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A Cocaine ‘Reality Check’

A Little History – ‘If you feel better, you must be better’, well so the 19th Century ‘science’ goes! Oh! wait a minute, de ja vu – here we go again?

Opening Insight from… ?? You know you’re in trouble when you ‘analyst’ is a self-medicating dealer!

While Freud’s crippling cocaine addiction would eventually take its toll in the meantime he eagerly promoted it far and wide as a tonic to cure depression and sexual impotence.^[1]His 1884 article entitled “Ãœber Coca” (About Coke) listed the diverse “benefits” of cocaine, calling it a “magical” substance despite evidence of frightening hallucinations, its use on Indian labourers working in silver mines for their Spanish colonialist masters and — possibly as an extra inducement— its role in “physical and moral decadence.”^[2]

French chemist, Angelo Mariani, decided to leverage coca leaves commercial value, concocting a tonic mixed with cocaine and Bordeaux wine. The result was Vin Mariani. A wildly successful drink with volumes of its advertised benefits distributed ranging from book and pamphlet style promotions cataloguing general claims of “restor[ing] health and vitality” to relieving malaria, fever, chills, nervous disability, mental and physical depression, and consumption.

Vin Mariani was a leader in the now vast and incredibly financially lucrative market of proprietary drug promotion drawing heavily on the use of celebrity endorsements.^[1]Names such Pope Leo XII, President William McKinley and Queen Victoria, French actress Sarah Bernhardt and the silent film industry more broadly lauded the astounding drink.^[2]From the 1850s to the early 1900s, cocaine and opium-laced elixirs, tonics and wines exploded, permeating all social classes.

It was the steady rise of prohibition that forced Pemberton’s hand to concoct an alcohol-free version, Coca-Cola.^[1]The novel bubbly and energizing drink helped skyrocket its popularity towards the turn of the century. Coca-Cola was as American as apple pie or Standard Oil. But once again, cocaine’s high market prevalence began drawing closer attention to its dangers and under public pressure Pemberton was this time obliged to remove it. Although some reports indicate the company continued adding cocaine well into the 1900s.^[2]

By 1905, it had become popular to snort cocaine and within five years, hospitals and medical literature had started reporting cases of nasal damage resulting from the use of this drug. In 1912, the United States government reported 5,000 cocaine-related deaths in one year.

How does cocaine affect the heart?

Cocaine’s effects on the heart can cause both immediate emergencies, such as a heart attack, and long-term damage.

Regular, long-term cocaine use significantly increases the risk of heart disease. For people with pre-existing heart health problems, even short-term cocaine use may elevate the risk.

Keep reading to learn more about how cocaine affects the heart and when to seek medical attention.

Effects of cocaine on the heart

Cocaine is a stimulant, which means that it elevates blood pressure and heart rate, in addition to making a person feel more energetic and alert. These changes affect how the heart functions in the short term.

Prolonged cocaine use, however, may cause long-term heart health issues.

The effects of cocaine on the heart include:

Coronary artery disease

Some, but not all, studies involving cocaine users suggest that cocaine may increase the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). This disease causes blood vessels to narrow as a result of the buildup of plaque.

CAD is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke, as well as for sudden death. Cocaine users who have other risk factors – such as having overweight or eating an unhealthful diet – or who use cocaine for a long time may sustain further heart damage. This additional damage increases the risk of heart attack even more.

Cocaine can also cause coronary artery spasms that limit blood flow to the heart, possibly causing heart damage.

Self-Medicating ADHD with Cocaine – Like all ‘quick fixes’, it’s not!

Higher blood pressure

Cocaine use can elevate blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart health problems and heart attack. A 2014 study suggests that this risk may exist even in people who are young and healthy and only use cocaine occasionally.

Damage to the structure of the heart

Cocaine use may damage the physical structures of the heart, either directly or by causing other serious issues, such as high blood pressure. A small 2014 study found that cocaine users who were otherwise young and healthy had enlarged left ventricles compared with non-users. They also had increased stiffness in the aorta, a major blood vessel of the heart.

This damage increases the risk of other heart health problems, such as irregular heart rate. It may also elevate the risk of heart attack.Heart arrhythmias

People who use cocaine are more likely to have irregular or elevated heart rates. The reason for this may be that cocaine changes the sodium and potassium ion channels in the heart, affecting its electrical system. Many people who use cocaine may feel as though their heart is racing while under the influence. For some, this can cause anxiety.

Some research indicates that cocaine-related deaths increase in hot weather. The authors suggest that this is due to heat-induced heart rate changes triggering heart rhythm issues.

Congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure is a chronic medical condition that some people develop after a history of cocaine use. In those with this condition, the heart muscle cannot effectively pump blood. Over time, this can lead to serious complications, such as organ failure.

Sex Life

Cocaine use damages fertility in men and women and can make it difficult to start a family. The Australian campaign warns that using cocaine damages men’s ability to produce sperm, and disrupts women’s ovulation cycles. “It is time that we end the myth about cocaine. It is a dangerous drug,’’ Commander Schofield said

Also see Cocaine and Bad Sex

Heart attack and stroke

The damage that cocaine does to the heart and blood vessels increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and similar risk factors all increase a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke.

Cocaine also blocks certain sodium and potassium channels that affect heart functioning. In this way, it may damage the heart over time or cause abnormal heart rhythms that increase the risk of heart attack and other injuries.

A 2018 study suggests that cocaine may also increase the risk of heart attack in young people who would otherwise be at low risk. The study included 2,097 people under the age of 50 years who had had a heart attack.

The participants who used illegal drugs, such as cocaine, had fewer traditional heart health risk factors, including diabetes. Despite this, they were still twice as likely to die in the years following their heart attack.

About 5% of the participants had used cocaine before their heart attack. This fact suggests, though does not prove, that cocaine may trigger heart attack in some people.

For complete article go to Medical News Today — Cocaine Harms

Women, Low Dose Addiction and Finding a Way Out?

Scientists have long known that cocaine works by latching on to molecular connectors on the surface of brain cells, allowing dopamine, a chemical that promotes feelings of pleasure and reward, to accumulate in the space between brain cells. Now, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have found a molecular connector, known as the BASP1 receptor, that binds cocaine, even when the drug is present in very low doses.

After reviewing research done at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and the University at Buffalo showing that BASP1 also binds to the female hormone estrogen, Harraz suspects that BASP1 may already be linked with the hormone in female mice.

He says he is conducting further research to explore this finding. Many studies have shown that while both men and women become addicted to cocaine, women are more susceptible to the drug than men; however, the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Harraz is also looking for drugs that can interfere with the binding between cocaine and the BASP1 receptor, which could potentially be developed to treat cocaine substance use disorder.

The study, conducted in mice and laboratory-grown mouse brain cells, suggests that blocking the BASP1 receptor may reduce the stimulant effect of cocaine, but only in male mice, not in females, maybe due to the stronger presence of estrogen hormone in the females.

(For complete article https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/molecular-connector-helps-cocaine-latch-on-to-brain-cells-even-when-drug-is-in-low-doses
Carlisle and Killer Cocaine

BTW, Check out – “I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE, SO DON’T YOU DARE CHALLENGE MY BEHAVIOR AND MAKE ME FEEL BAD, DESPITE WRECKING ALL THOSE AROUND ME SPEW!”

The Lonely Island – Great Day?

Don’t tell me you’re woke if you do coke! Children are being murdered, rainforests destroyed, and criminal networks bankrolled, so don’t pretend you care about social justice or the planet if you take cocaine #SDGs (Neo-Woke Wankers)

UNODC Drug Market Trends 2021 – Cocaine

Demand for Cocaine: In 2019, roughly 20 million people worldwide (range: 17—25 million), or 0.4 per cent of the adult population aged 15—64 (range: 0.3 per cent—0.5 per cent), had used cocaine in
the past year. A high prevalence of cocaine use is estimated in Oceania (mainly for the subregion Australia and New Zealand, where it is 2.7 per cent), North America (2.1 per cent), Western and Central Europe (1.4 per cent) and South and Central America (nearly 1.0. per cent). The estimated extent of cocaine use in other subregions is far below the global average, although the availability of data is limited.
Between 2010 and 2019, the estimated prevalence of past year cocaine use remained fairly stable, at about 0.4 per cent, but population growth led to an increase of 22 per cent in the number of people who had used cocaine in the past year.

Cocaine manufacture reached record levels in 2019 despite growth losing momentum

World Drug Report 2021

United Kingdom

Australia

Who is Using Cocaine in 2021 – “Australia has the highest per capita Cocaine use in the world.” With around 5.5 tonnes of cocaine consumed in Australia each year, and around 60% of that (2.9 tonnes) consumed in Sydney alone, the east coast of Australia is in the midst of what has been dubbed ‘Australia’s Cocaine Crisis’.
Cocaine use increased from 68 per cent in 2020 to 80 per cent in 2021, the highest per cent observed since national monitoring began in 2003, although frequency of use remained low, with 7 per cent of people reporting weekly or more frequent use. University of NSW News Room Report Oct 2021
Why cocaine is most used drug in Australia behind cannabis
Powder keg: How the cocaine industry snared Queensland
Cocaine use in QLD triples in four years, authorities issue warning
Queensland’s biggest cocaine busts, dealers and traffickers

U.S.A

Cocaine: The Great White Plague (Retrospective)

Barry Liskow, MD Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA.)

The danger cocaine presents to individuals and social structures is no longer debated. The suddenness of the spread of cocaine abuse and its accompanying violence has led some prominent people to suggest that all illicit drugs, including cocaine, be legalized to prevent the fueling of illicit drug empires and to preserve civil liberties that strict drug laws threaten. This solution is not widely embraced and is noteworthy mainly because it indicates the dissatisfaction with current approaches to the cocaine epidemic.

This book by Dr Gabriel G. Nahas also displays strong dissatisfaction with current approaches to the cocaine epidemic. Nahas, who has written extensively about the dangers of marijuana, begins his assessment of contemporary approaches to cocaine by reviewing historical attitudes toward cocaine and its control.

For complete work https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/384855