{{Short description|Recreational drug beverage}} {{About|the opioid cough syrup drink|dextromethorphan cough syrup drinks also called lean|Recreational use of dextromethorphan}} {{Redirect|Purple Drank|the album by Indo G|Indo G#Studio albums{{!}}Purple Drank (album)}} {{redirect|Wock|the American television station|WOCK-CD}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox drink | name = Lean | image = Lean closeup.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | type = Polysubstance drink | origin = | introduced = 1960s | colour = Purple, red, green, or yellow; varies based on cough syrup brand and soda mixer | flavour = | ingredients = Opioid cough syrup, soft drink | variants = | related = Dextromethorphan syrup | region = Southern United States }}
'''Lean''' or '''purple drank''' (known by numerous local and street names) is a polysubstance drink used as a recreational drug. It is prepared by mixing prescription-grade cough or cold syrup containing an opioid drug and an antihistamine drug with a soft drink and sometimes hard candy. The beverage originated in Houston as early as the 1960s and is popular in hip hop culture, especially within the Southern United States.<ref name=Palmer>{{cite book |title=Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-hop |first=Tamara |last=Palmer |publisher=Outline Press Limited |year=2005 |page=188}}</ref> Codeine/promethazine syrup is usually used to make lean, but other syrups are also used.
Users of lean are at risk of addiction, and serious complications include respiratory depression, respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest. Lean is especially dangerous when consumed with alcohol.
== Names == The term ''lean'' refers to the tendency for users to have difficulty standing up straight and walking while under the influence of the drug.<ref>Richard Klemme, [http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/Newsletter/Promethazine8.htm USE OF PROMETHAZINE WITH CODEINE SYRUP: COUGH/COLD EPIDEMIC OR SIGNIFICANT ABUSE?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516114703/http://www.tsbp.state.tx.us/Newsletter/Promethazine8.htm |date=May 16, 2008 }}, Texas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter, Volume XXV, Number 2, Spring 2001. The name "lean" refers to "users’ propensity of having difficulty in standing up straight."</ref> "Purple drank" references the mixture's typically purple hue, as the cough syrups employed are often purple in color, and the African-American Vernacular English term "drank" for an alcoholic beverage. Other names include "syrup/sizzurp", "surp/zurp", "jelly", "Tussin/Tuss{{'"}}, "Barre", "Wock", "Act", "Texas tea", "mud", "dirty Sprite", and "''tsikuni''{{-"}}.<ref name="ABC2005">Bryan Robinson, [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/LegalCenter/story?id=1045329&page=1 Cough Syrup Abuse in Texas Takes Center Stage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329084018/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/LegalCenter/story?id=1045329&page=1 |date=March 29, 2022 }}, ABC News, August 17, 2005</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Lean (Purple Drank), How It's Made, Side Effects and Dangers |url=https://drugabuse.com/dextromethorphan/lean-purple-drank/ |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123065941/https://drugabuse.com/dextromethorphan/lean-purple-drank/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MTV-Wayne">Shaheem Reid, [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1582520/20080228/lil_wayne.jhtml Lil Wayne On Syrup: 'Everybody Wants Me To Stop ... It Ain't That Easy'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222184338/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1582520/20080228/lil_wayne.jhtml |date=December 22, 2010 }}, MTV.com, February 28, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wcyb.com/news/dirty-sprite-gains-popularity-among-teens/28236066 |title="Dirty Sprite" gains popularity among teens | News - Home |access-date=2015-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026062850/http://www.wcyb.com/news/dirty-sprite-gains-popularity-among-teens/28236066 |archive-date=October 26, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=PA |first=The Ranch |date=2019-11-04 |title=Sipping On Some Nonsense: What Is Lean? |url=https://www.recoveryranchpa.com/addiction-blog/what-is-lean/ |access-date=2022-02-25 |website=The Ranch PA |language=en-US |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320104107/https://www.recoveryranchpa.com/addiction-blog/what-is-lean/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Skelton2022>{{cite web|last=Skelton|first=Eric|url=https://www.complex.com/music/lil-yachty-poland-song-review|title=Lil Yachty Took the WoOoOOoOoock to Poland|work=Complex|date=October 6, 2022|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marso |first1=Andy |title=Pharmacy board recommends tracking 'sizzurp' ingredient |url=https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2014/07/14/pharmacy-board-recommends-tracking-sizzurp-ingredient/16663107007/ |website=The Topeka Capital-Journal |access-date=1 February 2024}}</ref> In areas where lean had not yet been introduced, codeine-based cough syrup mixed with antihistamine pills was called "juice and beans".<ref name="spencer"/> Lean is also sometimes referred to by color in slang, usually purple (usually shortened to "purp"), but can also be red, green, or yellow based on the ingredients used.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
== Preparation ==
{{confuse|section=yes|lean manufacturing}}
[[file:Lean drug ingredients (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Ingredients for creating lean, including codeine-promethazine cough syrup, Jolly Rancher candies, and Sprite. Note the label on the bottled syrup, printed with instructions on how to prepare the lean. Some of the syrup has been decanted into a plastic container.]] thumb|A spoonful of promethazine/{{zwsp}}codeine syrup showing the characteristic purple color|alt=Close-up photo of a metal spoon filled with a viscous, clear purple fluid
Typically, the base for lean is a strong prescription cold medicine, specifically cough syrup that contains both promethazine and codeine. Other preparations use codeine/guaifenasin, hydrocodone/chlorphenamine, hydrocodone/APAP, and hydrocodone/homatropine. Over-the-counter cold medicines that contain dextromethorphan (often paired with guaifenasin or acetaminophen) as the active ingredient have also been used, as they do not require acquiring a prescription.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/dextromethorphan-oral-route/description/drg-20068661 |title=Dextromethorphan (Oral Route) Description and Brand Names - Mayo Clinic |website=www.mayoclinic.org |access-date=2019-08-19 |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329122752/https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/dextromethorphan-oral-route/description/drg-20068661 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/23/sizzurp-cough-syrup-drug/4793865/ |title=Sizzurp: What you need to know about cough syrup high |last=Painter |first=Kim |website=USA TODAY |language=en |access-date=2019-08-19 |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329123918/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/23/sizzurp-cough-syrup-drug/4793865/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
To create a drinkable mixture, the cough syrup is combined with soft drinks, especially fruit-flavored drinks such as Sprite, Mountain Dew, or Fanta, and is often served in foam cups.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tmz.com/2010/09/02/t-i-arrest-sizzurp-drugs-controlled-substance-tiny-codeine/ |title=T.I. Arrest -- Sippin' on Sizzurp? |website=TMZ |date=September 2, 2010 |language=en |access-date=2019-08-19 |archive-date=April 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405141113/https://www.tmz.com/2010/09/02/t-i-arrest-sizzurp-drugs-controlled-substance-tiny-codeine/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Leon" /> A hard candy, usually a Jolly Rancher, may be added to give the mixture a sweeter flavor.<ref name="Palmer" /> Masking the undesired taste may impair judgment of the potency, which is a factor in overdosing.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
==Effects== Lean produces mild-to-moderate "euphoric side effects" accompanied by "motor-skill impairment, lethargy, drowsiness, and a dissociative feeling from all other parts of the body."<ref name=Leon>{{cite news |newspaper=The Daily Beast |first=Melissa |last=Leon |date=March 17, 2013 |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/17/lil-wayne-hospitalization-what-the-hell-is-sizzurp.html |title=Lil Wayne Hospitalization: What the Hell Is Sizzurp? |access-date=January 20, 2014 |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504171545/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/17/lil-wayne-hospitalization-what-the-hell-is-sizzurp.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been suggested{{by whom?|date=January 2026}} that the super-sweet combination of soda, cough syrup, and Jolly Ranchers provides a pleasing flavor and mouthfeel that lingers on the user's tongue for an extended duration. This phenomenon is often appealing to first-time users.<ref name=Learn/> Lean is often used in combination with alcohol, smoked cannabis or other recreational drugs.<ref name=Leon/>
===Hazards=== When taken in prescribed quantities, codeine-promethazine syrup is quite safe,<ref name=Khan>{{cite news |title=Doctor explains sizzurp's powerful high -- and deadly side effects |date=March 18, 2013 |first=Amina |last=Khan |url=https://www.latimes.com/science/la-xpm-2013-mar-18-la-sci-sn-sizzurp-side-effects-lil-wayne-20130318-story.html |access-date=January 20, 2014 |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221070606/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/18/science/la-sci-sn-sizzurp-side-effects-lil-wayne-20130318 |url-status=live }}</ref> but dangers arise in higher doses since it can cause one to stop breathing.<ref name=Khan/> Using alcohol and other drugs alongside lean increases the chance of serious adverse effects.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/Download.aspx?Command=Core_Download&EntryId=439&PortalId=0&TabId=211 |title=Alcohol Interactions with Other Drugs |year=1999 |publisher=Alcohol and Other Drugs Program Public Health Division, Health Department of Western Australia |access-date=June 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118023337/http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/Download.aspx?Command=Core_Download&EntryId=439&PortalId=0&TabId=211 |archive-date=January 18, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Khan/> It seems that the concoction does not cause seizures itself, but increases their likelihood in those susceptible to them.<ref name=Khan/> It has been suggested that the promethazine in the drink may heighten the euphoric effects of codeine.<ref name=Khan/>
The addictive nature of the drink means that trying to discontinue regular usage can bring about symptoms of opiod withdrawal.<ref name=Khan/> In a 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne described the withdrawal as feeling "like death in your stomach when you stop. Everybody wants me to stop all this and all that. It ain't that easy."<ref>{{cite news |title=LIL WAYNE ON SYRUP: 'EVERYBODY WANTS ME TO STOP ... IT AIN'T THAT EASY' |first=Shaheem |last=Reid |date=February 28, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1582520/lil-wayne-on-syrup-everybody-wants-me-to-stop-it-aint-that-easy/ |newspaper=MTV |access-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412134113/http://www.mtv.com/news/1582520/lil-wayne-on-syrup-everybody-wants-me-to-stop-it-aint-that-easy/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==History== Lean is thought to have developed in Houston around the 1960s, when blues musicians would take Robitussin and cut it with beer. Later, when wine coolers came onto the market, they substituted for beer.<ref name=Learn/> These blues musicians lived in Houston's Fifth Ward, Third Ward, and South Park neighborhoods and the practice was taken up by the generation of rappers growing up in the same parts of the city.<ref name=Learn/> In the 1980s and 1990s the formula changed to using codeine promethazine cough syrup, somewhat like the glutethimide and codeine combination that was popular from the 1970s up to the early 1990s.<ref name=Learn>{{cite web |title=Learn all about the long, lean history of "sizzurp" with this 7-minute audio primer |publisher=A.V. Club |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/learn-all-about-the-long-lean-history-of-sizzurp-w-95448 |first=Marah |last=Eakin |date=March 26, 2013 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |archive-date=August 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817170018/http://www.avclub.com/article/learn-all-about-the-long-lean-history-of-sizzurp-w-95448 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Codeine-based cough syrups were also turned to as an alternative to pentazocine/tripelennamine ("T's and blues") after the pharmaceutical industry added naloxone to the tablets, effectively blocking their potential for abuse.<ref name="spencer">{{cite news |last=Spencer |first=Jim |date=September 19, 1984 |title=Abuse of 'juice': The burgeoning ills of cough syrup |trans-title= |url= |language= |work=Chicago Tribune |location= |access-date= |via= |quote=}} </ref>
Lean remained a local phenomenon in Houston until the 1990s, when the American rapper DJ Screw released several tunes mentioning the drink in his mixtapes, which were extremely popular in the Houston area.<ref name=Learn/> DJ Screw's music was particularly appropriate for Houston's climate. Due to the heat and expanse of the Houston area residents spent long drives in their cars, "the music that most appropriately complements that has always been the music of DJ Screw, it's slowed down—and when I say slowed down I mean he would record sessions in his apartment with rappers freestyling over beats and he would make these big mixtapes and then he would actually slow them down even further on his cassette recorder."<ref name=Learn/> DJ Screw's invoking lean in his lyrics and his use of slow tempos had caused his style to be characterized "[a]s if the song itself has taken too much codeine promethazine".<ref name=Learn/> Rappers far beyond Houston would come to adopt aspects of DJ Screw's unique style, but not before he died of a codeine overdose in 2000.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Neil |date=23 November 2000 |title=THE POP LIFE; Rap Is Slower Around Houston |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/23/arts/the-pop-life-rap-is-slower-around-houston.html |access-date=13 April 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
===Popularization=== [[File:Future_Summer_Sixteen_Tour.jpg|thumb|In 2019, rapper Future publicly spoke about quitting lean after learning about how his music influenced teenagers to try the drug.<ref name="Future 2019">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/future-the-wizrd-profile-779220/ |title=Future Changed Rap for a Generation. He Doesn't Know How to Feel About It |first=Charles |last=Holmes |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=January 17, 2019 |access-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524062906/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/future-the-wizrd-profile-779220/ |archive-date=May 24, 2019}}</ref>]]
Houston producer DJ Screw popularized the concoction, which is widely attributed as a source of inspiration for the chopped-and-screwed style of hip hop music.<ref name=Leinwand/><ref name=Corky/> The promethazine and codeine concoction first gained popularity in the underground hip hop scene in Houston,<ref name=Corky>{{cite book |last=Corcoran |first=Michael Joseph |title=All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music |edition=1st |year=2005 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |isbn=978-0-292-70976-8 |pages=23–26 |chapter=The Geto Boys and DJ Screw: Where the Dirty South Began}}</ref> where musician Big Hawk said it was consumed as early as the 1960s and 1970s, becoming more widely used in the early 1990s.<ref>Joseph Patel, [http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml Chopped & Screwed: A History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311071048/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml |date=March 11, 2007 }}, page 2, MTV.com. Accessed January 7, 2010.</ref> Because of usage by rap artists in Houston, it became more popular in the 1990s.<ref name="Scheme">Schiller, Dane. "[http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Purple-Drank-scheme-allegedly-made-millions-for-2225214.php Purple Drank scheme allegedly made millions for smuggling ring] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412134126/https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Purple-Drank-scheme-allegedly-made-millions-for-2225214.php |date=April 12, 2022 }}." ''Houston Chronicle''. Wednesday October 19, 2011. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.</ref> Its use later spread to other States in the South.<ref name=Leinwand/> In June 2000, Three 6 Mafia's single "Sippin' on Some Syrup", featuring UGK, brought the term ''purple drank'' to a nationwide audience.<ref name=WFAA>{{cite news |first=Yolanda |last=Walker |title=Drug-laced cough syrup tempts Texas teens |url=http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa061020_lj_syrup.5a02f76f.html |publisher=WFAA |date=October 20, 2006| access-date= October 28, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070125160550/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa061020_lj_syrup.5a02f76f.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = January 25, 2007}}</ref>
In 2004, the University of Texas at Austin found that 8.3% of secondary school students in Texas had taken codeine syrup to get high.<ref name=Leinwand/> The Drug Enforcement Administration reports busts involving syrup across the Southern United States, particularly in Texas and Florida.<ref name=Leinwand/> As of 2011, the price of lean in Houston was twice the price it is in Los Angeles.<ref name="Scheme"/>
In a 2019 interview, American rapper Future spoke about quitting lean and stated that he was afraid that his fans would believe his music has changed if he had publicly admitted to quitting earlier.<ref name="Future 2019"/> Future expressed disappointment after American rapper Juice Wrld told him that he was influenced by his music to try lean when he was young. Future stated "It's like, 'Oh shit.' How many other sixth-graders did I influence to drink lean?"<ref name="Future 2019" /> The two artists had released a collaborative mixtape titled ''Wrld on Drugs'' in October 2018.<ref name="Future 2019" /> Lil Nas X's hit song "Old Town Road" includes the line "Lean all in my bladder", though Lil Nas X has stated he does not endorse the drug.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/music/a28497104/old-town-road-lyrics-meaning-lil-nas-x-billy-ray-cyrus/ |title=The Real Meaning of the "Old Town Road" Lyrics |date=January 24, 2020 |access-date=January 28, 2020 |website=Cosmopolitan |first=Haleigh |last=Mauro |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412134120/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/music/a28497104/old-town-road-lyrics-meaning-lil-nas-x-billy-ray-cyrus/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Notable incidents of use === DJ Screw, who popularized the codeine-based drink, died of a codeine–promethazine, Valium, and PCP overdose on November 16, 2000, several months after the video of Three 6 Mafia's single debuted.<ref name=MTV-Screw>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Demby |title=Codeine Overdose Killed DJ Screw, Medical Examiner Says |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1437883/20010111/story.jhtml |publisher=MTV.com |date=January 11, 2001 |access-date=October 28, 2006 |archive-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220215849/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1437883/20010111/story.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Big Moe, a DJ Screw protégé whose albums ''City of Syrup'' and ''Purple World'' were based on the drink and who has been described as having "rapped obsessively about the drug",<ref name=Rieken>Kristie Rieken, [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5515791.html Cough syrup found in Pimp C's hotel had no label] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612163635/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5515791.html |date=June 12, 2011 }}, Associated Press, February 5, 2008</ref> died at age 33 on October 14, 2007, after suffering a heart attack one week earlier that left him in a coma.<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/rapper%20big%20moe%20dies_1046665 DJs – Rapper Big Moe Dies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408062829/http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/rapper%20big%20moe%20dies_1046665 |date=April 8, 2009 }}, contactmusic.com, October 15, 2007</ref> There was speculation that lean may have contributed to his death.<ref name=deathteenslifestyle>Leslie Casimir, [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5230362.html Rapper's death leads teens to re-evaluate lifestyle; Fans and friends wonder whether drug was a factor in his heart attack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506040256/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5230362.html |date=May 6, 2010 }}, ''Houston Chronicle'', October 20, 2007</ref><ref name=Chronobit>[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5214956.html Houston rappers remember Big Moe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805155729/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5214956.html |date=August 5, 2011 }}, by Eyder Peralta, ''Houston Chronicle'', October 16, 2007</ref>
Pimp C, a widely influential rapper from Port Arthur, Texas, and member of the rap duo UGK, was found dead on December 4, 2007, at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, California. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office reported that the rapper's death was "due to promethazine-codeine effects and other unestablished factors." Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Coroner's Office, said the levels of the medication were elevated, but not enough to deem the death an overdose. However, Pimp C had a history of sleep apnea, a condition that causes one to stop breathing for short periods during sleep. A spokesman for the coroner's office said that the combination of sleep apnea and cough medication probably suppressed Pimp C's breathing long enough to bring on his death.<ref name=LA>{{cite news |title=Cough syrup cited in rapper Pimp C's death |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-pimpc5feb05,1,2095205.story |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 5, 2008 |access-date=March 15, 2008 |archive-date=February 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212120306/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-pimpc5feb05,1,2095205.story |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Rieken/>
Fredo Santana, an American rapper who frequently made references to the drink in his music, died of a seizure on January 19, 2018. According to TMZ, he had been suffering from liver and kidney damage, which were believed to be the result of his addiction.<ref name=TMZ>{{cite news |title=Rapper Fredo Santana Dead from Fatal Seizure |url=http://www.tmz.com/2018/01/20/fredo-santana-dead-dies-seizure/ |publisher=TMZ.com |date=January 20, 2018 |access-date=January 20, 2018 |archive-date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121010023/http://www.tmz.com/2018/01/20/fredo-santana-dead-dies-seizure/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In September 2006, Terrence Kiel, a San Diego Chargers player, was arrested during practice for the possession with intent to sell prescription cough syrup for use in making the drink.<ref name=Leinwand>{{cite news |newspaper=USA Today |first=Donna |last=Leinwand |title=DEA warns of soft drink-cough syrup mix |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-18-lean_x.htm?csp=34 |date=October 18, 2006 |access-date=October 23, 2006 |archive-date=November 28, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128201409/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-18-lean_x.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kiel was caught trying to ship a case of syrup to a friend via FedEx. Kiel was charged with two felony counts of transporting a controlled substance and three counts of possession for sale of a controlled substance.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/chargers/2006-09-27-kiel_x.htm Chargers safety Kiel arrested on drug charges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719134514/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/chargers/2006-09-27-kiel_x.htm |date=July 19, 2009 }}, ''USA Today'', September 28, 2006</ref>
On July 8, 2008, Johnny Jolly, a Green Bay Packers player, was pulled over in his car by the police for playing excessively loud music in a nightclub parking lot. The officers found a Dr Pepper bottle in a holder next to two Styrofoam cups containing soda and ice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/421758-purple-drank-and-the-nfl |title=Purple Drank and the NFL: Johnny Jolly Isn't the Only One Getting Caught |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=2022-03-03 |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304012929/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/421758-purple-drank-and-the-nfl |url-status=live }}</ref> The case was dismissed,<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/50962557.html Case against Jolly dismissed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812200539/https://archive.jsonline.com/sports/packers/50962557.html/ |date=August 12, 2022 }}, "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel", July 16, 2009</ref> but charges were refiled in December 2009 after the Houston Police Department acquired new equipment that allowed the police to test the evidence again. Jolly faced a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in jail, but as a first time offender he would be eligible for probation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/includes/blog/index.php?action=blog&blog_id=20&post_id=1379 |title=540 ESPN Milwaukee |publisher=Espnmilwaukee.com |access-date=January 4, 2010 |archive-date=December 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220034813/http://www.espnmilwaukee.com/includes/blog/index.php?action=blog&blog_id=20&post_id=1379 |url-status=live }}</ref>
On July 5, 2010, former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell was arrested at his home in Mobile, Alabama, for possession of codeine without a prescription. He was arrested as part of an undercover narcotics investigation. Russell was booked into city jail and released soon afterwards after making his bail.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/07/05/russell.arrest.ap/index.html?eref=sihp 2010-07-05] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708213508/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/07/05/russell.arrest.ap/index.html?eref=sihp |date=July 8, 2010 }}</ref>
On June 11, 2013, just days after being robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco, rapper 2 Chainz was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on charges of possessing promethazine and codeine syrup (the primary ingredient of lean) along with marijuana.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.radio.com/2013/06/11/2-chainz-arrested-for-marijuana-possession-at-los-angeles-airport/ |title=2013-11-06 |publisher=News.radio.com |date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=April 10, 2014 |archive-date=March 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310025310/http://news.radio.com/2013/06/11/2-chainz-arrested-for-marijuana-possession-at-los-angeles-airport/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Mac Miller, who died of a drug overdose not involving lean, spoke openly of his addiction to lean.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.simplemost.com/what-is-lean-the-cough-syrup-drink/ |title=Here's What You Need To Know About Lean—The Cough Syrup Drink That Mac Miller Spoke About Before His Death |last=Streit |first=Kate |date=2018-09-14 |website=Simplemost |language=en-US |access-date=2019-07-30 |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123214143/https://www.simplemost.com/what-is-lean-the-cough-syrup-drink/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On April 7, 2015, Swedish rapper Yung Lean, while living in Miami Beach, Florida, and recording his second studio album ''Warlord'', was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Medical Center due to an overdose stemming from an addiction to Xanax, cocaine, and lean.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yung Lean's Second Chance |url=https://www.thefader.com/2016/06/16/yung-lean-warlord-interview |access-date=2022-02-09 |website=The FADER |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615095845/https://www.thefader.com/2016/06/16/yung-lean-warlord-interview |url-status=live }}</ref>
On December 8, 2019, American rapper Juice WRLD died from an opiate overdose, just six days after turning 21.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-01-23 |title=Juice WRLD: Rapper died from accidental overdose of painkillers, coroner rules |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-51218254 |access-date=2026-01-29 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Commercial products== Several legal commercial products loosely based on the concept of "purple drank" are marketed in the United States. In June 2008, Innovative Beverage Group, a Houston, Texas-based company, released a beverage called "Drank". The commercial product contains no codeine or promethazine, but claims to "Slow Your Roll" with a combination of herbal ingredients such as valerian root and rose hips as well as the hormone melatonin.<ref name="Avalanche Strategic Communications">{{cite news |publisher=Yahoo |title='Slow Your Roll' With DRANK From Innovative Beverage Group – the World's First Extreme Lifestyle Relaxation Beverage |url=http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/080610/144371.html |date=June 10, 2008 |access-date=September 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202151813/http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/080610/144371.html |archive-date=December 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080606070022/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2008/06/adventures_in_p.php Adventures in Press Releases: The Anti-Energy Drink] By Sarah DiGregorio in Edible News, June 4, 2008</ref> Similar "anti-energy" or relaxation drinks on the commercial market use the names "Purple Stuff", "Sippin Syrup", and "Lean".<ref>[http://www.thegrio.com/2009/09/sippin-on-some-syrup.php 'Sippin Syrup' being sold in stores creates controversy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225222201/http://www.thegrio.com/2009/09/sippin-on-some-syrup.php |date=February 25, 2012 }}, theGrio website, September 25, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.</ref><ref name=commercialalert>Jemimah Noonoo, [http://www.commercialalert.org/issues/education/soft-drinks/anti-energy-drink-fuels-concerns-over-marketing Anti-Energy Drink Fuels Concerns Over Marketing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706104356/http://www.commercialalert.org/issues/education/soft-drinks/anti-energy-drink-fuels-concerns-over-marketing |date=July 6, 2010 }}, ''Houston Chronicle'', November 28, 2008; retrieved from commercialalert.org website on November 27, 2009</ref><ref name=deadlytrend>Boyce Watkins, [http://www.bvonmoney.com/2009/09/29/company-makes-money-selling-sippin-syrup-in-grocery-stores/ Company Makes Money from Deadly Urban Trend: "Sipping Syrup"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102065455/http://www.bvonmoney.com/2009/09/29/company-makes-money-selling-sippin-syrup-in-grocery-stores/ |date=November 2, 2020 }}, AOL Black Voices, September 29, 2009</ref>
These commercial products have been criticized for their potential to serve as gateways to the dangerous illegal concoction.<ref name=commercialalert/><ref name=deadlytrend/><ref name=hardswallow>Kim Horner, [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-drank_18met.ART0.Central.Edition1.4bab510.html Anti-energy drink hard for some mental health experts to swallow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118124829/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-drank_18met.ART0.Central.Edition1.4bab510.html |date=November 18, 2010 }}, ''Dallas Morning News'', February 18, 2010</ref> The marketing push has been described as akin to the making of candy cigarettes.<ref name=hardswallow/>
==See also== * Ayahuasca * Benadryl challenge * Coca wine * "Flaming Moe's", an episode of ''The Simpsons'' where Homer invents a cocktail using cough syrup * Recreational use of dextromethorphan
==References== {{reflist}} {{Portal bar|Texas}} {{Drug use}} {{Cholinergics}} {{Opioidergics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lean}} Category:African-American culture Category:Antitussives Category:Culture of Houston Category:Culture of the Southern United States Category:Texan cuisine Category:Drug culture Category:Sedatives Category:Mixed drinks Category:Opioids Category:Polysubstance drinks