A new way to cook up methamphetamines is not recommended by doctors, pharmacists or “Dr. Mom.”

Over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a stimulant, can be processed into meth, said Bruce Liebe, a master sergeant on the Illinois State methamphetamine task force. Some well-known products containing the stimulant include Sudafed, Actifed and Dimetapp Extentabs.

The largest meth lab activity occurs in the central and south portions of the state, Liebe said. There have been increases in DeKalb County, but nothing significant.

A cooperative effort between the state and merchants is in effect to reduce the accessibility of the cold medicine in drug stores, Liebe said. Some merchants have placed cold medicine behind the counter in an effort to curb shoplifting.

There are a couple methods for producing meth from cold medicines, Liebe said, but he would not elaborate on the specifics of the process.

However, Liebe said one process involves using fertilizer and the other involves using red phosphate.

The trick is that the meth is produced very quickly and becomes an illegal substance very early in the process, Liebe said. Individuals caught with significant amounts of substances that can be used in the manufacturing of meth also can be prosecuted.

Similarly, cough suppressants have been used to get intoxicated in the past.

Dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant found in many common over-the-counter cold medicines, causes a euphoric effect when enough is taken, said Christine Blake, senior community relations representative for the Rosecrance Substance Abuse Treatment Center in Rockford.

The drug makes someone high, but it also puts them in a stupor, said Bob Tamblyn, owner of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, 810 S. Fourth St. The ingredient is chemically similar to codeine.

Also known as DXM, the drug is related to opiates and, if enough is taken, can show up as phencyclidine (PCP) on a drug test, Blake said. People can become addicted to the substance the same way as other narcotics, and people can experience withdrawal symptoms similar to those seen in heroine users.

Many people abuse Coricidin Cough & Cold Tablets, available over the counter, to achieve the euphoric feeling, Blake said. Some people take as many as eight or even more than 16 tablets at a time.

“My God, you would have to drink the bottle to get anything,” Blake said. He said one would have to take a huge amount of cough suppressant to get the effect.

Some combine the tablets or other cough suppressants with other drugs like alcohol or marijuana.

“We have tried to educate the pharmacists to try to get it behind the counter,” Blake said.

Tamblyn said he thinks this abuse is a fad that will come and go. The drug abuse would not be as great a problem if the drugs were kept in a more controlled environment, Tamblyn said.