While
cocaine abuse among adults has dropped in recent years, this, unfortunately, is not the case in the bizarre world of Hollywood.
"In general, with cocaine abuse, or
cocaine dependence, the numbers are dropping. They are not peaking or elevating. But in Hollywood, it's still going strong," said Dr. Reef Karim, a leading addiction specialist. "You still see coke everywhere in Hollywood. It is still considered to be a party drug."
The popularity of the drug has confounded experts why the drug is so attractive to celebrities. The drug is readily available at parties, clubs and often, on the sets of television shows and movies, where executives overlook its presence as long as the work is completed without incident.
"Cocaine is unique in how it stimulates the brain's reward center. The chemical signal for pleasure in the brain is the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens in the midbrain," said Dr. David Sack, the CEO of Promises, a popular
drug treatment center in Malibu, California. "Cocaine strongly and selectively increases dopamine in this region, causing the 'rush' and euphoria."
Some addiction experts believe that celebrities love cocaine because it makes it easy to lose weight. The drug also gives people a sudden burst of energy, which can be viewed as a positive thing in a community that is so conscious of appearance and individual popularity.
"It keeps you awake. And for a lot of people it makes them more hyper or more sociable, so, you've got people that want to party all night that don't want to gain a lot of weight, that want to be
able to talk to other people that they aren't that interested in to start with, and want to have a good time in a pleasurable way," said Karim. "Cocaine seems to make sense for them."
