Sunday, April 22, 2012

FEELING NO PAIN, USING COCAINE

We don't talk much about cocaine anymore. The emphasis these days is on opiates and prescription drug abuse. Yet just as many Americans use cocaine as they do heroin. The difference is that cocaine is 'marginally socially acceptable' in many wealthier circles. For that reason, discussion about it does not peak interest. Cocaine was more or less 'normalized' by high-level executives and celebrities. It is available at parties and bars and folks don't see it as an addictive substance. Even detoxes do not accept clients who only abuse cocaine. The problem however, is cocaine causes serious damage to the brain. Using it with alcohol, even socially, can produce cocaethylene which can be fatal. Smoking cocaine in crack form, causes Dopamine flooding and a slower re-uptake. That means that it is all but impossible to stop smoking until the crack runs out. It goes to the reward center of the brain and produces such a pleasurable effect that people do not want to stop smoking. So the question becomes, why do people smoke cocaine or snort it if it is damaging? Are they addicted? There is no one answer to these questions. People use illicit drugs for many reasons. But they are not addicted to the substance cocaine. They are addicted to the feeling they get when they use this substance. It takes them out of the everyday world that surrounds them and puts them in a different emotional state where no one can demand from them. They do not have to live up to anyone else's expectations. But, damage from cocaine abuse clearly outweighs the good feeling that users get when they are high. It is a negative tool to avoid reality and responsibility. In between use, folks become irritable and anxious. And combined with other drugs it can be fatal. Although not a gateway drug, rarely do we meet clients who only use cocaine. Patients come to us when their life is out of control. When the cocaine/crack use has financially devastated them. And when they have alienated their family and friends in favor of their on-going affair with the drug. Cocaine abuse is a serious problem in America. We should not turn our heads and ignore it when family members use the drug. We should encourage them to get help before they lose everything that is important to them.

4 comments:

Gerry said...

What most people do not recognize is the cardiac ramifications of using coke. The quabtity necessarry to achieve that same "buzz" increases, and increases. Depending upon the purity and the quantity used, put simply it is actually possible for the user to cause the heart to "explode."

Dr. Alicen said...

Thank you for including the effect upon the heart with cocaine overuse. Blood pressure is increased and respiration is also changed. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope folks take these comments to head as well as heart.

Dr. Steve Cohen said...

Thanks for this blog it hits home in my practice cocaine hits every strata. Yet it stays hidden from the light thank you for shinning a bit of light on this ignored subject destroying so many families and rewiring brains permanently. The neurotransmitter never come back and the high never returns creating sadness all around.

drstevencohen@gmail.com

Unknown said...

How cocaine came in to social gatherings like a VIP is a bit wonder. However, the pain that it may cause doesn't mean literal pain.