LOS ANGELES – Research shows that more teenagers are using over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to get a cheap high – a practice known as "robotripping," reports the Los Angeles Times. Robotripping is becoming one of the fastest-growing drug abuse problems around the country and is increasing 50 percent a year, according to a recent California Poison Control System study released last week.

The data shows that since 1999, teen abuse of Coricidin pills, Robitussin syrup and other common medications has risen 10-fold, writes the newspaper. While the use of illegal drugs such as Ecstasy, LSD and the date-rape drug GHB are on the wane, the widely available and inexpensive medicines are increasing in popularity.

The cold medicines have an ingredient called dextromethorphan, which reportedly can cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. In extreme cases, they can cause death. Known by kids as DXM or Dex, the drug first came into vogue during the 1960s when it was present in a cough medicine called Romilar, which was withdrawn from the market in 1973, notes the newspaper.

Health officials spotted a revival in the late 1990s. About two-thirds of abusers now take Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold, whose candy-red tablets are nicknamed CCC, triple C and skittles. Robotripping takes its name from Robitussin, the second most abused cold medicine, the newspaper reports.

A May study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America estimated that 2.4 million teens – about one in 10 – got high on cough medicines in 2005. That puts it on a par with cocaine and slightly above methamphetamine, writes the newspaper.