What has happened to cocaine usage in the US? Is it still a problem?
Cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high that is immediately followed by the opposite —intense depression, edginess and a craving for more of the drug. People who use it often don’t eat or sleep properly.
Regardless of how much of the drug is used or how frequently, cocaine increases the risk that the user will experience a heart attack, stroke, seizure or respiratory (breathing) failure, any of which can result in sudden death.
Free on-line course available with information on cocaine and other drugs.
Surprising new statistics show major increase in overdose deaths from cocaine - but no one seems to be talking about it. One group says it’s time to speak up.
In May 2020 the CDC found that cocaine overdose deaths had increased by 26.5% in one year. In fact, for the first time cocaine overdose deaths surpassed heroin overdose deaths according to the 2020 report.
Another government report shows cocaine overdose deaths have tripled in the last five years.
Cocaine is in fact one of the most addictive of drugs. Cheaper and more potent cocaine is creating in its wake a surge in abuse and overdose deaths. The pandemic and its lock-downs haven’t helped.
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is countering this trend with effective drug education materials that it makes available for free. Its “The Truth About Cocaine” booklet points out, “Next to methamphetamine, cocaine creates the greatest psychological dependence of any drug.” The booklet further explains that cocaine stimulates key pleasure centers within the brain and causes extremely heightened euphoria. But a tolerance to cocaine develops quickly and the addict soon fails to achieve the same high experienced earlier from the same amount of cocaine.
As Thalia Ghiglia, faith coordinator for Drug-Free World in Washington, DC, observed, “The danger of cocaine is not the romanticized version that is often portrayed in the music, literature and art worlds. It is a deadly drug that has lured many into its macabre hold.”
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World in Washington, DC, holds seminars and on-line training sessions with prevention centers, medical facilities, and community programs to help them reach those potentially involved in taking drugs or thinking about taking drugs.
Its free booklets and free online courses educate people on the dangers of drugs and are available in 17 languages on its website: www.drugfreeworld.org.
The Truth About Cocaine booklet is one in a series of free booklets contained in The Truth About Drugs Education Package, a set of practical tools to educate young people about substance abuse.
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug free.
Thalia Ghiglia
Drug-Free World
+1 202-667-6404
email us here
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