What’s in it?
Lean, Sizzurp, Purple Drank — What’s It All Mean?
(LDSW) is a drink made from the fermented juice of the fruit called “Suckling Pig” which grows on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. It is very popular among young adults and college students. The drink contains alcohol (around 30%) and sugar (around 20%).
Purple drank is a type of spirit or liqueur made from the fermented juice of various fruits and herbs. For example, there are several types of purple drinks: pineapple, strawberry, peach schnapps and others. There are different kinds of purple drinks. Some purple drinks contain no alcohol while some contain moderate amounts of alcohol. These include grapefruit soda, cranberry juice and orange juice.
The most common purple drink is called “Pig Puke”. This is a mix of pineapple juice with lemonade. Other purple drinks may include raspberry ginger ale, apple cider vinegar and even tomato soup.
How did it become so popular?
It seems that the popularity of this drink began when the first American missionaries arrived in Tanna Island in 1887. Young boys, who were the sons of the tribal chiefs, visited the missionaries and saw them drinking fruit juice. They tasted it and loved it. After that, they came back to their villages and ordered their subjects to collect fruit called “Suckling Pig”. This was in large quantities. Then, they boiled the “Suckling Pig” in big pots and fermented it until it turned into a dark purple liquid.
The tribe called this drink “Doktah” or “Dagga”, which is the same name they use for smoking hemp. The chief’s sons started drinking the drink and loved it. They returned to the missionaries and asked them if they could have more fruit to make more “Dagga”. The missionaries, however, were horrified by this drink and refused to give them any more fruit.
The boys’ fathers were furious that their children had formed a taste for alcohol (even though it was a non-alcoholic drink).
Sources & references used in this article:
Purple drank prevalence and characteristics of misusers of codeine cough syrup mixtures by LE Agnich, JM Stogner, BL Miller, CD Marcum – Addictive Behaviors, 2013 – Elsevier
‘Me and My Drank:’exploring the relationship between musical preferences and purple drank experimentation by M Hart, LE Agnich, J Stogner, BL Miller – American Journal of Criminal …, 2014 – Springer
BEYOND THE PURPLE DRANK. STUDY OF PROMETHAZINE ABUSE ACCORDING TO THE EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY (EMA) ADVERSE DRUG … by S Chiappini, F Schifano, JM Corkery, A Guirguis – researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk
Marketing a panic: Media coverage of novel psychoactive drugs (NPDs) and its relationship with legal changes by …, LE Agnich, A Sanders, J Bacot, S Felix – American journal of …, 2015 – Springer
Sippin’and Spittin’: Examining the Use of Lean in Hip-Hop by M McCann – macmccanntx.com
Addict Rap?: The Shift from Drug Distributor to Drug Consumer in Hip Hop by CJ Smiley – Journal of Hip Hop Studies, 2017 – scholarscompass.vcu.edu
Bryan Lee Miller, John M. Stogner, Laura E. Agnich, Amber Sanders, Joseph Bacot & Shanna Felix by AJC Just – academia.edu
Nonmedical opioid use among electronic dance music party attendees in New York City by JJ Palamar, A Le, CM Cleland – Drug and alcohol dependence, 2018 – Elsevier
