"In the midst of my year at Stanford, I had occasion to use marijuana again. And I took a formula cough medicine called "Romilar" that had very remarkable effects if taken in large doses. At that time, the formula contained a special (but non-narcotic) ingredient, which (I believe) was later eliminated or modified. On perhaps four or five occasions, I took Romilar in a dose of either thirty to fifty capsules or a full bottle of syrup."

"A 23 year-old male, a well-known drug addict, recently presented with a toxic psychosis due to taking 20 tablets of "Romilar" (dextromethorphan), which he bought from a chemist. This was characterized by hyperactive behavior, extreme pressure of thought, marked visual and auditory hallucinations, and association of sounds with colours (synaesthesia). This experience was likened to that experienced when he was under the influence of L.S.D. As this substance is readily available from chemists, it is felt that general practitioners should be aware of similar toxic psychoses which may occur with large doses of this drug."

"‘In 1967, when I was a freshman in college and had never imbibed cough mixture in sufficient quantities to place me among the illuminati , there came one day into my possession one tab of acid and one bottle of Romilar,' he wrote. ‘As was my wont at the time, I threw the I Ching to find out which drug I should take. When I asked it what would happen if I took the acid that day, it tossed back a section called "Inner Truth." When I asked what would happen if I drank the Romilar, I got the passage on ‘Confusion.' I took the tab of acid, and did not get off a fraction of a flash. The moral of my tale is simple: Confusion is the only thing left which makes any sense.' The Block Drug Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, introduced Romilar in the late 1950s to replace codeine based cough syrups, which those in search of illicit highs had begun to abuse. Romilar turned out to be useful for the same purposes thanks to its key ingredient, dextromethorphan. The synthetic cough suppressant is chemically analogous to morphine, but rather than prompting opiate-like effects, it acts as a powerful psychedelic when consumed in quantities of six to eight ounces or more. Manufacturers discovered this in the late 1960s and began to lace their cough medicines with chemicals designed solely to induce nausea, but while drinking a bottle became stomach-churning adventure, the psychedelic trip was undiminished. 'Romilar is the ultimate street drug, ‘ Lester wrote. ‘Why? Because every street has a drugstore on it, and every drugstore has a shelf loaded with you-know-what.' Dextromethorphan made him feel both numb and jittery. ‘You call it a "stone" or a "high" because it changes your consciousness and your physical sensations. But it changes them to emptiness – a total vacuum, a total absence of self.' Like many psychedelics it could enhance the experience of listening to music, producing synaesthesia, the sensation of ‘seeing' sounds as colors."

"Lady Day's way wasn't the way of the new generation, Chester Anderson will be quick to tell you, because she was on 'body' drugs. Whatever else body drugs - heroin, opium, barbiturates, alcohol, tranquilizers -may do, they eventually turn you off, and contemporary heads like to be turned on - i.e., senses intensified, stimulated rather than depressed. 'Head' drugs, which do the latter, are both cheaper and easier to get than body drugs, and come in approximately 18 varieties in three different classifications - natural drugs like marijuana, hashish, peyote, morning glory seeds, Hawaiian wood rose seeds, and certain types of Mexican mushrooms; artificial psychedelics like mescaline, LSD, psilocybin and psilocin, and whatever the ingredient is that makes Romilar cough syrup so popular with young heads; and synthetic stimulants which, used in large doses by heads, are known as 'speed' - dexedrine, benzedrine and methedrine."

In response to reports of the abuse of DXM-containing cough syrups by teenagers, the FDA holds an advisory committee meeting to consider DXM's abuse potential. The committee "recommended that the sponsor provide additional data on the toxicity of the substance, especially in the higher-dose range and that additional epidemiological data be gathered so that FDA could better assess the scope and significance of abuse and the risks to the public health."

The committee concluded that "outbreaks of abuse occurred in some small communities, that the DXM-abuse problem had not risen yet to the national level and further studies should focus on areas where abuse outbreaks are occurring".