# Death from snorting cocaine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015 "2008-09-10T23:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/1 "2008-09-10T23:12:29Z")
Does anyone have a cite on the numbers of deaths attributed to snorting cocaine in it’s powder form? I’ve been under the impression that such cases are rare but need some data to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![SilverBridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba8739/32.png) [@SilverBridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilverBridge)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/2 "2008-09-11T00:53:47Z")
A former relation to a current relation. Without going into detail, his death was classified accidental overdose of cocaine. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/3 "2008-09-11T04:02:55Z")
> [@SilverBridge](#): > > A former relation to a current relation. Without going into detail, his death was classified accidental overdose of cocaine. Accidental overdose of cocaine _where all the cocaine was snorted and was the only drug consumed?_ Certainly the concept of a cocaine overdose is fairly well established in the media and popular culture, but the question is if a healthy adult can actually overdose on pure powder cocaine exclusively through nasal absorption. My WAG would be that yes, and quite easily, but I have no medical cite on the subject. Suppose that 10g at once should be sufficient to kill most people. It certainly should be possible to insufflate that much of almost anything fairly quickly. I’m not about to go run experiments with lactose or anything, but this seems plausible. The question remains if that much would get absorbed by the nasal tissue and I’ll leave this to the MD dopers to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/4 "2008-09-11T05:24:11Z")
> [@Chris Moise](#): > > Does anyone have a cite on the numbers of deaths attributed to snorting cocaine in it’s powder form? I don’t think it’s possible to come up with this statistic. An autopsy will reveal what kind of drugs someone has taken, but it’s going to be next to impossible to determine how the drug was ingested. Having said that, here are some numbers for [Oregon from 1996 - 2006](http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SME/docs/drug_releated_deaths_2006.pdf). There are 20 - 30 cases per year where cocaine overdose is listed as the sole cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/5 "2008-09-11T05:45:47Z")
Even if it’s ingested nasally, doesn’t a lot of it get absorbed in the throat and stomach (especially if one is snorting 10 grams at a time… holy, crap, that’s as big as three golf balls!). ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/6 "2008-09-11T09:32:53Z")
I had an acquaintance who had a serious lung infection which he was told was due to snorting cocaine, so there’s another possibly serious health risk. Not feeling so cocky _now_, eh, chum? ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/7 "2008-09-11T09:46:29Z")
There has recently been a much publised case of an Irish supermodel who dies of a cocaine overdose (she had been drinking as well so not sure if this counts?), here is a link if it helps: > **[Model Katy French Remains Controversial After Death](https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=4034585&page=1)** > > Young model's untimely death sparks debate over Irish drug and drinking culture. I reckon that you could easily die from a cocaine overdose if you snorted enough pure in one go, I reckon a gram could do it - I’ve (in a former life, a long time ago) snorted a 1/4 of a gram in one go and _felt_ like I was about to have a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/8 "2008-09-11T14:50:30Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > I reckon that you could easily die from a cocaine overdose if you snorted enough pure in one go, I reckon a gram could do it - I’ve (in a former life, a long time ago) snorted a 1/4 of a gram in one go and _felt_ like I was about to have a heart attack. I had a heart attack last christmas (totally unrelated to any drug use I want to make clear), and the first thing I was asked by the Consultant was “had I taken cocaine?”. Apparently cocaine use can result in a heart attack as early as your 20s if you are unlucky. No cite to back this up yet, but it’s what I was told in hospital. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/9 "2008-09-11T14:53:40Z")
I would’ve thought Len Bias would be the poster child for this thread, but apparently the cocaine that killed him went in [“through an unknown route.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Bias#Death) ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-snorting-cocaine/463015/10 "2008-09-11T15:35:33Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Apparently cocaine use can result in a heart attack as early as your 20s if you are unlucky. No cite to back this up yet, but it’s what I was told in hospital. I can’t believe I forgot about this! A guy from my school in the year above me had a cocaine induced heart attack at 23. He didn’t die but that’s pretty freaking bad.