the American culture,
You know, it's escapism at the end of the day,
which I -- you know,
I've been known to subscribe to in my life.
What's the situation with the lean out here on the streets?
Man: All it is is heroin back over again.
Yeah, liquid heroin.
When you first start... with it, though, like,
you don't really know, you know what I'm saying?
Tastes just like candy.
Mother...will just try to sip it to be cool,
but after you try to sip it to be cool,
you started getting hooked.
And let's say one week, you're like,
"I ain't got it."
You're gonna need it.
[ Door creaks open ]
Michael: Our goal is just to simply show the world
a window as to why people do the things they do,
where that desperation comes from.
It's like they say, when the system fails you,
you create your own system.
[ Engine starts ]
♪
Right now, we're in Houston, Texas,
invited to a little local barbecue
at this spot, Fly Rydes.
Show me a little southern hospitality.
So, we about to get it in, Houston style.
♪
-What up, homie? -What's going on, man?
All right, all right. What you got on the grill today?
Man, I got some, uh, pork ribs, beef ribs, some wings.
I got some steaks I'm fitting to put on.
Oh, man, bro.
It just so happened,
I just -- I just happened to bring my appetite
'cause I'm hungry as a mother...
Baby, around here, we fix everything but a broken heart.
-Oh, man. -[ Laughs ]
Yeah, we cook, we build cars.
we do everything, man.
Michael: I met up with a DJ and record producer, OG Ron C.
And like all the rest of these dudes out here, man,
he's proud of the Houston culture.
OG Ron C: Oh, you know, it's the homie spot, man.
This is where they come to get fly at, man.
That's why it's called Fly Rydes, you know what I'm saying?
Whoo!
Michael: There's no beer at this barbecue.
These dudes are all drinking what's called lean.
Come on, fellas.
Basically, lean is a mixture of codeine
promethazine cough syrup, soda, and candy.
♪
So, what's good, man?
Drinking big, eating big.
I heard that.
So -- so, I see various glass bottles.
Check it out, man. Check it out.
Just sniff it, man.
Yeah, man, we got this down to a science, man.
That's what we do. -Yeah, it smell like candy.
That is candy -- grown man candy.
Especially like -- grown man candy.
Michael: Dudes call it sizzy, oil,
drank, just to name a few.
Yeah, I overpoured a little bit, but it's cool.
Everybody was just chill, you know?
It's relaxing.
How much did you pour to make you a drink?
A whole one of these. You would pour a whole one of those.
In a 2 liter. -2 liter. Gotcha.
-That's a good drank. -Okay.
Or you can pour you a half of this here. Uh-huh.
That's what the baby bottle for.
Y'all don't see no kids.
So, how did it start?
Shit, we couldn't buy them, you know,
$100 bottles of Cristal. -Yeah, yeah.
We was more on some doing our own thing,
and it's been that way.
Hey, this is some shit we -- we -- we originated.
♪
Michael: Drinking lean got started in Houston,
but now the whole country seems to be enjoying it.
I'm curious to find out how this prescription cough syrup
became so popular on the black market.
To understand lean culture,
you have to understand Houston's music.
And OG Ron C invited me to the studio.
That's where the best work is done, man.
Got to find your comfort zone.
He's, like, one of the kings behind the chop and screw sound.
He's a DJ. He has one of the hottest radio stations
in Houston, Texas.
Yeah, so this is where the magic is done right here.
Man, just liking the pitch you know, with the record,
you know, you pitch it down.
You know, everybody chilling, having a good time.
DJ Screw is always, you know, at the turntables.
DJ Screw, he's like the pioneer in the hip-hop community.
Slowed down the music to the vibration of the people
and the high of the day.
I got to live my alter-ego dream
of one day becoming a rapper.
And this dude, A.C.,
he's mixing lean over in the kitchen.
You want the right type of ice.
Shit.
This is the original one
that, you know, you hear about in all the songs.
Actavis, the purple stuff.
When Actavis came out,
that's when it got, like, crazy popular nationwide.
And now Actavis is discontinued.
This is the new shit, the red.
Hi-tech is the champagne, the...Jordans of drank.
You can spend from, like, $700 to $1,000.
Changes colors, makes things look pretty,
you know what I'm saying?
People -- oh...
There's a hole in that one.
Michael: A.C. -- dude is like a chemist, man.
Just, he's so serious about how they make their lean drink.
♪
Worst thing in the world in the drank game
is an oil spill.
That's when you spill your...drank.
It's like an oil spill in real life.
It...up the environment, everybody's sad.
Mic check, one, two.
[ Distorted rapping ]
Can you turn it up a little bit?
[ Rap music playing ]
♪ I'm the Baltimore bad guy ♪
♪ Like old Georgetown Hoyer ♪
♪ Gun for hire, equal opportunity employer ♪
♪ But you don't know just who I am ♪
OG Ron C: Oh, yeah, baby.
-You heard me? -Unh.
[ Record scratches ] Check it out.
[ Distorted ] ♪ I'm the Baltimore bad guy ♪
♪ Like old Georgetown Hoyer ♪
♪ Gun for hire, equal opportunity employer ♪
I got to hear myself on the chop and screwed track.
I think that's definitely one of the highlights of my career.
That's love right there, man. That's love right there.
Yeah, brother. I appreciate that. Like, damn.
Appreciate y'all, man -- y'all showing me your talent, man.
Thank you for coming out, man.
Thank you for just, you know, embracing the city, man.
A lot of people don't really actually know deep.
We ain't just doing it on a season,
like, this is what we do every day, you know what I'm saying?
Been doing it. Nothing but love, baby.
Yes, sir.
♪
Michael: If I was a betting man, this looks like this
is what you do in Houston, Texas.
Nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
What's up, my brother? What's up, baby?
Interesting thing to see in Houston,
no one was drunk, you know,
and with that came a certain calmness
in all this heat and all this blackness.
I didn't see nobody get belligerent or ignorant.
Everybody was just chill.
Ron: Now, if someone was doing heroin,
they're gonna look at them and say,
"Man, what's wrong with this guy?"
But if somebody has a little lean in their cup,
that's a player.
You're drinking player potion.
They're opiates, but one has high social approval,
and the other one doesn't.
♪
Michael: Lean originated in Houston, but eventually,
it spread to cities all across Texas.
We on our way to Dallas right now to hang out with A.C.
to see how he does his thing with his lean.
[ Cellphone dialing, ringing ]
This is -- this is Aaron.
I'm on my way over there
to pick up a refill -- Promethazine with Codeine,
the cough syrup.
But I use it like how I always do.
And now I'm out.
We got to go to the hood to go get, like,
these...up flavored sodas
like peach Crush or Big Blue, you know what I'm saying?
Should I go with the Faygo? What's up, man?
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Fully stocked, Styrofoam's already ready.
Yeah, I need a cup.
I drank. I need some syrup.
That's up.
[ Laughs ]
People will cruise and go to these 7-Elevens.
And there's this one soda that people just hoard,
the mango pineapple,
'cause it goes so well with the red.
Syrup drinkers, that's what we are.
See, everybody know what it was.
All the chicks, they already know
what it is -- everybody drink.
♪
Michael: You know, um, with me being a recovering addict,
I could get sucked into tying my shoe
if it makes me feel good.
On a summer afternoon,
you see those colorful drinks,
ice and the white cup.
It sounds sexy.
Man: How old are you?
Ah.
Back in the day, I knew mother...who would,
like, rob pharmacies,
do all kinds of crazy shit like that.
Yeah.
[ Man laughs ]
A.C.: It got popularized through the music and shit.
[ Man laughs ]
A.C.: People just drinking...drank like it's beer.
♪
Michael: One of the main reasons lean got so popular
was through the music.
You know, when you got artists like Lil' Wayne, Future,
even Justin Bieber singing about it in music,
it's only a matter of time before that shit catches on.
Soulja Boy is a Grammy-nominated rapper in Atlanta,
drinking lean proudly.
Soulja Boy: Every time I drink, I got to work.
It just calms you down.
It does make you more creative.
And my music just start going crazy.
My number was going 5 million views,
7 million views was 'cause of the lean.
Everybody want it. It's mainstream now.
Actavis. Y'all see my cup.
Look at my cup, though.
In Houston, the users that I met
are predominately grown men.
They drink their lean, they eat their barbecue,
and they play their music.
You know, they drive around in -- in their slabs,
and everybody goes home
and, you know, make love to their girl.
[ Chuckles ]
But what I saw in L.A. was, uh --
that was a whole 'nother horse of a whole 'nother color.
So, we gonna lock in with the homie Ochoe, you heard?
[ Laughter ]
Man: Mother...jug, man.
Drank man.
Good cup of lean tatted on me 'cause I love lean.
Michael: Yeah, just out here in Cali right now, you know what I mean?
We're trying to find out what's really going on
with the lean scene.
Ochoe: The first time I tried my first cup, Texas.
They put me on, you feel me?
I thought I was cool and everything.
The homies did it -- all right, cool.
This is something like the new rich man's drug, you feel me?
-Mm. -Before, it used to be coke.
This is really what mother... are on now.
If you got bread, this is what you're on right now --
the Actavis. -Mm.
Man: Once that culture come in, it's like,
you start treating this like the high elbow,
because don't understand when you sipping,
you got a cup in your hand, that cup could be $500.
You know what I mean, so it -- it's different.
Man: Do you link lean with death?
-You can die off of it. -Yeah.
♪
Michael: We spoke with this dealer named Jimmy.
You know, he broke it down to me how he gets it.
You're in California right now, it's hard to get Actavis.
You go to the doctor, you get a 'scrip.
That's the best way to get it.
He did the stethoscope on my back,
and then just wrote the prescription real quick.
Michael: You know, these companies got scared,
and so they started to discontinue various brands.
Like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa,
we don't want any part to do with this."
This bottle here, back in 1993, costs about $100.
Actavis now costs on the street anywhere
from $2,500 a pint to $3,500.
There's still some out there -- a pint.
The cartel stepped up and started making Actavisa,
which is like this fake Actavis,
and they bring that shit over in, like, fruit trucks.
If you get the wrong shit, your life's over.
Michael: We got it in right now with a direct liaison
with the Mexican cartel, which is how
Actavisa is hitting the streets of L.A.
I see you got two bottles right there.
Tell me what's in those bottles?
Is that the same as Actavis?
Who do you work for in Mexico?
How long have you been in business?
Per shipment, how many bottles will you get?
[ Horns honking ]
♪
Shane: People call it liquid heroin, you know, I'll be real with you.
But you got to know what you're sipping.
If you're just sipping it and telling yourself,
"Ah, it's...water. It's candy."
Like, of course, you're gonna...--
one day it's gonna hit you, like,
"What the...am I doing?"
Michael: The way the -- the new generation
has decided to adapt to the culture of drinking lean,
it's much more dangerous.
Ron: Young kids, they don't drink it with just one drug.
It may be muscle relaxers. It may be ecstasy.
It may be Xanax.
What else can we put in the gumbo?
It's about to be here. I can hear it.
♪ It's fittin' to be a drop off ♪
It's promethazine with codeine.
It's just a different -- it's a brand that I didn't want.
Ron: They becoming their own little chemists,
where everybody's trying to say
what goes good with codeine promethazine.
It's just a little extra little...medicine
for your nostrils to help you breathe better.
I'm just gonna pour it. G, how much do you want me to pour?
Man: Pour the whole thing in, man.
-The whole thing? All right. -Yeah.
It's the same amount of codeine as Actavis,
High-tech every other brand,
the same amount of codeine.
It's the fact that it's QualiTest,
and in people's mind,
"Oh, my God, QualiTest doesn't taste as good."
Man: He didn't pay, like, 75 bucks for that bottle.
You think so?
No, at the end of the day, yeah.
Some people drop pills in their drink
and let it dissolve.
Turn up. He's turnt the...up.
It's these right here -- all of this.
This mixed with that. [ Laughs ]
This is...
Oh, no.
[ Retching ]
The turn up is real.
Squaw, squaw, squaw.
Man: Like I was doing last night.
Them things will do damage.
[ Dog whines ]
This game is...up.
[ Siren wails ]
Michael: My last stop in L.A.,
I met up with these dudes who showed me
how dangerous lean can really be.
[ Tattoo needle buzzing ]
What is the situation
with the lean out here on the streets?
-The lean is rolling right now. -Yeah?
Mother...will just try to sip it to be cool,
but after you try to sip it to be cool,
you start getting hooked.
And once you're hooked, that's when you start
really spending your bread on it.
And that's when it starts consuming you.
And let's say one week, you're, like, "I ain't got it."
You're gonna need it.
Even when I stopped, like, you go through them cold sweats
and shit, that crackhead shit, you feel...
-Withdrawal? -Yeah.
Niggas say they don't go through that shit full of shit.
Go to this nigga house one night, like, let's pour up.
...it, let's pour up. Pour a four in a two.
Just me and him, we sipped the whole 2-liter,
smoked hella blunts, we go to a strip club.
Leave there, we go to his homie's house,
pour another four in the two.
Sip that, smoke up.
Then I get home, I must have mother...fell asleep.
Something, I don't know what it was,
but you know what I'm saying, by the grace of God,
I opened my eyes.
And I was waking up, trying to fight for the shit.
I had a heart attack off that shit.
That shit right there, nigga, was scary.
Like, nigga, like, you ain't got no control over that.
You trying to sock your... Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's like, they put that --
[ Imitates defibrillator ] Pop nigga's heart,
so I'm just socking my shit,
and my shit's still not coming back.
And then I finally started breathing.
And I'm breathing in so deep, I pass out.
-Yeah. -Almost took my shit.
Like, I done been in shoot-outs.
I done been shot at, all kinds of shit,
but that shit right there, nigga, was scary.
[ Rap music playing ]
Michael: In 2000, the scene's pioneer,
DJ Screw, was found dead
in his recording studio at age 29.
High levels of codeine promethazine among other drugs
were found in his blood.
But, uh, you cannot get one person to say
that DJ Screw died from drinking lean.
They say get back to me when you ask the people
who created cigarettes and alcohol.
But with these opiates, the lure of addiction
is definitely a reality.
A.C.: Yeah, like, when I was in school,
I'd be in class sipping drank.
I spent, like, $15,000 just on my teeth
'cause it's like all the sugar, like, rots your teeth.
It just became like water or Gatorade.
All this belly and all this extra weight.
I'm...36 now.
I have a kid, and I don't want to be, like,
40 years old and sipping syrup, you know.
I'll probably be retiring very soon.
I've said that countless times, though.
♪
Michael: I love A.C., man.
I think he's hella smart.
But I see he is looking for a change,
but where he will be, I don't --
only -- only -- only -- only God knows, you know?
We can't take all the drugs out of society.
We shouldn't blame these people
that are the lower level
because the real people that are making the real money
that's putting this out are these pharmaceutical companies.
And it's a lot of money made off of this.
There are all types of escapism.
Some people do it through food, gambling, shopping,
you know, television.
People are self-medicating, you know.
It's -- it's a -- it's a vicious cycle.
♪