and the increasingly pure product of this refinement, the modern cocaine user is faced with a multitude of harmful physical effects (Gladwell, 1986). Initial use of cocaine produces euphoria or central nervous system stimulation. During this euphoria, users can experience numbness, dryness of mouth, burning sensations in the eyes, intense sweating, heart palpitations, muscle twitches, restlessness, dizziness, and many other such symptoms. Continued use of cocaine over a period of time may develop high blood pressure, fever, muscle spasms, cardiac arrhythmias, complex seizures, generalized convulsions,, and visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory hallucinations. Chronic cocaine users often experience weight loss, anemia, malnutrition due to loss of interest in food, sexual dysfunction, and bronchitis. In addition to these significant effects, cocaine use also has the tendency to cause immunodeficiencies, or the inability of the immune system to function properly in its task of fighting sickness (Foltin & Fischman, 1990). Because of this particular attribute, cocaine users also often suffer from parasitic, bacterial, or viral infections. These general negative effects of cocaine use are significantly increased by the possibility of death from artificially induced epileptic seizures, and a number of lethal heart dysfunctions. It should be noted that death can be caused by immediate cardiac or respiratory arrest upon taking the drug as well as prolonged use of it. With this in mind, it is obvious that the statements "I'll try anything once" or "it can't hurt you to try it just once" are completely false. An example of this is the death from cardiac ar
...