Three weekend incidents alert Hubbard police to cough-suppressan - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

HUBBARD, ohio -

HUBBARD, Ohio - While most parents are aware of the dangers of street drugs, the potential threats from prescription and over-the-counter medications are often overlooked.

However, over-the-counter drug abuse is becoming more common among teens especially on the Internet.

"It seems with the Internet and the way with the exchange of information is so rapid it is hard for us to keep up," said Hubbard Police Department Sgt. Howard Haynie.

Just this weekend, Hubbard police responded to three separate incidents which highlighted this growing problem.

On Friday, two teens allegedly shop lifted products containing DXM. On Saturday police found flu and cold tablets on an unresponsive male found lying in a park and on Sunday police encountered another case.

"It was an adult male. He was so under the influence we couldn't get him into the county jail. We had to keep him here in our jail facility and monitor him until he was better," said Sgt. Haynie.

While DXM is deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration, pharmacist Stephanie Mrozek says it's not regulated making it more readily accessible.

Some teens have reported using several times the recommended dose, which in some cases has resulted in death.

"Some of the adverse effects can include rapid breathing, slurred speech, and difficulty concentrating and there is the auditory and visual hallucinations and then what a lot of the users are looking for is that targeted dose that gets you to that trance like state, but the problem is that dose is very close to the overdose," Mrozek said.