European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 19, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Cocaine s tremendous toll cocaine production begin with the leaves of the coca Plant cultivated by Praia not in High Alth by Jeanne Dequine Cox news service for centuries indians in Peru and Bolivia chewed the leaves of the coca Plant relying on its euphoric elects to endure mountainous labor the cruel andean cold and Long bouts with hunger and thirst. In 1985, cocaine the powdery White chemical derivative of the ancient andean Leaf is snorted injected into veins and free based for pure pleasure from flashy suburbs to run Down inner City areas. Until recently cocaine was considered a tantalizing recreational drug with few or no Side effects. But a different Story revealed in lost workdays rising insurance rates growing Public Hospital expenditures and numerous other consequences Points to the substance As a highly addictive drug. Ten years ago we were saying it was non  said Jim mall director of up front a Miami drug information program. But we have 30,000 people in Dade county who Are addicted to a non addictive  the productivity loss is  he added the person who develops a cocaine dependency problem will use whatever Means he can to obtain the drug. It is often associated with embezzlement and fraudulent business practices by  a random Survey of callers to a National hotline called 1-800-cocaine this year draws a disturbing picture of on the Job users. Seventy five percent of callers said they used cocaine on the Job and were late or had missed work because of cocaine use half said they sold the drug there one fourth said they had lost a Job because of cocaine use. According Lodr. Irl Exstein. Medical director of fair Oaks Hospital in Delray Beach. Fla. Cocaine use is prevalent among working South floridians. We see the tip of the iceberg. There Are doctors administering anaesthesia who Are administering a Little to  other effects of the illegal drug s use Are largely invisible broken families lost businesses higher health insurance premiums increases in accidents and crime. Active cocaine traffic inevitably diverts Law enforcement officers from other duties adds to already overcrowded jails and clogs court calendars. Police corruption is also a problem. In a Miami courtroom earlier this year an 11-year Veteran of the Fri pleaded guilty to conspiracy corrupt in and cocaine trafficking. Charles Wetli metropolitan Miami s Deputy chief medical examiner says about two people per month die solely from cocaine overdoses and he said he s worried that the numbers will increase As the purity of the drug  to Rise. Well mid a a noticed a mysterious and sometimes deadly occurrence a behaviour he labels cocaine psychosis among some of the cocaine related deaths. They la do bizarre things like take Oil their clothes and run around the neighbourhood creating a tremendous disturbance he said. The police Are called to restrain the person. But the individual generally stops breathing within an hour of being restrained. The cocaine level is Only about one tenth of the overdose  Wetli said. We Don t know  Wetli said he believes cocaine May also be the cause of Many heart failures particularly in individuals under 40. During the first six months of 1983, Miami hospitals alone reported 240 emergency room cases involving cocaine according to the National Institute of drug abuse. The figure nearly doubled or the same period last year. Individuals who think they can control it Are playing a game of russian  warned Bruce Hayden executive director of spectrum programs a South Florida treatment facility. He said the number of working individuals addicted to cocaine has increased during the last two years. More than 40 percent of his program s clients Are working people who abuse or Are addicted to cocaine he said. Cocaine use is a very seductive use which is Why it s such a problem right  cocaine use in the armed forces however is Al Levels much lower than those in civil an Lile and dropping according to the military s statistics. Over the last three years the use of All types of drugs by service members stationed in Europe has steadily declined a Neucom spokesman said. He had no specific data on the number of personnel found using cocaine but said the total amount of the drug seized has also declined in the same time period. A said. Prog prob 01 sept said Price to Law i hers to eur to rect inc a co drug1 or his it asm acetyl prod nigh the Chen int. Ono  crackdown in Bolivia hav. Don