[Closed] cocain in the family

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. [b]It is not your fault. [/b]

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 [s]it bang on[/s] 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

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.

[quote=Pigface]The most evil shitty drug ever.

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...

ha ha 'mephedrone' just remembered when somebody offered me some in a club, and I was convinced he kept saying "methedrone".... and me saying "Why would I want that??" ha ha

If you read the reports on Gat ( the plant with the natural active ingredients that are chemically synthesised to form Mephodrone- hence Khat, Mcat, meow etc) its actually quite safe.

Ingesting pie n chips and lashing of veg is slowly killing all of us, over do it and disease and death are gonna be put in to fast forward, same applies to anything, not just pharmaceuticles

Its a funny drug in that recreational use causes few issues other than becoming a self important berk

do these fools not realise that they only have to become a big hitter on here to reach this status.

Id rather inject my testes with drain cleaner...

I really can't understand the hype with charlie. Yes, it's a natural feeling high, for 20mins, then on the comedown you get excessively violent.

The roof, the roof, the roof of my nose is on fire!

To the Op your brother has a problem. He has a habbit he can't afford to extent you give him charity money and he ponces off your gran .
I side with TJ, to an extent, there will be no change until he sees this and i aggree with the advise not to give money.

But i would say that any help at all by way of food or gifts just allows the problem to continue and enables his behaviour.

I would suggest no practical financial or food support till he changes just emotional support and guidance . It may seem harsh and in deed is, but if you constantly stave off hunger and disaster for him he will continue not to see the problem.

mrdestructo - who on earth are you getting your nosebag off? 😯

Report them to trading standards! 😀

had a story that mirrors yours with my brother who i too love very much. and it went on for years and years.

we have both (and still do occasionally) enjoyed taking all sorts, but he always had a prob with shitty quality street coke.

you've got to just stick by him really, as above dont give him money, be aware he may lie alot to friends/ family, and be there to help him when he is ready.

its horrible to watch but if it helps to know, my bro is on his feet, 2 yrs into a relationship with a great girl with a house, a good job, a camper and two bikes 😉 3 yrs ago i had to physically throw him out of my house in the middle of the night and then physically expel him from my car in the morning which broke my heart. it took a while even after that but he often thanks me now.

what im trying to say is be there to help him back up but you have to let him hit rock bottom because as almost everyone is saying, you have to want to pull yourself together or those helping you are wasting their time and love.

mrdestructo - who on earth are you getting your nosebag off?

Report them to trading standards!

Innit just! I think you're tooting on 'Roids there, mate!

Again, just my opinion, there aint no such drug that makes anyone violent - or any other behavioral trait, it was in them to start with Au Naturel..

Id rather inject my testes with drain cleaner...

To the OP, I'm definitely not trying to add to your worries but:

yesterday went to pick him up but he was so out of it I had to take him home

Can you elaborate on "he was so out of it" because you're normally able to function quite normally on coke (albeit a bit up yourself/moody etc) so can you be certain he's not taking anything else? If he was drousy this doesn't imply coke use.

Hope it all comes good for everyone involved.

These threads always seem to become a willy waving contest for illegal drug use. I find it very odd indeed 😕

I find it very odd indeed

like I said.. if you've no alternative cultural reference points there's a certain glamour around it.. (in the original sense of the word)

if you've no alternative cultural reference points there's a certain glamour around it

Huh?

I just don't really get the pride that seems to be shown around it. People at school were like that, but I thought folk would have grown out of it.

drug use is just as competitive as any other sport.. fitness freaks don't have a monopoly on egotism..

Indeed.

[img] ?w=409&h=235[/img]

If I speak to you, you'll know you've been spoken too

Re the drink bollox argument that people pedal out about it being a harmful drug when they are morally standing up for a A.N.Other substance. That'd be fine if the person sprouting lived life like a Saint and only had one poison however they'll probably do the nose-stuff, pills and booze along with junkfood/living like everyone else.....

I dont stand up for any drug over another, i know that by the very nature they are ALL poisons. But so is oxygen.

I did, and do, research rigorously before taking anything new, from medical and other journals, internet groups and mainly from first hand accounts from folk with no tub to thump who have and do partake.

What i take no notice of media, governmental or other anti pressure group paranoia and propaganda, or anecdotal tales of woe from folk with no experience.
I start small to test for averse or allergic effects, and go from there.
Im still alive and reasonably compos mentis.

I drink with friends to be social, almost never at home, certainly never alone.
I do pharmaceuticals for the same reason,and in the same manner,- and i don't care what anyones opinion is on this subject, some of the pharms do make the music sound better and i doubt that is just psychological- not the main reason i take them, but that effect for me is a bonus

Ever 'done' Vics inhaler when you don't have a cold?

Yup...

My 'source' in London used to test all the 'products' that he distributed. You knew exactly what you were buying, and how pure/cocktailed it was. He knew his PhD in Chemistry would be put to good use one day! He felt he had a responsibility to his 'clients'.

Quite interesting watching him test stuff.

Ever 'done' Vics inhaler when you don't have a cold?

I once snorted olbas oil thinking it was an inhaler, gods that hurt.

as much as deep heat on the nads?

One of my friends got ripped off and was sold what can only be guessed as Ajax - one small line to test and instant nose bleed.......

But the rest of us tried it just to make sure we'd been shafted - serves us right I suppose for buying off a street corner in Estonia

Could be worse, you could be facing Belgian techno club dealers who still have a propensity to cut it with crushed up light bulb. You spend the early hours coughing up traces of blood if you're unlucky.

After finding that out I stayed in the resort I was in, attended their 'disco' where a load of 14 year old pompous twits were posing to euro-beat crap, leading me to end up pissed up and dancing on a table screaming "Hardcore! Hardcore!" at them cursing the shin splints in my left leg.

Ever 'done' Vics inhaler when you don't have a cold?

Some good advice here from people with 1st hand experience. No simple solution for the OP and unless something happens to bring him out of the present 'usage/denial state' (and I have had a couple very heavy user friends who have managed to knock it in the head before rock-bottom) then the advice of JT et al is the only route.

Deep heat on nads? Every competed in a long day/ heats in martial arts? Use a fair bit of deapheat/tiger balm on your legs and evevtually your nuts feel 'hot' 😆

I learnt, but not to extremes. Everyone I know above 40 has arthritis and are falling to pieces due to too much practise. I find tai chi a lot less strain and it gets the kinks out (and yes, I prefer tiger balm to deep heat, but thought the rest of the forum would know the latter)

Addictions are horrible things. It's easier to keep on doing it, than do without. When it has twisted your mind enough that you're no longer thinking normally anymore you can't see a way out. Someone very close to me messed up on charlie and had a mini breakdown, got taken in by a born again christian unit who were so evangelical that we had to pretty much kidnap them back because they refused to let go. I've seen a lot of addicts sucked in by these groups in the past in my circles. They do not prepare their 'catches' as 'useful' members of society, doing their own 'harm' to them.

It's a shame it's currently illegal to lock our loved ones up (with food, water and a bucket) for a couple of weeks till they get free of the initial longings. And all too often, detox works but they get back out on the street, bump into their old friends who get them on the gear again.

One of my friends committed suicide after he decided to get clean off smack and came out of detox only to feel the full peer pressure, get hooked again and decide life wasn't worth living like that anymore, he'd lost so much.

Those I know who've got free have moved away from where they lived, different city, to avoid the people they used to hang around with. They've got retrained, moved away to work, left friends and family behind, their kids, etc. Some are still addicted. Including a group of clubbing friends I had to walk away from, mdma users, we lost a lad to an OD (he simply took far too much one night) and the pressure from the police/media/parents led them into the hands of the local hipster smackheads who saw a new line in finance and persuaded the majority that smack was a lifestyle drug that doesn't kill you, unlike pills.

To be honest, some people just like to get wasted, I know I do, it's great fun. I think most people when they hit their 30's will probably see themselves that long term use isn't going to lead anywhere nice and tbh they'll get bored with the life style eventually.

Personally I was a big hashhead, would get stoned every day every where, decided when I was about 29 that it wasn't as fun as it used to be. I think most people will come to that realisation sooner or later. I still get stoned mind you, but it's once in a blue moon these days.

Plus tbh, coke is terrible these days, he's probably spending £150 to get the same buzz a £40 quid gram would have given him 10/15 years ago..the financial hindrance is worse that the actual drug these days...The quality of drugs these days compared to the 90s/early 00s really is ridiculous, baffles me that people spend so much on coke.

You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped, let him get on with it. Some people need to really be in the shit to realise what they are doing wrong.

£225 a week and he's on benefits? Or was that combined with the cash in hand for the work he did for you? Just sayin...

In total I've probably known less than 20 people who were ever seriously into their drugs. All were trying to deal with serious personal issues/insecurities. Never seemed to sort them funnily enough... always seemed a daft solution to the problem to me...

Best reason I can think of to stay off the Class A's is the total lack of regulation as per some of the stories above. ie: you have no idea what you're taking most of the time because there's no transparency in the supply chain. All you do know is that it got to you via chain of criminals and gangsters. Go figure...

Not that beer and cigarettes are somehow ok because they're legal but at least you know who's made it...

Ever 'done' Vics inhaler when you don't have a cold?

I have been addicted to nasal decongestants since 1991. No really, every single day since then I have always had at least one on me, in the car, upstairs, downstairs. Right now as I type this I have a sudafed and an otrivine decongestant next to the bed. Must have spent thousands and consumed gallons of the stuff. Two operations on my nose have made no difference. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll remain addicted to them til tge end of my days. The kids would have to go without food rather than me be without a spray on me (don't worry, this isn't a situation that is likely to present itself).

You've been warned kids...

I think I see the problem; you're bloody menthol.

😆

Took proper Ecstacy back in the day, experienced mental acid trips, tripped out on Purple Haze weed, chilled out on nice Morrocan, had sex for 16hrs on speed so pure that you need a match head sized dose dissolved in a drink to buzz for hours and lose any sense of inhibition you may have ever had, took good coke, took crap coke, tried legal highs (some that were really quite bloody good - and didn't make you feel crap the next day), smoke too much tobacco, drink too much alcohol. Talked absolute bollox for hours, had connections with people without even speaking, felt like shit at times, been a **** at times.

40 years old now and fitter than I've ever been. It may catch up with me, but along the way I've felt, heard & seen sensations that straight folk don't even experience in their dreams - regrets? Yeah, some, but overall I wouldn't go back and change it.

To the OP, I know how coke can affect people (seen mates become complete nobbers at times) despite my regaling of drug culture above, as has been said - he needs to have some sense of realisation of the situation before you can do owt.

To the OP, I'm definitely not trying to add to your worries but:

yesterday went to pick him up but he was so out of it I had to take him home

Can you elaborate on "he was so out of it" because you're normally able to function quite normally on coke (albeit a bit up yourself/moody etc) so can you be certain he's not taking anything else? If he was drousy this doesn't imply coke use.

Hope it all comes good for everyone involved

He was out of it on alchol, he also so drinks to the point of being almost unconsioues,

as for the person asking about the £225 on benifits, he gets about £170 a fortnight for one benefit not sure what it was and £150 a month for disabilaty as he has cerebal palsy, i was also so giving him about £110 a week charity money if you like, I dont need him to help me but he like to come with me on my round so i give him a small job so to speak, which has now stopped

He was out of it on alchol, he also so drinks to the point of being almost unconsioues,