Show Cocaine At What Cost Raymond J. J Mi Middleton Idle ton MD M.D. Medical Director Dayspring at IDS Hospital more than any other is the COCAINE C drug of enslavement The Spanish used it centuries ago to enslave an art entire nation and it is the only drug that research animals will voluntarily ingest until they die Cocaine is the most addictive of drugs re researchers researchers researchers re- re searchers estimate that 70 of people who try it even once will be hooked The cost of cocaine addiction is measured not only in dollars but in loss of freedom loss of will and finally loss of life It is the costliest of highs How does the drug work Our bodies run on chemically charged electrical impulses and cocaine stimulates that process especially in the brain Where nerve fibers meet there is a microscopic space or joint called a synapse As the nerve is stimulated the impulse travels along the nerve until it hits the synapse and is carried to the other nerve stirn stimulating it The whole process takes a millionth of a second Cocaine blocks certain neurotransmitters which means the stimulation stimulation stimulation tion passed along in the synapse lasts for up to 45 minutes instead of a millionth of a second This unrelieved stimulation is the sensation known as a high One consequence of continued abuse is the using up of the chemicals in the synapse The brain cannot keep up with the demand It literally begins to run dry and intense craving craving craving ing for cocaine ensues In the cardiovascular system the user experiences a rapid increase in blood pressure and pulse rate The heart literally beats faster and harder with the pulse rate going from a norm of 60 per minute to over which may result in heart attacks or heart failure Ive I've seen pathology pathology ogy reports and slides on two kids who had heart attacks after using cocaine One child was 7 and the other was 11 years old Cocaine causes arteries to shut down Addicts Addicts Addicts Ad Ad- who inject it and miss the vein can get the cocaine solution into a artery and lose a limb If cocaine is injected into the skin it itcan itcan itcan can cause the skin to die and slough off Y 1 L L National Cocaine Figures 19 to 26 year olds in 1988 used cocaine in some form Information contributed by Charter Summit Hospital IN j ti f r ry y i It u H I is common for lor addicts to tU have fevers of degrees which damages the brain If that temperature is maintained maintained maintained main main- for more than a few hours seizures may follow Hallucinations are also frequent frequent frequent fre fre- fre- fre quent with cocaine use One of the most common kinds is isa isa isa a tactile hallucination known as II cocaine bugs in which addicts feel like they have insects insects insects in in- sects under their skin They will do anything to get the bugs out including gouging them out with their fingernails fingernails fingernails finger finger- I Ithem nails or knives Of course theres there's nothing there but J I theres there's no way to convince I these individuals otherwise Another common hallucination is called I II bull horrors The addict thinks the police or II someone else is coming to get him Violent I behavior is common and homicides rapes suicides and motor vehicle accidents go up I One of the most most- devastating things were we're seeing now is babies born bom with an addiction I to cocaine They suffer the same complications from addiction as their mothers and II some have major deformities as well If they like through withdrawal just survive they go their mothers Cocaine is not a recreational drug unless unless unless un un- un- un less your idea of recreation is suicide By Dy the time an addict dies from cocaine use he e or or she has nothing left Cocaine kills but first f it strips you of your humanity r T 11 I ii viii J I td J. J J 4 i C r. r J. J |