Sandra C Bishop-Freeman, Marc S Feaster, Jennifer Beal, Alison Miller, Robert L Hargrove, Justin O Brower, Ruth E Winecker
Loperamide (Imodium® ) has been accepted as a safe, effective, over-the-counter anti-diarrheal drug with low potential for abuse. It is a synthetic opioid that lacks central nervous system activity at prescribed doses, rendering it ineffective for abuse. Since 2012, however, the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has seen cases involving loperamide at supratherapeutic levels that indicate abuse. The recommended dose associated with loperamide should not exceed 16 mg per day, although users seeking an opioid-like high reportedly take it in excess of 100 mg per dose...
October 2016: Journal of Analytical Toxicology