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Cocaine use is on the Rise in the NHL

Cocaine use is on the Rise in the NHL

NHL
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
This year the NHL has finally admitted that cocaine use among its players is definitely on the rise. The league could no longer deny this topic when 2-time Stanley Cup winner Jarret Stoll was arrested in Las Vegas on felony possession of MDMA and Cocaine. Many viewed this arrest as just another wealthy champion celebrating just a little too hard and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but those following this problem a little closer see something much different.
Jarret Stoll made recent headlines, but a year earlier Olympic Gold Medalist and Tampa Bay Lightning star Ryan Malone was charged with felony possession of cocaine and DUI after a traffic stop and search was conducted. And then there was NHL prospect Viktor Loov and his statement saying that there is “tons of cocaine in the NHL, I’m sure of it. It is not just talk.” It didn’t take long for the league to try to defend itself recently as the Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, said that if the epidemic consisted of more than 20 of his players he would be shocked. Well, needless to say, Mr. Daly is now shocked!
The cocaine use among NHL players is at an all-time high and we think we know why. The level of physicality needed to sustain a high-level of production in the NHL is extremely high and extremely demanding. Cocaine, when used in small and regulated amounts, will stimulate the central nervous system so that they players can have an edge when on the ice, without any type of huge crash or withdrawal.
Many newer and older players are catching on to this “competitive edge” produced by cocaine and are taking advantage of this while the testing possibilities are still low at this point. You see, the NHL focuses their testing mainly on performance enhancing drugs such as steroids and they leave the recreational drugs out of the primary screening. This gives the recreational users a green light to party as well. So when you combine the players using it for a competitive edge and then mix it with those running rampant due to the lax testing, you have the make up of an issue brewing.
With this spike in cocaine use comes the standard risk factors. The most serious is the fact that more and more cocaine is being found to be cut with fentanyl. And by now we are all aware of how dangerous fentanyl is. Just recently, a YouTube video surfaced of three people laying on the ground in a gas station parking lot dying from a fentanyl overdose after they consumed what they though was cocaine. Luckily, a bystander called 911 and they were brought back to life with Narcan.
You also have the regular harmful side effects from cocaine that are not healthy. And then the most serious is the risk of a major destructive addiction to the drug itself. That is where we here at The Addictions Coach come into play. We specialize in helping and coaching professional athletes through their addictions and show them how to get clean and sober and more importantly, stay clean and sober.
Contact us through our company website at http://www.theaddictionscoach.com or call us 24/7 at 1-800-706-0318 to get the information you need to begin your journey to sobriety. And as always, head over to our website testimonial page to hear from the hundreds of those who have used The Addictions Coach to get clean and sober and stay clean and sober.
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