Cocaethylene Studied: Cocaine, Alcohol Mix To Create Toxic 3rd Chemical

The Observer:

Drug addiction clinics say they are becoming increasingly concerned by the health risks associated with the chemical -- the only known example of the body forming a third drug following the ingestion of two others.

For not only is cocaethylene toxic in the liver, it is also blamed for heart attacks in the under-40s and a surge in social problems. But because so little is known about the drug, few experts can agree on the nature of the threat to users, and indeed society as a whole.

Read the whole story: The Observer

Comments

[BoiseLib]

Craig Ferguson said that the only reason he did coke was so he could drink all night.

[CaliGrown78]

I sure wish I woulda knew that back when I partied. Fortunately I no longer use even socially but no one I know had a clue & we always mixed the 2 I don't think many people woulda cared I mean after all you are ingesting something that alone is bad but still maybe that info woulda detered someone

[madisonhack]

Many who consider themselves social users – for whom a line or two of cocaine coupled with a few drinks in a bar or a club is a weekly or monthly event – do not consider the health implications of their drug taking.

"I am not sure I have ever taken coke when I haven't been drinking alcohol," one 30-year-old television producer who has been taking the drug socially for the past seven years said yesterday. "It allows you to drink more, so if I am feeling a little too drunk I might take a line as a sharpener. It makes you feel a bit more sober."

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Denial is a wonderful thing. You don't have to admit that you're just a junkie, no matter what you do for a living.

[sparky73]

people that do cocaine are ret@rded. They have no self esteem and most of the time lack the intelligence to carry on a conversation at parties so they resort to the drug. Cokeheads are idi0ts

[sparky73]

people that do cocaine are retarded. They have no self esteem and most of the time lack the intelligence to carry on a conversation at parties so they resort to the drug. Cokeheads are idi0ts

[hulagirrrl]

HP and the headlines...

I read it and said to myself, wow, that revelation is going to make people quit... not.

[eshesh]

most cocaine users I've met have known this. never stopped them from mixing the two anyway tho.

[tbone99]

Let me guess - the third toxic chemical drives one to create credit default swaps

[keiraleykat]

LOL!!! NOW we now what REALLY caused the meltdown ...

[RTIII]

"...the only known example of the body forming a third drug following the ingestion of two others."

LAUGHABLE on its face.

When I read that I knew the credibility of the whole article was in trouble. Then, I kept reading and confirmed it. -frown-

Such shoddy reporting should not be found on HufPo pages.
.

[hulagirrrl]

Please. I love reading through and posting my comments, and I believe the comments is what keeps most people here. Some of the articles, blogs are so yellow press, if you are looking for quality you need to move on.

[RTIII]

Hi hulagirrrl,

I've run across plenty of your posts here - I guess my moniker is too ordinary that you'd remember, but I'm sure you've run across plenty of my posts two in these several years...

...My post was more for the editors themselves rather than us. Obviously I like it here, too. It would be nice if the horsefeathers pretending to be serious articles would be filtered out for us. Certainly, posters like yourself are what keeps me coming 'round...

Rgds,
RTIII

[LeonBNJ]

Many times since cocaine became a popular drug, it is often been connected with high rates of the consumption of alcohol. Indeed, one can be addicted to both cocaine and alcohol and such users/abusers need to be treated for a dual addiction. We also need to reduce demand for cocaine and like illegal drugs, realize the finanical, social, governmental and human costs of such use such as premature death.

[hulagirrrl]

Yes, indeed we need to reduce demand for cocaine and illegal drugs. I believe the war on drugs set out to do that. Maybe we need a new approach..­.legalizat­ion.

[madisonhack]

Let's start by telling the CIA to quit paying for illegal wars with cocaine and heroin.

[donna16]

Thanks, but your about 15 years to late with that info.

[sdried]

While I can't speak for Indians drinking cocaine tea in the Andes, I can assure readers that 99.999% of people who ever use cocaine do so while drinking...

[glockman]

So, do you have any statistics to back that up?

[RTIII]

Sure, you can call me a statistic.
.

[dazed]

True.

[pmaddams]

See, and my friends always mock me for being a "health nut" when I insist on taking my cocaine and alcohol separately.

[Pharmachick]

This article is a real problem. Firstly, cocaethylene is far from the only active product known to be produced in the body when two other drugs are combined. Secondly, the lack of any new information (other than scaremongering) in this article is disturbing. Thirdly, the use of dubious sources including; a "friend of a friend" and "Druglink ...a well respected journal" ... this smacks of lazy reporting, unchecked and badly researched facts and minimal evidentiary findings.

By all means, people need to be careful taking drugs and combining drugs, including alcohol.

But this article was badly written, alarmist, sensational and quite irresponsible!

[AndyWright68]

Thank you for saving me the time.

FANNED!

[RTIII]

Right On All Counts.
.

[MacDaffy]

You've nailed it, Pharmachick.

My reaction halfway into the article was "where's the beef?!" Where are the scientists documenting the effects of cocaethylene? Where are the doctors documenting the cases they've treated. Where are the testimonies of the victims of this scourge?

[DrFelch]

Folks have know this for decades at least. This is what did in James Honeyman Scott of the Pretenders. Very dangerous, and bad for several crucial organs.