PICO RIVERA >> A man with a handgun robbed a Pico Rivera pharmacy Wednesday of prescription-strength cough syrup commonly used in the street drug known as “purple drank,” officials said.
The robbery took place about 2:40 p.m. at the Rivera Pharmacy, 9253 Telegraph Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Dodson said.
The robber was described as a white man with a bandana covering his face who carried a handgun, the sergeant said. He brandished the weapon and demanded cough syrup.
Initial reports indicated the cough syrup contained promethazine and codeine. The same type of cough syrup is commonly mixed with soda and candy to create the illicit intoxicant known as “purple drank,”
“Promethazine is commonly known on the street as “purple drank,” “syrup,” “purple liquid” and “lean,” with the latter name coming from the abuser’s difficulty in standing up straight,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations officials said in a 2011 statement. “Promethazine is a central nervous system depressant which can cause death if it is combined with alcohol.”