A.       What is a speedball? A speedball is a mixture of cocaine and heroin. It is extremely powerful and addicting. Its use can be fatal. John Belushi, a well known musician (Blues Brothers) and comedian died after taking a speedball. The combination is so dangerous because of its effect on the heart. Cocaine speeds up the heart while heroin slows it down. As a result, the heart may suffer from an arrhythmia and the user can die.

B.       What kind of drug is cocaine and what are the common side effects? Cocaine is a euphoric, central nervous stimulant. It is extremely powerful and commonly abused. Individuals that take cocaine will feel much more energized, focused and alert. A person’s heart rate may increase and the pupils  dialate. They may become more aggressive, have a hard time concentrating and may even experience a psychotic episode. Heart attack is another potential side effect.

C.       What does ‘freebasing’ mean? Freebasing cocaine involves cooking it so that it can be smoked. Crack is a well known form of freebased cocaine. It is very dangerous to consume the drug this way and also very addicting because it becomes much more potent. The late comedian, Richard Pryor, burned himself quite badly while freebasing cocaine.

D.       How much cocaine is too much? This question cannot be answered correctly because it is impossible to know until after the fact, after which it may be too late. What one person can tolerate, another may not be able to. Also, what could prove to be a fatal dose to one person, may not pose a threat to another person. It is this inconsistency that makes cocaine extremely dangerous. The threat increases when one mixes cocaine with other powerful drugs such as heroin, which is known as a speedball.

E.       Is cocaine psychologically or physically addicting? There is some argument concerning whether or not cocaine is physically addicting. There is little doubt that it can potentially be psychologically addicting. Some people contend that it is not physically addicting because if a person stops taking it, they won’t have withdrawal symptoms. Others disagree. As stated above, there is little disagreement concerning its potential to be psychologically addicting. It can be and many times is.