# Trayvon Martin, cough syrup junkie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294 "2012-05-28T00:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/1 "2012-05-28T00:12:06Z")
Now I’m seeing reports that he was getting high on a homemade mixture based on cough syrup, and may actually have been high during the fatal encounter. My question is, how accurate are these reports? The sites out there tend to be blatently pro-Martin or pro-Zimmerman, so it’s hard to judge impartiality. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/2 "2012-05-28T00:48:23Z")
How is it remotely relevant to the case? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/3 "2012-05-28T01:06:03Z")
I guess if Zimmerman saw Martin high off his ass, then Martin would’ve been acting oddly and Zimmerman could’ve been scared. I doubt it, though. As an adult who had abused codeine cough syrup a couple of times as a teen, I really, really doubt it. also…cite? A Google search for “trayvon martin cough syrup” pulls up this thread. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/4 "2012-05-28T02:22:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > How is it remotely relevant to the case? If Travon was actually high at the time of the encounter? How is that _not_ relevant? Mind you, I am not saying I believe he was, but that has to be relevant. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/5 "2012-05-28T02:32:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If Travon was actually high at the time of the encounter? How is that _not_ relevant? > > Mind you, I am not saying I believe he was, but that has to be relevant. 😕 Why? “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the ultimate issues more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. What fact is determined by this claim, and how does it relate to any of the ultimate issues, such as the elements of the charge against Zimmerman? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/6 "2012-05-28T02:36:30Z")
Yeah,but the OP is asking about whether or not there’s anything to corroborate that TM had been making some home-made drugs with Skittles and something else–in this case Arizona’s Watermelon Fruit Juice–not specifically whether or not it will relate to the case. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/7 "2012-05-28T11:45:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why? > > “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the ultimate issues more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. > > What fact is determined by this claim, and how does it relate to any of the ultimate issues, such as the elements of the charge against Zimmerman? Relevant in the court of public opinion though don’t you think? It’s not like the whole Trayvon thing has been about the legal process. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/8 "2012-05-28T12:07:21Z")
What kind of cough syrup? DXM or opiates? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/9 "2012-05-28T12:20:02Z")
This is apparently the source article- other sites reference it. > **[Update #26 Part 2 - Trayvon Martin Shooting - A year of drug use culminates...](https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/)** > > This update, like several before it, does not stand alone.  To truly understand the depth of the research and background it is important to have first read Update #26 Part 1.  This Part 2 builds on the previous... Apparently there’s a cough syrup concoction called “Lean”, I’m unclear if it’s supposed to be based on DXM, codeine, Promethazine, or all three. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/10 "2012-05-28T12:21:48Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why? > > “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the ultimate issues more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. > > What fact is determined by this claim, and how does it relate to any of the ultimate issues, such as the elements of the charge against Zimmerman? The plausibility of Zimmerman’s claim that Martin unprovokedly attacked him. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/11 "2012-05-28T12:23:30Z")
Have you guys never heard of [purple drank](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_drank)? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/12 "2012-05-28T16:02:37Z")
The author of the Conservative Treehouse article seems to have missed the fine point that the “skittles” used in this context are Coriciden tablets, called by their street name. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/13 "2012-05-28T17:24:06Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > The author of the Conservative Treehouse article seems to have missed the fine point that the “skittles” used in this context are Coriciden tablets, called by their street name. And these are what you would buy at the 7-11 down the street in a gated community? Sounds like wishful thinking on someone’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/14 "2012-05-28T17:31:27Z")
Okay, looking at the source, he asserts ‘There are your “DXM” ”Watermelon Lean” Ingredients’, with a graphic of Arizona Watermelon Cocktail, Robitussen, and Skittles Candy. His source linking the Arizona Watermelon drink to DXM abuse is a six year old posting on a pot enthusiast message board, with the subject being “[Watermelon Drank](http://boards.cannabis.com/cannabis-com-lounge/91450-watermelon-drank.html)”. The OP is pleased to have found a watermelon soda that tastes like watermelon: > [@](#): > > yeah, so i’ve NEVER in my life had anything be it candy or drank that tastes like real watermelon. all that shit changed last night. i bought a 2 liter of some watermelon soda, and it tastes JUST like some watermelon. man, it’s pretty damn good but I thought it impossible. Since the Arizona Ice Tea company doesn’t sell two-litre bottles, we’re talking about another product entirely, and in a completely innocent context. The only mention of DXM is other posters commenting on the OP’s poor spelling. “Skittles”, as mentioned above, is [slang for cough & cold pills](http://www.streetdrugs.org/html%20files/dxm.html). Only Homer Simpson enhances beverages with the actual candy. So, do his purchases suggest an intent to get high? _Maybe…_ after all, the beverage is _just like_ the beverage used to make “Purple Drank,” except that’s commonly 7-Up or Sprite, and Skittles are another common ingredient, except not candy Skittles but cough medicine. So, he had all the makings of a drug of abuse… except… well… anything. So all that’s left is the DXM references on the Facebook page. Are they real? I notice he linked to [facebook.com](http://facebook.com) to indicate it was the source, but the article is dated long after the Facebook page was taken down - was this conversation ever actually there? Who knows? Even if it was, all it shows is that in the past Trayvon Martin may have abused cough medicine. Was he high at the time? It seems very unlikely. Nothing in the toxicology report, and nothing else to suggest he was either. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/15 "2012-05-28T17:46:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why? > > “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the ultimate issues more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. > > What fact is determined by this claim, and how does it relate to any of the ultimate issues, such as the elements of the charge against Zimmerman? Really? I’m not saying that it’s true, but assuming it is, you don’t think it is relevant that Martin was intoxicated on whatever at the time of the altercation? Why are there more fights in bars than in churches? Isn’t it well established that intoxication reduces inhibitions and would give more credence to the idea that Martin attacked Zimmerman as he approached? I think it’s a more than fair inference, again, if true. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/16 "2012-05-28T18:16:38Z")
I think the basic problem was that nothing like that was noted in the toxicology report for Martin. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/17 "2012-05-29T03:09:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why? > > “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the ultimate issues more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. > > What fact is determined by this claim, and how does it relate to any of the ultimate issues, such as the elements of the charge against Zimmerman? some of the side effects of the drug in question are excitability and irritability. But it would take a bit of doing to tie it into the case. I suspect it would take corroborated evidence that it affected him in addition to toxicology results. Of course, people will always look for an explanation for the continued beating. There appears to be a fair amount of rage involved. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/18 "2012-05-29T03:20:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Of course, people will always look for an explanation for the continued beating. I’m not looking for an explanation, so much as evidence it ever even happened, beyond a self-serving statement by a man accused of murder. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/19 "2012-05-29T03:37:03Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m not looking for an explanation, so much as evidence it ever even happened, beyond a self-serving statement by a man accused of murder. we have an eye witness who saw one person on top of another connected with an audio recording of someone screaming for help connected with the conversation between the two of them connected to obvious signs of a beating of one person and the absence of same of the other. It happened. Whether Zimmerman did anything culpable has yet to surface. It very well may. I don’t care. Fuck him. But as it stands now he did nothing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294/20 "2012-05-29T04:01:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Really? I’m not saying that it’s true, but assuming it is, you don’t think it is relevant that Martin was intoxicated on whatever at the time of the altercation? Why are there more fights in bars than in churches? Isn’t it well established that intoxication reduces inhibitions and would give more credence to the idea that Martin attacked Zimmerman as he approached? I think it’s a more than fair inference, again, if true. Should it not also be relevant in whether people believe Zimmerman’s story that he thought the kid was on drugs and this was why he tailed him? Lying by itself may not be enough to decide beyond a reasonable doubt, but it could add up with other factors. It is more common for a guilty person to lie to police, right? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trayvon-martin-cough-syrup-junkie/623294.md?page=2)