Cocaine and Other Stimulants

SENSATIONALISM and shifting acceptance of drug use have influenced much of what has been written about cocaine. This review attempts a reasoned psychiatric appraisal of the prototypical abused psychomotor stimulants, cocaine and the amphetamines. We review the historical and epidemiologic features of the recent upsurge in cocaine abuse, summarize clinical psychiatric observations about stimulant abuse and emerging treatment approaches, and describe new perceptions of the biologic nature of stimulant addiction. Because emergency medical treatment of stimulant overdose and medical complications of cocaine and amphetamine abuse have been reviewed recently,1 2 3 4 we have excluded these topics.Recent History and EpidemiologySeven years . . .