So wait, young people take cough syrup Codeine to get high?

I've been getting emails from some young people asking me to talk about this. Apparently some of our young men and women take the cough syrup Codeine to get high.
Seriously? I hear they either drink it alone or mix it with a soft drink and instead of taking just a table spoon, they down the whole bottle or half its content and this makes them high, calm and helps them sleep.
They basically overdose on this medicine recommended by doctors to help with cough. Wow!!
The demand for Codeine by these young folks is so high that it's now expensive and scarce. So, how did this start? Who figured that a cough syrup would make anyone high?
I don't know much about this so let's discuss it here. Do you know people who overdose on Codeine? Is it as dangerous as they say it is? Has it ever killed anyone? Please share your thoughts...