“Purple Drank” is a euphoric, opioid-infused cough syrup that’s combined with flavored soda to create a deliciously lethal cocktail. The codeine cough syrup developed by Big Pharma as a medicinal product quickly gained ranks within the hip hop community as its intoxicating effects became apparent on some of the biggest rappers’ biggest tracks. Also known as “Lean,” codeine syrup has swiftly become a staple substance in households and VIP sections across North America. The only problem: the seemingly innocent purple drank has severe and irreversible side-effects that often lead to seizures and even death.

Celebrities like Lil Wayne, Future, Gucci Mane, Schoolboy Q, and Justin Bieber openly flaunted their syrup sippin’ which helped skyrocket the sweet drank’s popularity from coast to coast. However, the darker side of Purple Drank has been exposed over the last few years as rappers Pimp C, A$AP Yams, Big Moe and DJ Screw died after consuming a lethal dose of the cocktail. More recently, Lil Wayne was responsible for two emergency landings on a trip between Milwaukee and Los Angeles. He was treated for codeine seizures and released from the hospital, only to have another seizure mid-air shortly after take-off. This event was not Wayne’s first pair of emergency landing. Unlike the average recreational consumer, Wayne has the money to procure the prescription drug in large quantities (he was observed downing three 16 oz bottles at a Milwaukee club appearance), but even in smaller amounts this cocktail can produce alarming side effects.

The addictive properties of the potent purple syrup have come to light as more and more of its users speak up about the hard-to-break habit. In Future’s 2014 Monster album release, his final song, Codeine Crazy, touches on his Lean addiction and the struggles of quitting. In this video, Schoolboy Q talks about his journey and relationship with codeine syrup, its effect on his music and mentions his plea to other artists such as ASAP Rocky to stop sipping. Since his release from prison, Gucci Mane has been outspoken about staying away from Lean, “To all the young people who follow me, I beg ya’ll stay away from codeine cough medicine it’s not cool to be in jail or early grave.”

With the syrup’s surge of popularity for non-medical use, primary producer Actavis pulled their product from pharmacy shelves. With demand still sky-high, fans of the drank had few places to turn. This is where Actabliss stepped in.

From the outside, Actabliss looks like an exact replica of the sizzurp everyone is crazy about. However, instead of being laced with codeine and promethazine, their syrup is infused with cannabis.

The founder of Actabliss, who is known publically as Actaboss, told LA Weekly that “After Actavis said they were pulling their stuff from the market, I came up with the concept of taking their label and using it.” He continued, “I touted it as a healthy alternative to Lean. A lot of people who say they want to stop drinking Lean are purchasing it. A whole group of people realize it’s good medicine and works for them.”

Cannabis has similar pain-relieving properties as the opioid, codeine, but this codeine substitute’s selling point is that it has little to no negative side-effects. It is not possible to fatally overdose because the areas of the brain that regulate critical heart and lung function are not affected by cannabis like they are by opioids or other narcotics.

Cannabis-infused “sizzurps” are sprouting up in medical states all over the country as more people discover this healthier alternative to the one-of-a-kind euphoria that Lean produces.

Although it began as somewhat of a knock-off of Purple Drank, many medical marijuana patients are experiencing what great medicine it truly is. Canna-syrups are extremely strong and sedative, perfect for melting away pain and rocking you to a sound sleep.

Actabliss founder told LA Weekly, “It lasts 10 hours and gets [patients]heavily medicated with that syrup feeling. It’s sedated and relaxing. It’s not just some lean knock off. The medicinal side outweighs how close we can get to real Lean side.”

Critics of this new Purple Drank argue that it is glorifying a drug that has produced fatal consequences for many of its users. Using the original Actavis label along with names like “Yurple,” “Prodankazine,” “Tree Lean,” and “Lean Back Sizzurp” play into the Purple Drank phenomenon that is looked down upon in many medical marijuana communities.

However, Actaboss (founder of Actabliss) argues that, “We’re using Big Pharma to promote a healthy alternative to Big Pharma.” And since many patients have grown accustomed to seeing medicine in pharmaceutical-like bottles, packaging cannabis like any other pharmaceutical product could have its benefits.

Many dispensaries site cannabis syrups as their top selling product. And many production companies have classed up their look, opting for an artisanal syrup look to distance themselves from the original codeine label.

Syrup has always been a popular form of medicine, it’s only recently with the rising popularity of codeine-syrup that we’ve seen cough syrup take such a dangerous dive. So it certainly isn’t surprising to see cannabis companies use syrup as their delivery method for the healing herb. However, the topic has a polarizing effect throughout the cannabis community because of sizzurp’s recent roots in addiction and death.