Know the Score
It's party time and the temptation to experiment with so called 'party' drugs such as cocaine may be at a high.
In the past, cocaine's association with 'party people' and the 'celebrity set' wrongly glamourised the drug. Here recovered cocaine addict, Martin, reveals the true and dark reality taking cocaine can lead to.
"I had a great upbringing in Glasgow and as a child I was really into music. I started drinking, smoking hash and taking poppers in my early teens. When I was 18 I went to London and tried heroin. Not long after I tried cocaine for the first time.
At the time I had not long completed art school and had got into acting. I managed to get some really great parts, so from the outside I had everything; a glamorous lifestyle and famous friends. However I quickly became addicted to cocaine and although I wasn't taking it everyday, I would binge on it at the weekend. I was taking it socially so I wrapped myself up in self-denial and convinced myself that because I did not use it everyday I wasn't addicted.
By the time I was 25 the party stopped. Taking cocaine wasn't fun anymore and it began to take over my life. I was a DJ and would go to lots of openings and parties with mates. They would have a few lines and go home but I couldn't stop, I would end up staying out for four days. As a result it began to affect every area of my life, including my close relationships, job and my health.
I lost friends who died from taking drugs but I always thought it wouldn't happen to me, until one night I remember coming home after taking cocaine and decided to have a joint to help me come down. My heart started to beat faster and faster, I could honestly see it pumping out my shirt and I just lay there and prayed that I wouldn't die. I promised if someone up there got me out of it I would never take cocaine again. It was really frightening but my addiction was so strong that the next day I was back in the pub taking cocaine.
By then I was a really successful business man, so again from the outside it looked like I had it all; money, a car, great job. But it had become an obsession. My life was consumed by cocaine, it came before everything and all I could think about was taking it.
I began hating myself, I felt hollow inside and couldn't connect with the outside world, everything felt like cardboard. The self-loathing was unbelievable and I became really depressed.
Eventually I spoke to my family and was advised to go to Cocaine Anonymous (CA). That is when my life changed. I thought my cocaine use wouldn't stop until I died but going to that first CA meeting gave me hope. I related to so many other people there and realised that I wasn't the only one going through this.
I'm lucky that my cocaine abuse did not lead to me losing my business, as it quite easily could have. I'm so content now, I have a wonderful family and a successful career but most importantly I no longer live in fear."
About Cocaine
Cocaine is an addictive stimulant that raises blood pressure and can put a huge strain on the heart. It also damages the inside of the nose, can cause paranoia, anxiety and perfectly healthy, young people can also have a fit or a heart attack after taking cocaine.
- Taking cocaine is unglamorous
- Cocaine is highly addictive. It is known as a 'greedy' drug. When the effects wear off, your body quickly wants more
- People who get into cocaine often crave it more and more
- Because it costs quite a lot of money to buy, cocaine can lead to a rapid loss of lifestyle over a short period of time
- Cocaine addicts often tell tales of rapid lifestyle loss and loss of personal control leading to addiction
- Even recreationally, taking cocaine is harmful to your immediate health
- Taking cocaine increases your chances of having a heart attack up to 24 times (based on research from the New England Medical Journal which found that cocaine causes arteries to constrict resulting in a person to be twenty-four times more likely to have a heart attack)
For more information on cocaine or any other drug visit www.knowthescore.com
You can also speak in confidence to a Know the Score adviser on 0800 587 587 9. Calls from landlines are free and do not show up on mobiles.
You can also contact the Cocaine Anonymous help line on 0141 959 6363 or visit http://www.cascotland.org.uk
New England Journal of Medicine 2 www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2003/cocaineheart.htm
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