COCAINE: Seduction and Solution

by Nannette; Marlene Fromme & Daniel Kagan Stone ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1983

An informed review of the cocaine problem and how to get help if it's become a personal one--considerably beefed up by ""Real Life Profiles."" Psychotherapists Fromme and Stone, of the Division of Drug Abuse Research and Treatment at New York Medical College, have been on the front lines of cocaine addiction treatment; their description of the problem is up-to-date and realistic. From 200,000 to 1,600,000 Americans are estimated to be addicted; most are over 26; and they are found at every income level. The risks and dangers, the authors claim, are simple: despite its reasonably benign (if expensive) reputation, ""cocaine is toxic; people do overdose on it and they do die."" The death rate, moreover, is rising. The horror stories that occupy more than half the volume are classified, indicatively, into ""The Social Sniffer,"" ""The Routine User,"" ""The Performance User,"" ""The Boredom/Stress Reliever,"" and the ""Cokeoholic""; and they run the scale in cocaine abuse from up-and-coming to down-and-out. The authors' final, most useful advice is on ""Coping and Quitting"": how to determine if there's a problem, where to seek help, ""How to Help Yourself."" (Stay away from cocaine-abusing friends; substitute new, benign habits.) For readers with a cocaine problem, or their families, who need the support of dread examples; others will find the subject adequately covered in comprehensive guides to drug abuse like Stephen J. Levy's Managing the ""Drugs"" in Your Life (p. 1186) or, for a harder line, Jason D. Baron's Kids and Drugs (p. 1230).

Pub Date: March 1, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Potter--dist. by Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION