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The "cocaine epidemic" of the seventies and eighties claimed the lives of actor John Belushi and college basketball star Len Bias. But throughout the nineties, cocaine deaths decreased.
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Now, like some drug de ja vu, experts say cocaine is making a deadly comeback. But instead of hurting the entertainment elite, more of its victims are now college-age, or upper middle-class users. New data from the University of Florida and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that cocaine is increasingly cited as the cause of death in coroner's reports, and that the number of cocaine deaths per hundred-thousand people in the state has nearly doubled in the past five years. The steepest per capita rise in death rates was in college towns and upper-class seaside communities like West Palm Beach. Experts fear students with lots of spending cash, and professional adults, are driving cocaine's resurgence.
Dr. Mark Gold / UF addiction expert
"We're in the early stages of a new cocaine epidemic, that's being led by the rich and famous, and students with large amounts of disposable income. And it's responsible for more E-R visits, and cocaine-related deaths."
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Researchers say the rise in cocaine deaths seen in Florida unfortunately likely holds true nationwide. Doctors think that cocaine users are unaware of the time lag between abuse and its deadly consequences. Prescription pain medications and narcotic drugs, often abused for the immediate rush of euphoria they trigger, can cause sudden respiratory or cardiac arrest. In contrast, cocaine's cumulative effects can cause unexpected death years after abuse begins. Experts think the recent spike in deaths could serve as a wake-up call around the nation- prompting more drug education in schools and on campus.
Dr. Mark Gold / UF addiction expert
"With adequate warning and prevention we could both help current users realize this is an acquired, chronic, relapsing, lifelong disorder without a cure, and it's going compromise their ability to function over the short term and then their ultimate longevity is in question."
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At the University of Florida Health Science Center, I'm Mike Garrison
