'Legal Lean' Drink Causes Outrage In North Carolina

Photo Credit: Colin Warren-Hicks for the Herald Sun

The "Legal Lean" drink has caused outrage in Durham, North Carolina.

The drink, which is being sold as a healthy alternative to Lean (the illegal combination of prescription-strength cough medicine and soft drinks), claims to be made with all-natural ingredients such as melatonin, vitamins, and St. John's wort, but some parents still want it removed from store shelves.

"When I looked at the video, I was outraged because they were marketing it through hip-hop and what do our children listen to all day is Hip Hop." Sandra Davis, a mother of a 12-year-old and Durham resident, said to abc11.

The video Davis is referring to features rappers OG Boogie Black and Bezz Believe, with the latter getting the former to purchase the Legal Lean (even after Black shows that he is carrying his own bottle of cough syrup). The video then shows Black consuming the drink and passing out, only to be awakened by a call from Bezz.

The video is heavy-handed in comparing Legal Lean to actual Lean, which is why some people are objecting against it being sold. Davis and Minister Paul Scott, a Durham activist, are afraid that Legal Lean could be used as a date-rape drug or become a gateway for youngsters to try illegal narcotics.

Following the outrage Legal Lean released the following statement:

I think before they want to demonize the product it's best for them to try it themselves and do some research on the ingredients and see that they are safe and are just natural relaxation ingredients.

Since it is labeled as a dietary supplement the drink is for people 18 and up, with the website warning that it "May impair your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems."

Source: abc11.com