A coroner has warned of the "destructive" impact of drugs after a man died after taking cocaine for the first time.
Assistant coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool, Karin Welsh, put out the warning on Tuesday (July 30) during the inquest of Andrew James Coyne at Teesside Coroner's Court in Middlesbrough.
Mr Coyne, 38, from Stockton, died at North Tees Hospital on July 9, 2022, after taking cocaine.
During the inquest, it was heard that Mr Coyne was the subject of a Home Office post-mortem, which discovered that cocaine was in his system at the time of his death.
It was also noted that Mr Coyne was a known drug user in the area, but he was progressing well with his drug treatment and addressing his problems with medicine.
But after taking cocaine, on what was believed to be his first time taking the drug, Assistant Coroner Welsh said that it had taken a "catastrophic effect" on Mr Coyne.
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"Cocaine is dangerous, it's not the amount or how much someone takes, it's the impact on the heart - and it's had a catastrophic effect on Mr Coyne," said the coroner.
"Andrew was doing well on drug recovery, but used cocaine that evening".
Mr Coyne's death was recorded as 'misadventure'.
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