People are using diarrhoea drug Imodium to get high

An Upstate New York Poison Center doctor warns that some people are abusing Imodium, or loperamide, to get high. The anti-diarrhoea dug has opioids which gives people who abuse it a “high” when taken in high doses

What is worrying is that Imodium could be purchased by anyone over-the-counter, points out Dr Jeanna Marraffa from the center. She believes loperamide could be just as dangerous if not more dangerous than heroin, reports CNY Central.

The anti-diarrhoea medication has become a substitute for opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, says a new report published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. The study found that people who are seeking self-treatment of opioid withdrawal symptoms or euphoria often overdose on Imodium. However, there are times the result could be fatal.

But in therapeutic doses, Imodium is harmless, clarifies William Eggleston, study author. He adds that during the two-year period 2010 through 2011, there was a 10 times jump in postings about oral loperamide abuse in web forum postings. About 70 percent of the postings said the drug could be used for self-treatment of opioid withdrawal, while 25 percent were about getting high from the medication.

As a result, incidents of loperamide abuse or misuse across the US between 2011 and 2014 went up by 71 percent. Because of the rise in Imodium abuse, Marraffa is pushing to disallow over-the-counter sales and made the medication by prescription, similar to what was done with pseudoephedrine or dextromethorphan.