Cocaine and Fentanyl Overdose Death Concerns

Cocaine, unlike heroin, is considered a party drug by most people despite the fact that it’s highly addictive and can cause an overdose. Heroin is used mostly in relative secrecy, whereas cocaine is something far more socially acceptable. People are far less likely to feel the need to be discreet; it’s a drug that is regularly passed around at parties.

Two drugs, heroin and cocaine, both addictive and hazardous to one’s health yet one of the drugs is cast in a far darker light. One might argue that the discrepancy is for a good reason; after all, a far more significant number of overdose deaths stem from opioids than stimulants like cocaine. People consider cocaine as being safer than heroin resulting in increased social acceptance. More than a hundred people aren’t dying from cocaine overdoses every day.

While heroin and opioids, in general, are deadlier than cocaine, the latter is used more often—especially for recreation. The potential for cocaine misuse and abuse is significantly higher, and the drug is commonly used in conjunction with other substances as well, mainly alcohol. You may not associate cocaine with overdose, but it was involved in thousands of deaths in past several years across the country.

 

Cocaine with a Side of Fentanyl

Mixing stimulants and opioids occurs on a regular basis among people with opioid use disorder. However, your average social cocaine user flirts with opioids only on rare occasions. If offered a “downer,” most people who use cocaine recreationally will say, “no thanks.” Which is why a new trend has people concerned, the heightened prevalence of cocaine laced with fentanyl. Having an opioid "tolerance" and being exposed to fentanyl is dangerous enough, for those without a tolerance—overdose is almost a guarantee.

In New York, 37 percent of overdose deaths in 2015 involved cocaine and fentanyl; heroin was not part of the equation. Officials see cocaine and fentanyl admixtures outside the Empire State; cocaine samples tested positive for the synthetic opioid in both Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Today reports. Anyone who uses or abuses cocaine should understand that the stakes just got higher.

“To be blunt, what you might buy and use [cocaine], thinking it’s a good time, could cost you your life,” warns T.J. Jordan, Assistant Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation: Drug Investigation Division. 

Overdose death can easily happen without the introduction of synthetic opioids. Fentanyl and carfentanil, an even stronger analog, are being mixed with other drugs frequently these days. Naloxone, to make matters worse, is not enough to reverse an overdose in many cases. The only 100 percent effective way to avoid the risk of overdose is addiction treatment and working a program of recovery. Perhaps the most concerning feature of this new trend:

“Those that are using cocaine recreationally, their usage is going to increase because of the physical addictive aspects of opiates are being injected into the cocaine,” said Patrick O’Shea, a former recreational drug user. “It’s shaping up to be a disaster.”

 

Recovery is the Solution

Those caught in the vicious cycle of substance use disorder face great risks today. Fentanyl isn’t going anywhere and is likely to become more prevalent. Seeking addiction treatment and recovery is the only sure way to avoid exposure to fentanyl. Please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea to begin the life-saving mission of addiction recovery.

Addiction Recovery: A Commitment for Change

People who attempt addiction recovery without assistance experience disappointment relatively quickly. Alcohol and substance use disorders take tremendous effort to overcome and require a lifelong commitment to going against one’s programming. Simply put, recovering from addiction is not something accomplished on your own. If you have been unable to break the cycle of self-defeating behavior using nothing but will, there is a good reason for the outcome you found. Recovery requires support, a network of lifelines, one can turn to when the going gets tough.

Use disorders develop over time, and the disease is progressive. What starts off as recreation transmogrifies into addiction; once that happens, it’s impossible to reverse the change. You can turn a cucumber into a pickle, you can’t (try as you might) make a pickle a cucumber. Those who try to stop using experience fleeting results. Many people have managed to avoid using for short periods of time, but use recommences sooner rather than later because there isn’t a program to rely upon for coping with all things Life. As a result, people convince themselves that they are doomed to the fate of addiction.

Fortunately, such a conclusion is flawed because it's derived from going about recovery in the same way one went about keeping the flame of their addiction afire—on one’s own. With the help of others and the practice of constant spiritual maintenance, we can and do recover.

 

Seeking Assistance is Required

Individuals battling use disorders know that their condition will likely be their demise if they are unable to stop. Attempts made to free one's self from bondage rarely result in success. Again, we cannot find recovery by the ways and means that we found addiction. A different course of action is required, and one that should begin with alcohol and substance use disorder treatment; to be followed by a continued program of recovery, i.e., 12 Steps or SMART Recovery.

If you are still in the grips, you might ask yourself, ‘why can’t I skip treatment and just join a program? After all, there are meetings in my neighborhood.' Well, you can do that, and that's worked for many people. However, if you are in the late stages of use disorder or dependent on a particular substance — there’s a good chance that the symptoms of acute withdrawal and the people, places and things that trigger you to use will derail your efforts. The pain of withdrawal typically leads to a relapse before one has even contemplated what it means to be powerless over alcohol or drugs.

Medical detox and treatment, on the other hand, are safe environments staffed by people who can help you get through the earliest stages of recovery. This is the time period when the risk of relapse is at its highest. Various medications will dull the symptoms of withdrawal reducing the urge to quit abstinence and return to active use. Treatment centers offer clients 30, 60, or 90-days of trigger-free living. The elements that are known to precipitate substance use don't exist in recovery centers.

 

Treatment: A Commitment that Pays for Itself

Deciding to seek help via treatment should be made as carefully as possible. You are going to be away from your family and be unable to bring home a paycheck (in most cases) for an extended period. When you check into treatment, you are in effect checking out of your previous sphere of existence. It’s a move that gives one the opportunity to shut down, make necessary adjustments conducive to recovery, and reboot. It is a time-consuming and significant commitment.

Some people, have concerns that the financial investment they will have to make by deciding to go to an addiction treatment center may not be worth it—it’s only natural. It is a considerable investment in oneself. Although, the returns will be far higher than the initial investment; especially when you consider the fact that one has no future without recovery. Active addiction always has the same outcome: jails, institutions, and death.

Have you tried to get clean and sober on your own, to no avail? If so, please consider taking a different approach. You will not regret it in the long-run. Please contact Celebrate Drug Rehab today, to begin the life-saving journey of recovery. We have helped a significant number of people achieve what they once thought was impossible—a life without drugs and alcohol.