Monthly Archives: December 2009

Hi. I want to know, how do you know if you are addicted to cocaine? I know I am NOT but I am dating a guy who is very straight-laced who really wants me to stop. He thinks that cocaine is this huge deal and I know it can be, but it’s really not. I’ve been there, I know how cocaine can ruin peoples lives. I’ve lost friends over it. I’ve seen the REAL damage coke can do, close friends living in a house with no bed, no food, and no heat in the winter because they spent every penny on blow. I do not let it control my life like that. There has been times when yeah, maybe I got a little too crazy the night before (and not necessarily coke) and had to call in at my job, but its happened maybe once or twice. I mean, it happens to all of us. I USED to do it excessively. I used to not have a job or a home, so me and my group would just get fucked up for days at a time. I’ve moved on since then, I have a job now and other things to focus on. Everyone seems to know I’ve done it though, I always have a stuffy, runny nose even though I havent done it in a long time. Its like my nose is permanently runny. It bleeds sometimes too, but not much, just a teeny bit. Its nothing that dramatic. Its just a little annoyance, like a cold that wont go away even though I havent done blow in a while. I have done it to the point of going insane, having full blown panic attacks, hallucinations when I come down, etc. But all that is in the past, just crazy experiences you know? My whole point is, I don’t do it that much anymore. I do it on the occasion, and not to the extent that I used to. But my straight laced boyfriend wants me to never touch it again, which seems unfair to me. If I rarely do it, and its not affecting my life, why should I not do it on the occasion when I really want/need to? I know how this sounds, but I am a perfectly normal girl with a job, a car that I am paying for on my own, bills, friends, family, pets, and a boyfriend. I’m not dirty, I’m not homeless, I’m pretty preppy in fact. I just want to know, is my boyfriend right? Am I really an addict? Or is he just a straight laced kid who doesnt know what he is talking about? I think he is just letting the stigma get to him, because I know what I am doing, and I know better than he does what a REAL addict looks like. And its not me.

I say I’m not addicted. I know what REAL addiction looks like, it’s pathetic. I’m not letting drugs affect my life. I just LIKE to do them sometimes. And I don’t plan on doing it forever, either. He says “Thats what all addicts say.” I think I have proved the self control that I have though, since I know when to stop, I can pace myself when I want to, unlike my friends. I know I’m not addicted, because I don’t NEED it. I just like it. Yeah I get cravings for it, but I don’t let that control me. I just ignore the cravings. It’s like chocolate. But I am an open minded person, I am willing to CONSIDER finding out if I’m an addict, just for the sake of not being hard headed and close minded. For the sake of respecting my boyfriend, I will consider it. But I know I’m not.

Sorry this is so long. I dont want to hear any arguments about how its illegal, it will ruin my life, how bad it is for me, what it does to my brain and organs and all that, trust me I know all that already. I just want to know, am I really addicted? Do I need rehab or something? Only intelligent, considerate answers please. Thank you.

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* Cocaine that is sold on the street (as a result of prohibition) can be anywhere from 100% pure to 10% pure (mixed with lots of other stuff – sometimes very dangerous stuff); alcohol in comparison tends to be…what? 4% to 6% for beer?
* Cocaine in small amounts is not addictive, barring those few people with a genetic predisposition for cocaine addiction – much like alcohol
* Cocaine in small amounts does not cause significant physiological damage; it takes higher and more frequent doses to cause significant harm – much like alcohol
* Cocaine may be a safer social lubricant than alcohol – I can’t seem to dig-up anything with regards to it impairing driving ability or co-ordination. It just seems to make people more energetic.
* Contrary to popular belief, cocaine was NOT removed from coca-cola because it was too dangerous or it became illegal – it was due to propaganda in America making people believe that cocaine was causing black people to commit violence – and, playing on the racial prejudices of the white majority, cocaine became very unpopular – much like cannabis with the whole Reefer Madness a few decades later. Coca-cola removed cocaine to avoid alienating a good segment of their customer base.
* Cocaine was criminalized in the US around the same time as alcohol was. So the argument that ‘cocaine was outlawed for a reason’ doesn’t fly unless you also believe alcohol should be illegal (which it still would be, if it hadn’t been so embedded in so many western cultures a long time ago)
* South Americans, to whom the coca plant is native, have been consuming the cocaine-containing leaves of it for many, many generations – without any notable negative effects
* Cocaine has a range of positive uses – as a treatment for asthma, hay fever, indigestion, fatigue, impotence, travel sickness, stomach irritability etc.

It’s easy to dismiss cocaine because of how it is used currently, in relatively-very pure doses or if it’s in low doses, then it tends to be cut with a lot of other things like novacain or levamisole; the harmful effects are often unfairly attributed solely to cocaine. But what if you compare some of the cocaine you get on the streets nowadays to a very strong alcoholic drink. Absinthe for instance? Is cocaine really that bad in comparison?

Now, considering those things, it makes me think – perhaps we should bring back drinks like the original coca-cola with small amounts of cocaine and treat cocainated beverages the same as alcoholic beverages. The benefits I see are this:

* Less harm caused by cocaine due to those who want to use it having access to a much safer method and source of consumption – much lower purity, no contaminants – people being able to ingest it orally rather than snorting it
* Less/less severe driving accidents due to cocaine not causing as much impairment as alcohol
* Less money for criminals – and more money for us! Due to taxing the cocaine products and a lot of cocaine users turning to legal sources of it rather than the black market

I think that the un-approved manufacture and distribution of cocaine, and cocaine of certain purity should remain illegal and those perpetrating it targeted however.
Okay, sadly, this is the response I was expecting. I presume that nobody who has answered this question so far knows anything about cocaine, and the fact that it is a scheduled substance means nothing. Marijuana is a Schedule I substance, yet it has enormous therapeutic use. The government also made Ecstasy a Schedule I substance, against the recommendation of most experts and a judge. It’s sad how brainwashed most people are with regards to illegal drugs – they’re not even capable of thinking about the issue. Rather they just follow their knee-jerk reaction – as they’ve been trained to.

Please, for everybody’s sake, do some research that isn’t just eating-up all the War on Drugs propaganda.

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I have no idea what killed Brittany Murphy.  The press are reporting that she had a ‘heart attack’ at age 32, not fully understanding the difference between a ’heart attack’– which typically refers to a heart that stops functioning because of an inadequate suppy of oxygen, usually from coronary artery blockage– vs. ‘cardiac arrest’, a garden-variety term used by coroners who must cite a cause of death without an autopsy, reliable history, or lab results.  We ALL die of cardiac arrest in the end.  Opiate addicts usually suffer respiratory failure, either because of a reduced drive to breathe secondary to the effects of opiates at the brainstem, or because of a ‘blocked airway’ caused by stomach contents gettting into the thr… Continue reading →

Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects — already used to study dozens of human disease — could claim that role. Scientists are reporting that fruit flies can be used as a simpler and more convenient animal model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on the brain. Continue reading →

Well, i had an ecstasy addiction for a few years…and a daily cocaine addiction from 15-19, i am now 20 (female)…and i was clean just about a year…and have used for the past six weeks at least once a week..usually twice. My stresses have been really high, which with my addictive personality just makes it easier for me to use…i work 2 jobs go to college maintain a 90 average, homework, placement, take care of my brother and grandma because my mom is working 3 jobs 7 days a week, i cook i clean i pay rent…my dad is dying..we’re about to loose our house and i have to move out…i am a weak individual who doesn’t handle stress well..ive started drinking every night for the last month or so…and now the frequent cocaine use…which is bringing on that careless side of me…i am a horrible person. I hate myself more then i used to and for the first time, i want to die..i have many plans how to do so..i haven’t told a single soul…and i wont..when i want to do this..i’ll do it. But i can’t stop the fiendish side of me for the cocaine…i feel like i’ve just gone back a million steps…and i don’t even care..i can’t tell my parents…i can’t let my dad down before he dies…i’m terribly close to him, and i just couldn’t let him down like this…I live in Toronto…anyway….any advice is welcome….no need to tell me..im aware i’m a horrible person, and i’m useless.

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Lets examine the usual proponent examples:
Claim#1: Pot is a gateway drug
Fact#1: The concept of a gateway drug infers that one will seek a stronger, better high than the original drug. If this concept is true, then it is also applicable to tobacco and alcohol. Also, 80% of Americans have tried pot atleast once in their lives, but it didnt make them resort to cocaine and other illicit drugs.

Additional notes:
-Alcohol is much more addictive, it contains physical components that hold severe physical manifestations upon withdrawal. Pot, on the other hand, only holds psychological addiction, and withdrawal is much less severe
-Alcohol creates numerous problems among all of us, we have all had our experiences. Alcohol is a common source of violence, people often get drunk and get angry. But with pot, people plant themselves on the count and experience uncontrollable laughter.
-Every 15 minutes someone is killed by a drunk driver. When have you heard of someone being responsible for causing deaths in auto accidents, or EVEN ARRESTED, for driving for being high on pot.
-Marijuana is the largest cache crop in california: it could make billions for the state
-Stop wasting millions on enforcing marijuana prohibition, let cops actually focus on catching real criminals
-It is racially enforced: an african american is 5 times as likely to be arrested for having pot than a white kid. Cops usually let a kid go if they have some pot, but if your a black kid your much more likely to be enlisted in the system.

Conclusion: What’s the point? Pot is clearly less addictive and destructive than alcohol. Instead of wasting money on enforcing a law that hasnt deterred anyone from smoking, lets make money and allow personal choice & freedom. I mean really, what logical reasoning is left that can encourage such an egregious law?

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Compare a collection (toys or sports of ) to an alcoholic. Are obsessions/afflictions the same (psychologically) as a drug addiction? I understand chemical changing drugs like nicotine,caffeine,cocaine,heroine, due to the way they change chemicals in the brain, but what about subject or objects that do not even affect ones conscience?

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For the past 3-5 days, my Mom has been doing drugs such as cocaine, and marijuana. She’s been depressed again, but i just don’t know why. I’m really suprised that she has turned into drugs, especially since she use to be in rehab, and she’s fighting a drinking problem. I don’t know what to do, and i don’t want to lose my Mom.
But i don’t live with my Mom. I live in an apartment with my fiancee near out college, and i’m 20.

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