This wasn’t meant to happen – an evening was to be dedicated to excess, to the easy fulfillment of an addiction. Cocaine was to be sampled again and again, an indulgence too great to deny. It was a familiar ritual. It had been accomplished many times before. You were certain of its success, offered drugs to those who shared your interests. Nothing could go wrong, you assured them.

You lied.

Because this occasion is not the thrill you had promised it to be. It is instead a terrible failure; and you now watch, helpless, as a friend suddenly falls – clutching at his heart and unable to breathe.

Cocaine is often considered the world’s most popular drug. And, while its euphoric effects have certainly caused much of this, there is also a misconception that plays an almost as vital role: the idea that this substance is of no danger to the body – most specifically, the heart.

This is as incorrect as it deadly. Cocaine can cause irreparable damage to the cardiovascular system. Individuals will find their bodies weakened in a variety of ways, such as: sudden increase of pulse rate, a rise in blood pressure, the constriction of veins and ventricles (which can greatly reduce the amount of blood that flows to the heart), chest pains, heart attack, and the rare – but always fatal – arrhythmia.

These effects are immediate and dangerous; and yet many assume they do not exist. The understanding of cocaine’s toll on the human body is limited within the masses. The substance has been glamorized and its truth has been obscured. It’s essential therefore that institutions like lapalomatreatment.com be sought. The information they can provide is invaluable: the facts of cocaine and its costs can be detailed; and addiction can be cured. Individuals must search for help to gain awareness of a drug and combat its complications.