title: Characteristics of freebase cocaine psychosis.
abstract: Psychosis was present in 29 percent of cocaine-disordered patients hospitalized in 1985 during an epidemic of freebase cocaine abuse in the Bahamas. Record reviews revealed that a variety of psychotic phenomenologic patterns were present. Prior major mental disorders and increased dosage of cocaine were more common among psychotic than non-psychotic patients. Violent behavior was common among cocaine patients, especially those with psychosis. We conclude that freebase cocaine psychosis is neither rare nor benign.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Manschreck
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Laughery
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Weisstein
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Humblestone
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Podlewski
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001444:Bahamas; D003042:Cocaine; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D003702:Delusions / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine