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NEWS: A fine line to an early death - SMH, 10.04.11

Mr Blonde

Mr Blonde

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Rachel Browne
April 10, 2011

THEY are young, fit professionals in their physical prime - hardly the typical candidates for cardiovascular disease.

Yet they are increasingly turning up in hospitals suffering heart attacks or strokes. Medical staff say cocaine is to blame.

The latest figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show that use and possession of cocaine rose 45.4 per cent between September 2008 and September 2010. There has been a similar increase in the number of young people suffering ''coke strokes'' and heart attacks induced by the drug have shown a similar increase in accident and emergency departments.

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''The numbers follow the direct graph of cocaine usage,'' said Dr Gordian Fulde, head of emergency services at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst. ''As cocaine usage has increased in this country, so have the heart attacks and the strokes.''

It is a similar story at Royal North Shore Hospital, where a spokeswoman confirmed the number of patients suffering cocaine-related heart attacks has increased five-fold in the past three years.

Cocaine users come in two distinct groups: affluent people with well-paid jobs who think nothing of doing a few lines on a weekend, and injecting users who take cocaine and a variety of other drugs.

While the first group is generally well-educated, most would have no idea of the acute damage cocaine can cause, said Professor Shane Darke, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, who has studied the field for almost 25 years. ''There is a whole bunch of upper middle class people who think they can safely use this drug but they are just deluding themselves,'' he said.

Cocaine's soft image as a party drug for the jet set is deceptive. Professor Darke's landmark 2004 study into deaths from the drug shows that it was an indiscriminate killer.

''In the deaths that we looked at, a whole bunch of them were upper middle class people and you know what? They're just as dead as the people who inject,'' he said.

A cocaine user's risk of heart attack increases nearly 24-fold in the first hour after using the drug, according to a 1999 study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, while the chance of stroke is increased 14-fold. The average age of death for cocaine users in Professor Darke's study was 34, though Dr Fulde has seen much younger patients suffering the impact of the drug.

''We have seen young girls - pretty young things aged 17, 18, 19 - who have had strokes because the blood vessels in their heads constrict,'' he said. ''We see patients with angina, chest pains which radiate up and down the left arm. It makes people feel awful. That's the most common thing we get from cocaine. Often when we test them for heart muscle damage we find they have had a heart attack.''

For men aged over 40, who are already at higher risk of coronary artery disease due to their age and gender, the threat is worse.

''It's a particularly nasty drug,'' Professor Darke said.

''It's got such a soft image but it's a quick road to the morgue.''

He believes cocaine users have a poor understanding of the drug's effects, which include causing blood vessels to constrict while making the heart pump faster.

''With a drug like cocaine you could take a very small amount for the first time and you go into what they call vasospasm,'' he said. ''Your vascular system starts spasming and you can die from a very small amount.'' It also has a cumulative effect on the heart and vessels, leaving long-term users with permanent damage to their heart muscle.

''Taking cocaine poses an immediate risk but each time you use, a little bit more cumulative damage is done,'' he said.

His comparative study of dead cocaine users, heroin users and non-drug related deaths found that the cocaine users had suffered the most severe damage to their hearts and vessels.

The combination of cocaine and alcohol is particularly potent, metabolising into a substance called cocaethylene which puts people in greater danger of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

It is difficult to warn cocaine users about the health implications of the white powder, said Paul Dillon, of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia.

''When I speak about this to cocaine users they find it very hard to believe,'' he said.

''If you look at the data, it's quite clear, it happens and it's not uncommon. But it's a tough message to get across to users.

''If you look at how most people use this drug, they generally use it socially, in conjunction with alcohol. If you take a group of users in their 20s and someone in their social circle drops dead from a heart attack, it would surprise them all. Would they link that heart attack with the cocaine? Probably not.''
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Link.
 
It's frustrating sometimes 8)

My brothers girlfriend is doing journalism and it seems they're not teaching the basics...I guess they just teach what will lead them to employment, which is to write sensational, dumbed down garbage.

The Sydney morning herald was actually a decent paper 50 odd years ago, used to get some good stuff from the archives at the library.

Anyway, they make cocaine sound pretty bloody dangerous in this article. Does anyone here know any young healthy users that have had a stroke or heart attack? I've never heard much/any of this. That doesn't mean it's not happening but without the figures are we going to just take their word for it? 8)
 
^ I would be interested to know where this study comes from and what they count as a 'cocaine user' as.

Ie. if the study was done in America, I imagine the purity of the coke is much higher, and the volumes used regularly is higher than in Australia, simply because it is close to a tenth of the price.

However, how many people in Australia could be counted as addicted to coke? I imagine they would be few and far between considering how incredibly expensive the drug is.

but yeah, the risk of heart attack, stroke, overdose, cardiovascular problems is higher than alot of drugs. I think in the states it is the illegal drug which results in the highest amount of presentations to emergency departments.

In Australia, I imagine heroin and to a lesser extent GHB would surpass it.

I'm sure its like most things. Use it heavily and/or often, and the risks are going to stack up. A few lines once a month the risks would be pretty negligable. Unless of course you have some predisposition to cardiovascular problems, which alot of people may have.

out of my friends who use cocaine, who fit the young professional group, no one has suffered any heart problems that I know of. they wouldn't be classed as heavy users though. say a gram every few weeks.
 
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psytaco said:
but yeah, the risk of heart attack, stroke, overdose, cardiovascular problems is higher than alot of drugs. I think in the states it is the illegal drug which results in the highest amount of presentations to emergency departments.

In Australia, I imagine heroin and to a lesser extent GHB would surpass it.
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I think I heard some years ago that meth is the illicit drug that causes the most ED presentations in Australia these days. More related to acute behavioural issues (ie aggression/violence) and psychosis than overdose though (unlike opiates/GHB/etc). All of which are dwarfed by the damage caused by alcohol (short- and long-term) and smoking, but we all know that 8)

I agree cocaine is a pretty marginal issue in Australia both compared with other drugs here and with cocaine use abroad. Personally I've never gotten coke that wasn't overpriced and cut to shit :\
 
psytaco;9530481However said:
I used to think the same but there are more than you think. Theres the IV users who will use as many 'caps' (0.1g deals) as they can get a hold of each day as well as the Business men, prostitutes, drug dealers that use, ive known a bikie gang(not one of the bigger ones either) that gave free coke to a few of the members, not sure what entitles them to that like whether they were higher up or what I dont know. Then theres just the plain rich people who have the money to spare.
I have met people in each of those situations and believe me, there are enough coke addicts in Australia. Heroin is more expensive per gram but IMO a serious heroin habit is usually more expensive than a coke habit overall and most of the H addicts I know arent anywhere near rich. If someone likes a drug enough they will find ways to get it. From what ive seen prostitutes have a liking for coke(not that ive ever used a pro, I just know them coz ive been around opiates/other hard drugs) Quite a few prosttutes around here love IV coke.

In most circles its considered a very safe drug though, almost as if it isnt a drug so im sure thats a negative thing, maybe instead of all this stuff about ecstasy being so bad for you they should educate about the dangers of coke. Thats what I think. I havent even noticed it getting popular really, meth still has a strong hold on this country and for the older generation alcohol, pot and heroin are the main drugs. I think the younger drug users need to have a drug revolution!
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The last time i had cocaine i did 3 medium lines, started off getting a cocaine buzz then i started sweating heaps, followed by a light sick feeling and i then was struggleing to keep my eyes open. I had to lay down and i could feel my heart beating like crazy.. That was the second time id had that from cocaine and knew it was time to stop.
 
"Cocaine users come in two distinct groups: affluent people with well-paid jobs who think nothing of doing a few lines on a weekend, and injecting users who take cocaine and a variety of other drugs."

Interesting, how there are never any sources to support these ridiculous claims.
 
^ That makes sense though, given how expensive it is. I imagine the addicted IV users probably use cocaine not that much and prefer other substances given the price.
 
A old school friend of mine who i use to go clubbing with took me to his father's house after we left the club, well he owes a 5 million house and is a ceo for magazine company, drives a ferrari f40. You may not believe this but he offered me some coke with some of his associates around dressed in suits while he was half naked with boxers playing on his pinball machine. So i asked him do you guys do this all the time. He replied there's nothing wrong with doing it once in a while. But anyway i refused the offer until now i don't know what cocaine feels like but i sure know it last for 15 mins and completely sober within a hour. I stopped hanging around him now because he gets into too much trouble.
 
I only tried cocaine a couple of times and while I agree it is overpriced, it is an enjoyable drug for sure. I think the main problem with cocaine is its pretty damn cardiotoxic and when you combine that with the fact its expensive and tends to be the stimulant of choice among more affluent/generally a bit older people then it is going to lead to some complications in regular users.

I have only really known a few people to use coke that regularly, and while all of them tended to spend the vast majority of their income on it none of them really used crime to support their habits.

As far as IV iser's go I was always under the impression that it wasn't too uncommon for heroin dealers to have caps of coke so people could speedball, atleast in Melbourne though from what I can tell IV heroin use far outstrips that of cocaine and most cocaine users snort it.

Any drug carries its risks and the truth is cocaine would be less risky if it wasn't cut with unknown contaminants, some of which can be other active stimulants which increase the strain on the heart. I really think Australia has much bigger drug problems than cocaine anyway...
 
I've only tried coke a couple of times when I had some money and not much responsibility or anything to spend my cash on. It was fun, but definitely not worth the price.

The only regular user I used to know didn't even use that regularly due to the low bang-for-buck ratio.
 
Just wanna second that a lot of IV heroin users IV coke as well especially around the Sydney, Coca cola sign area.

I don't IV H anymore but when I'm drunk in the city I have been know go and get a quick cap of coke from the (coca cola sign area), because I find the quality that gets sold intended for IV use is much more pure and less cut because it has to mix up into water easily. Otherwise none of the prostitues and other characters would not touch it.

Not suggesting to anyone to start IVing coke as it is extremly addictive (basically on the same level of crack cocaine), just saying that the level of purity I have had in caps far outweighs the grams I have bought from people who tend to snort.

Peace
 
ive got mates that coke is there doc, i cant stand it. they get high quality stuff (from syd) and it really does stuff all to me. a buzz for half hour followed by a shit comedown where i dont wana talk to anyone and end up going home after cracken the shits over nothing. it really is the most hyped up drug. and the price........fuck that.
 
the_ketaman said:
I used to think the same but there are more than you think. Theres the IV users who will use as many 'caps' (0.1g deals) as they can get a hold of each day as well as the Business men, prostitutes, drug dealers that use, ive known a bikie gang(not one of the bigger ones either) that gave free coke to a few of the members, not sure what entitles them to that like whether they were higher up or what I dont know. Then theres just the plain rich people who have the money to spare.
I have met people in each of those situations and believe me, there are enough coke addicts in Australia. Heroin is more expensive per gram but IMO a serious heroin habit is usually more expensive than a coke habit overall and most of the H addicts I know arent anywhere near rich. If someone likes a drug enough they will find ways to get it. From what ive seen prostitutes have a liking for coke(not that ive ever used a pro, I just know them coz ive been around opiates/other hard drugs) Quite a few prosttutes around here love IV coke.

In most circles its considered a very safe drug though, almost as if it isnt a drug so im sure thats a negative thing, maybe instead of all this stuff about ecstasy being so bad for you they should educate about the dangers of coke. Thats what I think. I havent even noticed it getting popular really, meth still has a strong hold on this country and for the older generation alcohol, pot and heroin are the main drugs. I think the younger drug users need to have a drug revolution!
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Herion isn't more expensive per gram ?

The other day at the Kings Cross shooting gallery I seen a father and daughter who were going to do some coke.
 
As unpopular as it seems to be to most of BL, the fact is Cocaine has been a lot more popular in Australia in the last few years. No doubt helped a lot by the MDMA drought.

Price has gown down in the last years and purity has gone up. The big cocaine players are making sure it is hitting our coasts in bulk and the people are lapping it up like dogs.
 
^ for sure about the MDMA drougt having a big effect. 'possession charges rising 45% from sept 2008 to sept 2010. So use started rising when the quality of MDMA really started dipping.

Most people I know who were into pills have either reduced their substance use or switched to other drugs. most of the people I know just use cocaine occassionally though. even though these are the young professional types, they still have a bit more sense than to blow their wages on it. most of the people I know just upped their use of speed, acid or RCs when the MDMA drought hit properly.
 
I work in advertising in Sydney and live in the inner west and coke is everywhere. In the boardroom its not uncommon to have lines with the boss on a friday night and its often consumed at dinner parties, bbqs any event really... We lost a work mate in the carpark at work when he had a heart attack while doing lines in his car about a year ago. It really opened everyones eyes to the danger and use dropped off for quite a while after.
 
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