I have a brother addicted to the stuff, 28 years old spends every bit of cash on it, last wednesday spent £150 in one afternoon on it, he is on benifits so now his two weeks cash has all gone, owes shed loads out,
I love him and want him to change his life, but he wont and it racks me with guilt, i give hime a small job with me just so he has food in his dreadfull house, but yesterday went to pick him up but he was so out of it I had to take him home, i told him its the end of the road because i just cant cope with him like the way it is, and its all my fault because im to bossy, the list went on and on

i feel terrible, i worry somthing bad will happen to him, but he thinks there isnt a problem

tough one. hard to intervene if the person won’t buy into it. a good mate from school has just been for second stint of rehab for coke, drink and more. seems like he’s really committed to it this time, but a lifetime’s a long time to keep it up.

An Ex on mine was a coke fiend, she was an utter nightmare was like going out with 5 different people at once.

You cant help them if they dont think they have a problem. You have to walk away.

The most evil shitty drug ever.

It’s a right bitch, you can only stand and watch until he wants to come off it. Don’t attempt to help though as you “enable” the bad behaviour giving no real incentive for him to change as you always help out.

As the Flatboy says it may take more than one go.

Good luck.

He has to come to a realisation himself He won’t stop until he does. If you are going to help him buy him food when he has none – never give him cash

Its tough – there are support groups for people in your position.

good luck

You can’t help him. He has to want to help himself. It’s incredible the things drugs addiction makes people do to themselves and those they love. Make it clear there is an open door for him, when, and only when he stops the coke. Tell him you love him. Walk away or constantly be a part of his drug induced reality. It is not your fault.

it really hurts me, he has a fair income, 235 a week spending money a week TBH, because he is registerd disabled as well and he gets £150 a month for that, my dad had to get an injunction to stop him going to see his gran because he was taking about £200 a week of her (she is 93)

I just am feeling so shitty if I walk away he will end up in prison or dead, but i really cant put up with his extreme behavior

Firstly you have no reason to feel any guilt, you are trying to do what you can for your brother, you are not the cause of his actions.

I have only a little experience of drug addicts but do have some up close and personal experience of alcohol addiction and if there is one thing that I learnt it is that the only time they’ll quit is when they want to for whatever reason. There is very little anybody else can do until the addict decides that there is a problem. If that time comes for your brother then that is the time when he’s gonna need you.

Sorry I couldn’t offer anything more encouraging, but my experience of addiction is fairly bleak.

Can Coke use cause a persistent cough? I know someone who has had a cough for over 2weeks (she’s a weekend user) but she thinks I’m being a hypochondriac

i know it makes him sniff a lot, like he has a bad cold

but she thinks I’m being a hypochondriac

you are.

I’ve no useful advice to give as no experience of this kind of issue, but I wanted to say good luck OP and don’t be too hard on yourself as none of this is your fault.

…

As above, I’ve got no useful advice but I don’t think there’s anything you can do for him yet. Justbe there for him when he’s ready.
Good luck!

As TJ said, NEVER EVER GIVE CASH FOR ANYTHING, always buy the food if he is hungry, and always be there to talk, otherwise there are lots of agencies to help.

It’s a difficult one.

Me and wife have a close friend whose functioning coke addict (she would deny this but doing lines in your own home on a week day night says otherwise to me).

She’s depressed because life hasn’t turned out as well for her as it has for some of us but never connects the two even when you spell it out to her.

Just after New Year she hit what we thought was bottom, cried for help, we got her family involved (she’d hidden it from them; they just though Lady Luck didn’t shine on her..?..) and for about two weeks it looked like she was making an effort then we went out with her one evening and she had ‘just a couple of cheeky lines’.

Unfortunately like TJ says he won’t stop until he does, addicts are addicts and rehab only works for those who are ready.

As hard as it is we’ve had to step away and let her get on with it; my personal feeling is as long as addicts know there are people to fall back on who will pick up the pieces they never have the impetus to change.

IMO if you need Coke as part of a Fri/Sat night out then your an addict. Its one of those glamorous drugs linked to money/livng it up that sneaks in under the radar and his the aspirational as well as the well healed users.

My point? Will he see himself as an addict? Probably not, some Coke-users get a feeling power/importance/etc so probably think they are in control.

As soon as he comes to you and says ‘I’ve got a problem’- help him. But this is one drug that is anti-help IMO.

you’ve got it bang on a couple of valid points I reckon Hora.. In my experience the muck that is peddled as coke in this country is barely capable of giving a ready brek glow, never mind a cocaine high and addiction..

there’s a certain glamour that accompanies addiction and drug culture in our society.. and If you don’t have any decent alternative reference points that glamour is very seductive..

the saddest part is that the charm and charisma that a user thinks they become endowed with is a complete delusion..
I’ve watched mates think they’re enjoying themselves as they chew their lips and look around nervously.. so paranoid that they don’t even believe themselves..

everything in moderation.. including moderation

is barely capable of giving a ready brek glow

…and that’s probably the glucose/speed

What I (honestly) don’t ‘get’ is the need to get pissed, then use Coke to ‘freshen you up’ to enable you to drink even more and last longer.

For me it should be one or the other (or one of those in moderation as a ‘compliment’?). Mind you I’m saying this as a non-user/smackhead.

Wrote enough on here about coke over the years, played a big part in my life for 15 years, never really a problem though it certainly gave me some stories to tell. The addition part of powdered cocaine is overplayed by people who have little experience of it and the media. I’d say more of a problem is spending all available income on it, much as it would be with cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana etc. If he starts getting involved with rocks that’s where the problems will start.

If he’s taking in in a social setting then it’s not as much of a problem, but if it’s only ever being consumed in the house, that’s more risky as, as said above, it’s more likely that powder can give way to rocks.

Loddricks bang on.
So the guy who said it aint coke. Ephedrine & novocaine.
Hora – DBSFS.

DBSFS

I had to look that up. Sorry if I don’t fit into your media/clubby/savvy mindset darling.

So you are gonna judge others, even tho by self confession that you have no idea what you are talking about as regards this subject, mark?

To be clear,and this is just my opinion, mind, some people will get addicted.
To ANYTHING. Food. Lack of food, puking after lots of food, booze, fags, cocaine, H. internet porn. Any of them will do.
Because it will never be “their fault” they need something to blame it all on.
They are the ones who need a psychological crutch to mask personality flaws.
All addicts have one thing in common.In thier head THEY are always the victim.

ulysee the closest to Coke that I experienced was Speed. I know three who still use Coke recreationally in their 30’s- two chronically. My (fear) is the future heart issue – alcohol and coke with one of them.

No, I’d say alcohol takes that crown.

Like many things, when taken in moderation, drugs can be a wonderful thing. It’s when the user lacks the self discipline to control their usage, problems occur.

(And this is coming from someone who spent 4 years doing the London club scene once or twice a week…..)

IMO if you need Coke as part of a Fri/Sat night out then your an addict

What utter and complete twoddle. Thats called ‘recreational’ drug use. You’ve obviously got no experience of real ‘addiction’. It isn’t pretty.

I’d echo what other people have said though. You’re on a hiding to nothing trying to reason with an addict about their behavior. Big time Coke users are absolutely insufferable. You’ll never get through to them as they’re utterly convinced they’re absolutely right about everything. It makes you a truly horrible person

He should try adding an e to his cocain.

Again, newspaper scaremongering… The amount you need to do before your nose rots and you get heart problems are unaffordable for mere mortals!
And again, ill reiterate its NOT cocaine, its some kind of mild stimulant, my best guess is ephedrine due to the short half life, mixed with a dental anastheatic to mimic the numbness.

I just came back from a full medical check up last week, 41 yo, clean bill of health. good cholesterol levels, no sign of diabetes, very slightly raised blood pressure but it was a stressful month at work, heart like an ox.

I’ll recap its been ages since i was on here, i started doing recreational whizz and LSD (ecstacy was unaffordable at the time regardless of all the horsesh*t said in the gutter press) around 1990 ish, till about 98 when i had kids. It was just on nights out. When E dropped in price yeah i also dabbled. I stopped all drugs once i had kids.
During this “Druggie” time, i also went out clean when it was my turn to drive. I DID NOT need or in any way have dependence on drugs, including booze. They just enhanced my night, when a partook.

I took up the music scene again in 2007ish and again do recreationals, Charlie, “Plant Food”, E.
Not every weekend because i’m an old fart now, but most weekends.

Despite this self abuse i came out with a clean bill of health, so go figure

Speed is a horrible horrible drug BTW imho…
As is Alcohol as Ali pointed out.

Cocaine raises the risk of cardiovascular issues in a different way to tobacco for example. Its the effects it has on yor system while you are high on it that causes the issues, restricted blood vessels and increased BP and so on.

Its a funny drug in that recreational use causes few issues other than becoming a self important berk. However excessive use does cause great issues. Its not really a drug of addiction like heroin tho – even a heavy user can just stop with no real physical problems.

I know several people who were becoming problem users but realised this and just stopped. I also have a friend who had a massive heart attack and died after a cocaine binge

To go back to the OP and I think bickering about drugs does little good here.

Support him, make it clear you are there for him, buy him food if needed but never give him money and refuse to see him when he is high. Don’t fall into the trap of enabling his behaviour and remember its his issue and he can stop if he wants to.

Agree with the above, lived in Ibiza for years, was on it every day. Back in the uk I used to have it for breakfast, at work, after work etc etc. kids came along and it just kinda fell away. Not too bothered these days as the kids are my life.

I remember having a line halfway round Penmachno. Did half a gram on the way to the Marin, got there and had to wait in the car for two hours as was too paranoid to ride.

Funny really, though to the average person who has never experienced it it must seem like madness, and it was, but it was also a laugh, some of the stuff I’ve done over the years where coke was invoved was ridiculous, shameful, dangerous, shocking, but I don’t regret any of it.

Better to regret what you have done, then what you didn’t! 😉

Ully, just remembered meow-meow! Crazy that was legal!

And I loddrick – some of the most entertaining memories I have, is from the antic I got up to on class A’s.

And also one of the most beautiful – 4am, Oxford Street, on a Wednesday night… and it just started snowing very heavily. Walked the entire length of Oxford Street, twice, as it was such a peaceful moment. The snow deadened the sound of London – so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Magical.

I’ll add to the additives discussion..

As an intravenous user I got to see more than most the extent of the pollutants present in average street coke..
Good cocaine dissolves instantly to crystal clear in cold water and an appropriate dose administered intravenously will cause a very specific effect..

amphetamine, ephedrine and caffeine also produce specific effects, as do smart drugs like meow meow..
During the beginnings of the new millennium it was very rare to purchase anything that wasn’t a cocktail of these substances in varying proportions.. regularly with no discernible cocaine present at all..
The further down the chain of supply that you travelled the more crap was added, sometimes at the lowest level dealers you could get an ounce of 90% pure crushed pro plus pills.. 😀

(not pleasant for injecting due to the waxy coating on the tablets)

Miaow was a victim of the press too, there are studies shown it was over all, the safest drug per se.
The reports of deaths crazyness and ripping off ones own testicles were started as an internet joke, then the press got hold of it.
Accidental deaths with Mcat? about i recall, ill go and see if i can find the stats.
The worst offenders for deaths and harm done, and societal damage was- surprise surprise, the legal ‘uns -alcohol, swiftly followed by tobacco

Crikey, us cyclist represent a fair owd bunch of junkies judging by the replies on here 😀

Take this report as you will, there are lies, damn lies and statistics as they say…

This graph is harm to user alongside harm to society.. read harm to society being the gang violence and such associated with production and dealing, a case in itself for legalisation and taxation id say.

Mcat, miow miow, bubble or plant food is down here under its actual name of Mephedrone…
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_cause_most_harm

Take this report as you will, there are lies, damn lies and statistics as they say…

My favourite bit: Harm caused by drugs 100=maximum
… Don’t drink, it causes ~72% of MAXIMUM HARM