This quote from the famous poet Edgar Allen Poe, who is suspected of having died due to, among other reasons, drug abuse, fits well with the argument of my essay. Drug abuse is, as Poe rightly points out, indulgence in stimulants. To be clearer, drugs have the fundamental purpose of being medicinal, that is, when taken in adequate doses and specific drugs for the disease. Drug use becomes abuse when it is used for recreational purposes or simply for non-medical or inappropriate purposes. Addiction is defined as the compulsive use of a drug despite negative consequences. Whether using a drug is illegal or not depends on different countries and their drug laws. For this essay, I will look at the local context. This essay will demonstrate that codeine abuse is indeed an act of deviance and will use theories of deviance to support the claim that over-the-counter drugs perpetuate the drug scene in Singapore. According to the annual report on the drug situation of the Central Narcotics Bureau, in the period between 2012 and 2013 the percentage of drug addicts increased, at a rate of approximately 2%. Previous years show even higher increases of around 5%. According to the Misuse of Drugs Act (AGC, 2008), there are 3 main classes of alphabetically classified drugs and another group of drugs known as controlled drugs. Class A drugs are considered the most harmful, followed by classes B and C. The use and trafficking of drugs listed in these groups warrants arrest and conviction if caught. Some of the most common drugs used include heroin, cannabis, and cocaine, among many others. Another similar drug that is gaining prominence as a recreational drug is codeine. Certain over-the-counter medications coug... center of paper... cough mixture repeatedly. A Straits Times article, which referenced the above-cited examples of illegal suppliers caught with up to 3600 liters of codeine-laced cough mixture, which would no doubt have supplied countless drug addicts. But the report stated that that particular supplier had been sentenced to just 9 months in prison, which he was appealing. This, in my opinion, is a very lax sentence and may send the wrong signal to addicts and other drug deviants who may interpret the consumption of cough syrup, which I emphasize, has similar effects to heroin, as less legally punishable and less controllable by the police. I accept the valid point that, unlike heroin which is clearly legally defined as an illegal drug, cough syrups containing codeine cannot be considered under the same legislations due to their common use as a medicine.