Former MLB pitcher’s Cocaine Issue

Cocaine in the 1980’s was abused at an alarming rate, and a recent story about a former Major League Baseball pitcher only confirms that cocaine was and still is commonly abused. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd recently admitted that he probably pitched under the influence of cocaine at every Major League ballpark during his 10-year career. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Boyd claimed that “there wasn’t one ballpark that I probably didn’t stay up all night, until 4 or 5 in the morning, and the same thing is in your system…Some of the best games that I’ve ever, ever pitched in the major leagues, I stayed up all night. I’d say two-thirds of them.”

Abusing cocaine has a variety of adverse effects on the body. For example, cocaine constricts blood vessels, dilates pupils, and increases body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. It can also cause headaches and gastrointestinal complications such as abdominal pain and nausea. Because cocaine tends to decrease appetite, chronic users can become malnourished as well. It’s surprising that a professional athlete would expose themselves to these kind of adverse effects, especially during competition. Even more surprising is that Boyd said that he “wasn’t doing anything that hundreds of ballplayers weren’t doing at the time, because that’s how I learned it and I just caught the deep end of it.”

Certainly the drug testing policies and culture of Major League Baseball has changed since Boyd’s career in 1982-89, but cocaine is still a major abused drug in today’s society. Many people today still face the issues stemming from cocaine addiction, but thankfully there are much better treatment options available—especially at Seabrook. Behavioral interventions—particularly, cognitive-behavioral therapy—have been shown to be effective for decreasing cocaine use and preventing relapse. Treatment must be tailored to the individual patient’s needs in order to optimize outcomes—this often involves a combination of treatment, social supports, and other services offered by Seabrook. Seabrook is an internationally recognized private and exclusive inpatient drug rehab and alcoholism detox treatment center who has achieved an elite CARF accreditation status, ensuring that our rehab patients receive the highest quality treatment. We operate two facilities. Our main rehab facility is located in rural Bridgeton, New Jersey (NJ), only a 90 minute drive from New York (NY) City. Our extended-care luxury transitional rehab is located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania (PA), just minutes from Elmira/Corning New York Regional airport or by car from Philadelphia, driving time is 4 hours. If you or a loved one has an addiction to cocaine, the treatment programs at Seabrook will help you get on the road to recovery today!