I Was Disappointed in Your Answer
DR. WALLACE: I was disappointed that you didn't provide
more information about crack cocaine in your answer to the
girl in Cleveland whose boyfriend was starting to use
cocaine. She wanted to know if he could use it and not
become addicted. This was a great time to tell her and your
young readers about crack cocaine and its potency.
Crack is more readily available and cheaper than powder
cocaine. It is much more addictive and potentially deadly. A
person can be addicted after only a few uses. Also, a person
can die immediately upon using crack. I would be afraid that
a young person reading your column would assume he or she
could try cocaine or crack once or twice and not suffer any
ill effects. I am afraid that's not so.
You said that addiction is when a user feels
uncomfortable or unhappy without it. In the case of crack
cocaine, users are more than uncomfortable. They are
desperate — desperate enough to rob, steal from family
members, and commit violent acts against family members and
strangers to get money and items to trade for more crack.
They have even committed murders to get the crack they
crave. Addicts say it's an insatiable craving.
You also minimized withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the
drug, withdrawal symptoms can seem worse than death. I have
seen many people go through withdrawal. Someone suffering
from withdrawal is much more than distressed. The physical
pain can be unbearable. They also may experience
hallucinations, nausea/vomiting/dry heaves, cramping
muscles, violent outbursts and a severe craving for the
drug.
This is not to say that every time someone uses a drug,
this is going to happen. But if they try it thinking they'll
just use it casually, they might get addicted, and these and
other symptoms will definitely occur.
I hope that you take my comments into consideration. I
enjoy your column and praise what you do for today's young
people. — Christine, Drug Abuse Resistance Program (DARE)
Ft. Walton Beach, Florida Police Department.
CHRISTINE: Thanks for the useful information. The DARE
program is an effective tool in getting teens to understand
the dangers of abusing drugs. Besides encouraging teens to
stop using drugs, DARE does a splendid job educating young
adults to avoid drug experimentation.
In the column on cocaine addiction, I said that if
cocaine is used three or four times a year, there is a
chance that the user would not become an addict, but if it
is used three or four times a week, the user will become
addicted. I received this information from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. Your information shows that crack
cocaine is much more potent, dangerous and addictive than
powder cocaine. This is extremely important for all who are
tempted to try crack cocaine.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers.
Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually,
he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail
him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr.
Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate
writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators syndicate
website at www.creators.com.
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