The Nation - News from July 14, 1986

Cocaine overdoses have killed 34 people in South Florida since January, twice as many as a year ago, and officials say the drug is cheaper, purer and more available than ever, the Miami Herald reported. By comparison, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, covering an area with more than twice the population of South Florida, reported 30 cocaine deaths through the end of May, the newspaper said. “We used to think heroin was the most addictive substance known to man,” said Dr. Dolores Morgan, director of addictionology services at Mount Sinai Medical Center of Miami Beach. “Now we know that cocaine puts heroin not in the minor leagues, but in the little leagues.”