Po It Up: Pharmacist Hopes "Lean" Will Slo Up Syrup Use

"Relaxation Just Got Sexier"

Paul Wall is torn between Purp and Easta Pink.

​If you pay attention to rap lyrics from Southern artists, there are countless references to drinking cough syrup. "I got that syrup in my cup, I got that lean, I got that drank in my cup." But the recreational drug has a dark side. Texas rap legends Pimp C and DJ Screw both died from "sippin' syrup."

After realizing that the use of illicit cough syrup was a rampant part of Southern hip-hop culture, one pharmacist decided to do something about it.

Born and raised in a very small town in Louisiana, Marco Moran was inspired to become a pharmacist by his high school physical sports trainer, who was also the town pharmacist.

After graduating from Louisiana State University and North East Louisiana University's pharmacy program, Moran began to do research into the prevalence of cough syrup abuse in urban communities. He discovered it was a widespread epidemic, affecting not only urban youth but many other races and age ranges.

"While working part-time at night at a drugstore, I noticed massive amounts of young people coming from nightclubs or going to nightclubs with prescriptions for codeine, Robitussin with codeine, Tussionex and so forth in the middle of the summer when people weren't really catching colds," says Moran.

He decided he wanted to do something to get people off the negative and harmful drugs and replaced them with all-natural ingredients. So he created Moran's Lean Slow Motion Potion, advertised as a "safe combination of pharmaceutical grade herbs and syrup-based flavors that promotes a desired level of swagga to get you feelin' right any time day or night!"

Moran said that when he first launched his product people thought they had the "real" syrup.He sais Lean is the "premium, most potent relaxation drink that causes sippas of all ages to chill out, especially during times of high stress."