Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
Topics: News, World News, Drugs, Health
Kit Roberts
A man has warned against using cocaine after a binge of the drug left him with shocking side effects.
Dave Mullen from the UK opened up about how he was left temporarily blinded by his drug use.
Not only that, but his eyes ended up severely bloodshot for months, giving them an alarming appearance.
Dave opened up about his drug use, sharing that he had first used cocaine on his 17th birthday when someone offered it to him in a pub.
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But now, he regrets ever having started taking it as his use quickly started to grow.
He said that he would often take the drug while drinking at soccer away days, as well as while he was on vacation.
By the time he reached his 19th birthday, just a couple of years after his first use, things had spiralled to a shocking degree.
"Cocaine goes hand-in-hand with alcohol and at a weak or naive moment as I was young, someone offered me a line and I took it," he said.
"At 19 I noticed it had become an addiction. Every year it got worse and worse and would affect so many people around me due to the mental health episodes I would have."
Dave revealed that when his use was at its most intense he would snort thousands of pounds' worth of cocaine across benders lasting seven days at a time.
This was also accompanies by heavy drinking, with Dave saying he would consume 15 pints of beer a day.
Eventually, things came to a head and Dave ended up in a coma after going into a drug-induced psychosis.
In August 2021 a picture showed him with the bloodshot eyes.
"This was a result of a four or five-day bender and I ended up going into a drug-induced psychosis and I completely lost my mind," he said.
"I was completely blind and had no vision. Six weeks later my eyes were still bloodshot and my eyes were like this for two months."
When he went back to work at a retirement home one resident chased him with a Bible, convinced that he was a demon or devil.
Despite this being a wakeup call, Dace still continued.
Finally, in March 2024 doctors gave Dave a stark message - if he carried on he could die.
This was finally enough for Dave to start kicking the addiction, and after getting off the drug Dave is sharing his story in the hope that people in a similar situation will see it.
He said: "I think my story and the pictures in particular show that it's dangerous and I don't want cocaine to be so normalised and acceptable in society."
"I don't think we're educated enough about the dangers of these drugs or alcohol," he added.
"We're told the drugs are illegal but in this day and age no one really pays attention to the law and doesn't care if it's illegal."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 830-7624 24 hours, seven days a week, or contact them through their website.