Lean (drug)
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. |
Syrup is a recreational drink popular in the Southern United States whose main ingredients originally consisted of some type of prescription cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine, and either soda or fruit juice. Recently, the term has expanded to cover mixtures including over-the-counter cough syrup and vodka in place of prescription cough syrup. Other popular terms for syrup include Barre, Oil, Purple Tonic, Lean and purple drank, highlighting the color of the beverage.'Château d'Barre' is a more expensive version.[1]
History
Houston producer DJ Screw first popularized the concoction, which is widely attributed as a source of inspiration for the chopped & screwed style. Originally, the active ingredient of Syrup was cough syrup containing promethazine and codeine. [2] On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw died of a suspected overdose of codeine and alcohol [3], possibly related to his frequent consumption of the beverage.
The concoction gained popularity in the underground Houston, Texas rap scene, then spreading to Louisiana.
In 2005, rappers Paul Wall and Mike Jones brought the term to a wider audience with their multi-platinum records, The Peoples Champ and Who is Mike Jones?. The term "sizzurp" came to the forefront as a direct result of Three 6 Mafia's "Sippin' on Some Syrup."
Composition
True "lean" must contain only promethazine with codeine cough syrup and a clear soda such as Sprite or 7-Up; complete with a few jolly rancher candies floated in the mixture for added flavor. If it contains anything but prescription promethazine with codeine cough syrup, soda, and jolly rancher candies; it is NOT truly lean, but instead a cheap imposter.
Lean contains NO alcohol, nor should it; as mixing alcohol (a depressant) with promethazine and codeine (two other depressants) can cause respitory depression and has the potential to be fatal.
Some charlatans replace the promethazine syrup with inferior, easier to acquire ingredients: typically either crushed prescription painkillers or vodka and over the counter cough syrup. As the subjective effects are completely dissimilar due to the fact that over-the-counter cough syrup does not contain codeine or another narcotic, but instead contains dextromethorphan, a dissociative, these lean "imposters" are a poor substitute for actual "purple drink."