"Sipping Lean"

          What do people even mean when they say they're "leaning." The official drug name for "lean" is actually promethazine. Most people know what promethazine is, but others don't. Promethazine is a drug, but it isn't a drug that you can just buy in Walgreens somewhere because it has to be prescribed from a doctor to a patient who is actually in need of the prescription. Promethazine is used to treat colds when people are sick and relieving certain allergy symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, itchy or watery eyes, and even skin rashes. Teens in this generation tend to attract to lean and drink it for pleasure. I interviewed a teen about his experience with lean, whose name will remain unknown, to learn more about why he drinks it. I'm not the type to tell people what they should and should not do because that doesn't help a person decide a correct route. However, promethazine is not the correct route to take unless it is prescribed, especially when you're taking too much at once.

Why Do Teens Use Lean?

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Lean is no longer just a drug, it is now a culture. When people use lean, they tend to mix the promethazine into sprite and jolly ranchers. People have been drinking lean for the fun of it for a long time. Rapper, Lil Wayne, use to quote in his songs certain things about it,  making people more aware of how lean was being used. Although people were aware of it, it wasn't that popular within the teen community. It seems as though drinking lean for the fun of it just came out of nowhere for my generation. Some teens abuse promethazine because they enjoy it and they like how it makes them feel on the inside or even just because of the taste. I interviewed a young teen about his use of lean and he said "I put it in pop with some ice and I drink it because I like it. One day I was with my bros and they was pouring up and I'm like 'Dang bro what is that?' and they like 'Some act' and I'm like 'Well let me get a cup.' So I drank it and I got addicted after that." 

Side Effects Of Lean

The teen said he was not aware of the side effects of lean nor does he care about them. Even though that may sound horrible, it's true. There are many teens in the world that are not aware of the side effects and sometimes they don't even care. According to a website called Drugs, there are many side effects of promethazine. However, it is known that nervous system side effects have been more frequent than other side effects. The nervous system side effects are listed below:

• excessive sedation
• drowsiness 
• fatigue
• paradoxical excitation 
• confusion
• disorientation 
• tremors
• convulsive seizures
• decreased motor coordination

Lean is very popular, although the facts behind it aren't entirely known. A person can't tell the next person not to do lean, but that person can be told that lean might not be the best route. Yeah it makes these teens feel good or relaxed, but there can also be consequences to drinking lean as well. For instance, Lil'Wayne and Rick Ross have abused lean and now have seizures do their drinking of lean. In addition, it even caused the eventual death of Pimp C which teens in my generation might don't even know about. Lean is not just pleasure, it can sometimes lead to pain. Learn more about lean!

References

 http://www.drugs.com/sfx/promethazine-side-effects.html

http://revolt.tv/news/lil-wayne-admits-past-lean-use-led-to-seizures/E4F24A66-3C1B-4363-884E-F0EA04B7B86A

http://www.side-effects-site.com/paradoxical-reaction.html

http://livertox.nih.gov/Promethazine.htm