Davis County Clipper | 1988-07-06 | Page 35 | Protecting your Health

rotecting Your Health j I acts From The National Institute On Drug Abuse 1 1 1 Cocaine is one of the most dangerous dependence-producing drugs. That's the word from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to the latest research, cocaine is just as dangerous as heroin. Both are powerful drugs that disrupt and ruin lives. And although few people realize it, cocaine can kill you. One reason cocaine is so dangerous is that people underestimate un-derestimate its harmful effects. ef-fects. Researchers have found that a hungry animal will prefer pre-fer cocaine to food. People who are addicted to cocaine cannot control their use of the drug even when their lives are falling fal-ling apart. Many people who experiment experi-ment with cocaine end up with severe problems. No one who becomes addicted planned plan-ned to or believed they would. Cocaine is a very dangerous, addictive drug, robbing the lives of our youth. According to a survey from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the number of cocaine-related emergency room visits from 1981-1983 increased 75 percent. Deaths are a result of multiple seizures sei-zures followed by respiratory and cardiac arrest. I 1 After regular use, effects such as depression, fearfulness, and an inability to concentrate concen-trate are common. Some people may act and feel paranoid and experience what is called a "cocaine psychosis." Hallucinations of touch, sight, taste or smell I may occur. Overdose deaths from cocaine use can and do happen. hap-pen. Deaths can occur whether the drug is injected, smoked or snorted. Injecting the drug or smoking a form of the drug called freebase is especially dangerous.