Background Information| Chemical Structure| How Codeine Works in the Body| Recreational Use| How Codeine Affects History
- Codeine can be used as a recreational drug, however it has much less abuse potential than some other opiates. When it is taken for recreational use, it is commonly referred to as “cilly” because of the way most people react to it.
- Codeine is the opioid which causes the most itching for a good percentage of users and its presence along with acetylcodeine in illicitly-produced heroin causes most of the itching associated with that drug.
- Codeine in conjunction with anti-nausea medication promethazine in the form of the syrup has become one of the most abused codeine preparations. Although there are various forms of this syrup varying in strengths, the “purple” version is highly publicized and is the most sought after. In this form, 60mg of codeine per liquid ounce is used which makes it the strongest of the codeine syrups. This “Purple Drank” is frequently referenced and praised in the southern rap and Houston-based hip-hop community where it is mixed with the soft drink Sprite.