tylenol with Codeine once when I got tonsils out iirc, but it didn't seem to do much compared to the other painkillers I've received for injuries.

[Sgran]

Kids (mainly guys) will do anything for a cheap buzz. Does noone remember whip-its? A guy from Indiana I knew in college went on and on about "doin' a Robi" (drinking a bottle of Robitusan) Here in Hungary you'll see kids staggering around in public (I often see them on the bus) with a plastic bag that seems to be just filled with air. They're sniffing glue.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I know that, but does Codeine have that much worse an effect than the tranquilizers/painkillers in Nyquil? Acetaminophin metabolizes into a cannabanoid, and levorphanol is a painkiller 5x the strength of morphine. I've only taken Tylenol with Codeine once when I got tonsils out iirc, but it didn't seem to do much compared to the other painkillers I've received for injuries.

I'm not tryin to be a smartass, but if 6 dollar a pint Nyquill works as well, I dunno why anyone would spend 300 dollars on a pint of the purple drank.

[Chief Rum]

No doctor, but I am pretty sure Codeine is a heck of a lot stronger than whatever's in Nyquil. When I had an infected tooth out and had severe muscle spasms in my back (the two most painful physical episodes of my life thus far), both times it was Codeine I was prescribed.

[sterlingice]

Stories like these baffle me. They seem to take some weird, stupid, isolated fad and then feel the need to broadcast it to the world so lots of idiots can go "really? I never would have thought of that" and suddenly you have more people doing it than would have otherwise.

SI

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by stevew

I'm not tryin to be a smartass, but if 6 dollar a pint Nyquill works as well, I dunno why anyone would spend 300 dollars on a pint of the purple drank.

I don't know why anyone would spend $1000 on a bottle of Cristal when a $10 bottle of Freihoffer works just as well. I mean, the most prominent users are Jamarcus Russell, Lil' Wayne, and Three 6 Mafia - not exactly charter members of MENSA. Even the article says it has turned into a status symbol as the price went up. I don't doubt Codeine is stronger,I just wonder how much different the effect is.

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Stories like these baffle me. They seem to take some weird, stupid, isolated fad and then feel the need to broadcast it to the world so lots of idiots can go "really? I never would have thought of that" and suddenly you have more people doing it than would have otherwise.

SI

+1000. I guarantee the popularity and number of kids trying this drink has shot up the past week or two, at least outside of Houston/NoLa/Mobile/Port Arthur where it was known.

[stevew]

That's the Academy Award Winning Three 6 Mafia.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by stevew

That's the Academy Award Winning Three 6 Mafia.

Add in Lil' Wayne's Grammy's and they're halfway to an EGOT. When is Poppin' My Collar: The Musical coming to Broadway?