Adverse health consequences of cocaine abuse.

Cocaine creates a strong physical addiction and is becoming recognized as one of the most dangerous illicit drugs abused today. The myth is that cocaine is harmless and nonaddictive. An estimated 30 million Americans have used cocaine, but the number may be as high as 40 million. Five to six million individuals are compulsive users. A review of the current literature revealed multiple reports of acute myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident with a temporal relation to cocaine use. Cocaine has also been associated with acute rupture of the aorta, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden death. Cocaine has multisystem toxicity involving neurologic, psychiatric, obstetric, pulmonary, dermatologic, and gastrointestinal systems. The dopamine depletion hypothesis may explain why cocaine is repeatedly administered; cocaine produces a transient increase in synaptic dopamine. Alterations in dopamine neurotransmission may be responsible for the development of compulsive use patterns. When cocaine use becomes compulsive, psychosocial dysfunction, deviant behaviors, and a wide spectrum of social, financial, and family problems invariably result. Addiction, major medical complications, and death are true hazards of cocaine use.