DXM powder, or dextromethorphan powder, is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in many over-the-counter cough medicines. DXM can be abused by ingesting high doses of cough medicine containing this ingredient. There are reports that the purer powder form of DXM is sold illicitly. Pure DXM has the same effects as the DXM contained in cough medicine, but these effects could be more extreme when abused, because abusers don’t know how much they’re taking or if any contaminants may have mixed with the DXM during the extraction process. Although rare, a small number of deaths have been reported due to overdose with DXM powder.
