Occasional recreational use of over the counter medications like Dextromethorphan, while carrying the risk of acute reactions and overdose, is not likely to induce dependence or addiction. But with increasing usage frequency, both physical and psychological dependence to the drugs can occur.
You may die from an overdose the first time that you try over the counter medications to get high but you are very unlikely to become addicted.
However, if someone using over the counter medications to get high is losing control over their ability to limit their usage amounts or frequency, are increasingly fixated on the getting and using the drug, and continue to use Dextromethorphan despite the occurrence of adverse social or physical consequences, they are very likely addicted.
For people whose regular use has caused the development of addiction, the best way to better the problem is through inclusion in a medically supervised over the counter detoxification, followed by a therapeutic period of over the counter drug treatment rehab.
Page last updated Nov 08, 2010
