70's Cocaine Question. Baretta: "Boss, you know coke don't kill people."<--- Huh?

[Poll_Blind]

So I'm watching an old episode of Baretta on YouTube. Just randomly skipping through the episode. And there's a scene where Baretta (who is a cop) is told by his chief that a guy died from using cocaine. Baretta says "Boss, you know coke don't kill people." His boss (presumably a police chief or something) goes on to explain it was he accidentally snorted heroin and that's what killed him.

So I was always under the impression that cocaine could kill you if you snorted too much. Was the cocaine in the 70's less strong or something?



Right here, skip to 5 minutes and 50 seconds:

Makes no sense. Then again, why am I watching Baretta, anyway?

Thanks.

PB

[pinboy3niner]

1. The best thing about 'Baretta' was the theme song sung by Sammy Davis, Jr.

And maybe the cockatoo.

[Poll_Blind]

2. Damnit, now I know why I was watching an old Baretta episode! You!

You'd posted that theme song in some other thread I was reading and I vaguely remembered watching it when I was growing up. So I tuned into YouTube, found an episode, saw the confusing cocaine segment, posted the question here about it...

Only to come back to you posting the theme song which I'd forgotten is what caused me to go looking at the episode in the first place!



That's fucking crazy!

PB

[pinboy3niner]

3. It's circles within circles, lol!

Many times after posting a link like that I've stumbled onto another thread where the very same link fits again in a reply.

"you can't explain that!"

--Bill O'Reilly

[JVS]

4. It might be a price issue.

Cocaine was notoriously expensive and as a result getting enough of it in one place for a prolonged binge or overdose could have been limited to seriously wealthy users like rock stars and celebrities.

[Poll_Blind]

5. That's probbaly not a bad guess. I wound up watching more and they mentioned the same...

...thing again like two more times in different scenes. "Nobody dies from cocaine." It's like tuning into an old episode of Barney Miller and seeing Fish and Wojohowitz smoking hash out of a hookah during an episode like it wasn't a big deal.

PB

[Tom Ripley]

10. That was actually the argument in favor of cocaine in the 70s

it was a benign (and non-addictive) drug because it was used by the "elite" rather than "street trash"
This notion was propagated by mainstream publications like Time and Newsweek. Fucking incredible.

[XemaSab]

6. I need to read up on this

'Cause I thought that cocaine either killed people after a while (like Whitney) or killed people who were doing speedballs (like River Phoenix).

I suppose someone could stroke out while high, but again, I need to learn more.

[XemaSab]

7. According to the esteemed Dr. Wikipedia:

Unlike other hard drugs, where users overdose for taking too much of the drug, most deaths due to cocaine are accidental. Use of cocaine causes tachyarrhythmias and a marked elevation of blood pressure, which can be life-threatening. This can lead to death from respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, or heart-failure. Cocaine is also highly pyrogenic, because the stimulation and increased muscular activity cause greater heat production. Heat loss is inhibited by the intense vasoconstriction. Cocaine-induced hyperthermia may cause muscle cell destruction and myoglobinuria resulting in renal failure. Emergency treatment often consists of administering a benzodiazepine sedation agent, such as diazepam (Valium) to decrease the elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Physical cooling (ice, cold blankets, etc...) and paracetamol (acetaminophen) may be used to treat hyperthermia, while specific treatments are then developed for any further complications. There is no officially approved specific antidote for cocaine overdose, and although some drugs such as dexmedetomidine and rimcazole have been found to be useful for treating cocaine overdose in animal studies, no formal human trials have been carried out.[citation needed] In addition, a history of high blood pressure or cardiac problems puts the patient at high risk of cardiac arrest or stroke, and requires immediate medical treatment. According to the Centers for Disease control, approximately 5000 deaths occur annually due to cocaine overdose.[1]

Labetalol is the only ? blocker that is safe to use in patients with cocaine overdose due to the fact that unlike other ?-blockers, it also inhibits ?1 receptors.

[Bucky]

8. Paul Williams could only have been a celebrity in the 70s

What a strange show that was.

[deutsey]

9. I read in a book about the '70s (maybe about the origins of Saturday Night Live?)

that the prevailing assumption back then was that there were no negative effects of cocaine with lots of positive effects: energy, creativity, sexual prowess, etc.

I used to love Baretta when I was a kid (sixth grade), although it kind of confused me. I couldn't figure out if he was really a cop or just someone who dressed up in different roles to help the police solve crimes.

[Tom Ripley]

11. I think David Bowie's industry and accomplishments in the 70s are the only things

that bear out that theory.
The rest of the blowhounds just gave us, for the most part, stupid music, movies, and television shows.

[Kali]

12. heroin has always been demonized

cocaine was very popular with successful and middle class white people - of COURSE it was harmless

historically things upper class white people like will tend to be harmless or even beneficial - for sure they will be legal or less ILlegal than whatever lower class or brown/black people are using.