can help reverse a heroin overdose. One old-time remedy for overdose has been to shoot up milk. You may hear about this remedy from time to time, but it is not recommended.

Kicking: Withdrawal on junk, as we have pointed out, isn't as dangerous as it once was if the source of your habit is within the U.S. Whereas seizures can occur on reds or other barbiturates up to a week after discontinuing use, virtually everything is over with junk, in three days. Seizures, if they happen, are likely to be small and of the "petit mal" variety, which may be very strange but are not fatal. The worst thing through all this is that you feel so lousy, that you'd gladly shoot up again to avoid the discomfort.

If you're just coming back from Southeast Asia or have been back for some time and still have a supply of relatively pure dope, this is another problem altogether. Withdrawal can be very risky. Lately, a number of VA hospitals have started giving methadone, and this is a possibility worth checking into, as the waiting list is probably not as long as for programs directed at the general public. Other 'Veteran' junkies take note: Usually these methadone programs are open to all Veterans, not just the ones returning from overseas. It may be worth checking out. Nearly all programs are voluntary, with no record or long-time commitment attached.

MORPHINE,

Classification: Opiates.

CODEINE

Overdose potential: Improbable, but possible due to impurities or mixture with other chemicals.

Physical addiction: Yes.

Common methods of consumption: Morphine, by injection, or ingestion in pill form. Codeine, by ingestion in liquid form, sometimes injection.

NOTES:

Morphine and Codeine are alkaloids found in raw opium. They are both Class A narcotics, though morphine is generally much stronger. Morphine is the base from which heroin is made by treating it with acetic acid. By itself morphine is capable of sustaining a heroin addict when real smack is hard to get.

Use of morphine as an injectable came into importance shortly after 1853, when the hypodermic needle was invented by Dr. Alexander Wood of Scotland. The drug was used extensively during the Civil War as a pain reliever. A large percentage of soldiers continued to use morphine following the war, and addiction to the drug was known as "Soldiers' Disease."

A contributing cause to the large number of opiate users in the late 1800's was patent medicines. Many non-prescription substances were available which contained morphine or codeine.

Codeine today is usually found in exempt narcotic cough preparations. Some years ago the public media picked up on this fact, and wrote a lot of scare propaganda against the use of exempt narcotics. The result was an upsurge in use and eventual greater restrictions on sale.

Morphine and codeine preparations include: Hydrocodone (hycodan), hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (Percodan), paregoric, Robitussin AC, and other AC designated cough syrups.

Morphine addicts are a particular class of people, usually, as they generally have access to a pure source of the drug. A number of doctors, pharmacists, etc., have become morphine addicts. In some states, doctors who have become addicts have their licenses taken away, then reinstated on the condition that they are not allowed to prescribe narcotics. Quite a growing number of doctors believe that with thousands of substitute pain killing drugs being developed and put to use, Morphine and Codeine may soon be replaced completely by non-narcotics.

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COCAINE

Classification: Narcotic/Stimulant.

Overdose potential: Improbable unless usetintravenously.

Physical addiction: Yes, Speed-like.

Common methods of consumption: Sniffing (Snorting); Also

NOTES:

intravenously.

Cocaine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, reduces hunger and, when applied directly to mucus membranes such as those lining the nose and mouth, produces anaesthesia and constriction of blood vessels. The drug is derived from the leaves of the erythroxylon coca, and for centuries, natives of Peru and Bolivia have chewed cocoa leaves for their stimulating effect.

Cocaine was first used in medicine by a young Viennese physician named Sigmund Freud. Freud experimented personally with Cocaine for some time and apparently developed many of his theories of psychoanalysis aided by the drug. (Use of a drug to develop a drugless therapy is illustrated also by Synanon Games, which evolved from an LSD experience.) Freud thought that cocaine was a psychiatric wonder drug and prescribed it for virtually every mental illness. He rapidly became disillusioned with cocaine, though, when he discovered his patients easily got strung out behind the drug.

Cocaine is similar to Amphetamines in many ways. Tolerance (the necessity to take more and more to achieve the same effect) develops easily and high doses can cause a toxic paranoid psychosis. An overdose of cocaine may cause convulsions and death.

Intravenous use of cocaine seems rare today but sniffing the drug is popular once more. Cocaine sniffers frequently develop perforations of the nasal septum (the cartillage between the nostrils) due to constrictions of local blood vessels resulting in tissue damage from lack of oxygen.

Cocaine is usually classified as an addictive drug though withdrawal doesn't cause the abstinence syndrome seen in junkies. Cocaine withdrawal causes symptoms similar to those seen in withdrawal from amphetamines-depression, fatigue and listlessness.

-Eugene Schoenfeld, M.D.

Analysis Note: Only about half of the Cocaine on the streets today is pure, the rest being cut with cheap synthetics such as Procaine, Lidocaine, Benzocaine and speed.

- Do It Now Found.

33

34

Classification: Petroleum products.

Overdose potential: High.

Physical addiction: Not usual type (see below).

Comman methods of consumption: Vapor inhalation.

NOTES:

The spectrum covered here includes the inhalation of vaporous substances as: Airplane glue, plastic & rubber cement, gasoline, paint and paint thinners, solvents, lighter fluids, and aerosol sprays. This is a very dangerous category of "drugs," all of which have the potential of causing serious damage and death.

AIRPLANE GLUE, PLASTIC & RUBBER CEMENT: The initial effects of inhaling these substances are similar to those of drinking alcohol: Light-headedness, exhilaration, euphoria, and giddiness, occasionally accompanied by vivid, colorful hallucinations lasting from 15 to 30 minutes. The secondary effects include loss of muscular

coordination, blurred vision, slurred speech, acute mental disorientation, drowsiness, stupor, lasting from 1 to 2 hours, and in some cases, unconsciousness, coma, and death.

The primary ingredient found in airplane glue, plastic and rubber cement is toluene. This ingredient, plus other organic solvents present are extremely dangerous when repeatedly inhaled. Depression of the central nervous system, swollen and inflamed mucus membranes, and temporary blood abnormalities including anemia are a few of the minor problems caused.

Regular or extensive sniffing can have severe damaging effects on brain cells, the liver, kidneys, and can seriously interfere with the blood-forming function of the bone marrow.

Although these substances are not addicting, the body does build up a tolerance to their effects. The more vapor inhaled.....the more toxic substances introduced into the bloodstream....the greater the chance of severe or permanent damage to the brain and other bodily organs through toxic poisoning or oxygen deprivation.

GASOLINE, PAINT & PAINT THINNER, SOLVENTS, LIGHTER FLUID: The hydrocarbons in these products (Butane, Hexane, Pentane), when inhaled, affect the central nervous system causing sensations similar to alcohol intoxication accompanied by distortion of sound: Ringing or buzzing in the ears and reverberations or echoing of external noises.

Heavy or prolonged use can cause hallucinations, delirium, siezures, coma, permanent physical damage, and in some cases, death. AEROSOL SPRAYS: The propellants used in aerosol sprays, paint, hairspray, etc., plus the cryogenic chilling fluids (Freon), when inhaled, cause very fast acting effects, usually within 30 seconds, such as dizziness, giddiness, uncontrolled laughter, and varied hallucinations. These effects last only from 5 to 10 minutes.

Since it is all but impossible to completely isolate the propellant from the substance being propelled (paint, deodorant, hairspray, cooking oils, etc.), the sniffing of aerosol sprays represents an extreme danger of throat and lung damage that can result in permanent and/or chronic conditions. In addition, a number of accidental deaths from Freon have been reported. This substance, as it comes out of the container, is so cold that it must be allowed to warm up before being inhaled, via a balloon. If inhaled too soon it can cause the larynx to freeze, causing death by suffocation.

Even if you don't think anyone would be dumb enough to use paint, gasoline, glue, aerosols or other things in this chapter, just ask any gradeschool teacher. There are a lot of dumb kids out there, mostly 12 and under, who are into these things. And they're getting dumber, and dumber........ The whole thing is a disgrace to the rest of the dope scene, no doubt about it.