How often do you think it is "safe" to use cocaine? I realize that there is a risk every time you put chemicals into your body, but I'm talking about long-term damage to the reward system.

My friend Swamp was thinking about getting some for New Years and binging for a few hours. How much should he get if he has no tolerance, and how much should he pay?

Swamp says that methamphetamine makes him calm, focused, confident, and more skilled at making conversation. That's somewhat paradoxical don't you think? Should he expect similar but more powerful effects from cocaine?

Safe dosages are hard to determine, big and immediate concerns being that since you have to snort coke, it does some nasty things. Erodes your nasal cavity, and gets scarily direct access to your brain, which wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't necessary to do so much coke to get a decent experience out of it. One night won't kill you, (well, technically it could. Don't fuck up.) but I strongly recommend not making a habit of it. Coke is a nasty addiction, expensive, and wholey not worth it.

As far as how much he should buy and how much he should pay, that's hard to say. While he doesn't have any tolerance for coke directly, there could be overlap tolerances, and it depends what kind of user he is. Some people just like mild experiences, and others, like myself, have the self-endangering belief that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. But most people shouldn't do that. If it's going to be a long night, have him get two or three grams, to allow for sharing. 60 or so a gram is likely going to be what you'll encounter for something decent.

Meth and coke are quite a bit different, and coke is far from being more powerful. Amphetamines typically do produce feelings of capability and clarity, whether or not those feelings are accurate is debatable, but in my experiences with meth (the most godly drug that isn't purely a psychadelic) it's quite true. Coke, in comparison, is somewhat burdened by the fact that it's an opiod, and therefore has some unpleasant side effects--numbness, itching, and the tendency to make you stutter like a dumbass when you really get into it. But, I am a bit biased, i've never been as into opiates as most people. Coke I consider a complete waste of time, money, and membrances, and I still say that there are better feelings than heroin, although anyone with enough experience to refute me always seems to. Oh well.

coke isn't an opiod

My advice is simply not to do it unless you know yourself thouroughly. You really don't need to worry about long term because the short term problems can be much worse, it only took me 3 times before I started becoming addicted.

An eightball would probably be enough for a few hours, don't pay more than $150.

coke is my drug of choice, i absolutely love it, but due to my undying love for the shit i havnt done it in almost a year. i love the way it makes me feel, this is all probably the begining stages of addiction.

my very first experience i did one eightball to the dome, loved it and wanted more. by the end of the night(mmm lets say 3 in the morning) i had already done 2 more eightballs. this shit was pure, i was wasted, grinding my teeth, my nose was runny, my throat was numb. we went home, and i sat up all night rocking back and forth and mumbling weird shit to myself. then i realised i was picking through the empty bags licking the left over powder. and may i remind you that this was my first experience and already i was picking through my pockets like a everyday junkie.

so i did coke a few more times, making sure they were all months apart. but ive noticed that i am a natural born addict, smoke like a chimney and cant live without my weed. so i stopped before i wouldnt be able to seperate the months and start living on the streets.

if you want a good picture of the a few of the ups and alot of the downs watch the movie "requiem for a dream". its a awesome picture and a real work of art. drove me to kick the almost- habit, well that and my personal choices.

once wont kill you but you might like it enough to let it kill you.

First on person calls coke an opiate [not the word used, I know, but it was the intention]. Now someone else calls coke addicts junkies. From werein come the confusion, I wonder?

Thanks for the input, I'll be sure to tell Swamp to be careful before he crosses those white lines

Once a year at New Years sounds like a good limit...