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When one feels the need to stimulate oneself by snorting a line of cocaine, would one say the bracha of besamim (spices)?

Thank you in advance, this is not halacha l'maaseh.

Mike
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Richard Lewis
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    Does coke have an aroma like besamim, or is it "medicinal" like an asthma inhaler is? – Monica Cellio May 07 '17 at 22:46
  • Illegally produced cocaine smells like whatever volatile chemical solvent they used to finish processing it - usually acetone or some other nasty aromatic chemical. Before they tightened control of it, they used ether, which left hardly any smell at all. – Gary May 07 '17 at 23:15
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's contra halacha to do drugs like cocaine – Noach MiFrankfurt May 08 '17 at 01:38
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    @NoachMiFrankfurt I agree. It is a violation of ushmartem es nafshoseichem as well as a violation of dina demalchusa – sabbahillel May 08 '17 at 01:44
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    You say "stimulate yourself." I am as unfamiliar with cocaine as @MonicaCellio is, but I wonder if it would have the same rules as snuff. – MTL May 08 '17 at 02:26
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    @NoachMiFrankfurt Why is a question off topic if it involves something against halakha? I am pretty sure you just made that up. Asking about the halakhic ramification of a forbidden act falls squarely into the realm of questions about Judaism, IMHO. – mevaqesh May 08 '17 at 02:36
  • @mevaqesh, since it's a subject as taboo as illicit drugs, I'd say it should be closed. This is a question for a Jewish narcotics anonymous group, not J.SE – Noach MiFrankfurt May 08 '17 at 02:45
  • @Shokhet has raised an interesting point. Snuff is also a harmful addictive drug (but legal) so there could be an analogy made. It is, however, much closer to its plant of origin than cocaine. – Epicentre May 08 '17 at 03:54
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    I don't understand why it should be off-topic because it's against Halacha. The question is simply whether a bracha is made on cocaine. Whether Halacha permits drugs could very well be a part of an answer (mitzvah haba'ah me'aveirah), but that doesn't affect the question itself. How many questions do we have on here about "a guy violated Halacha - what now?" – DonielF May 08 '17 at 04:04
  • @NoachMiFrankfurt "I'd say it should be closed" Unless you can point to something in FAQs or meta, I don't think that is significant. "This is a question for a Jewish narcotics anonymous group" The fact that some other theoretical group may accept this question has no bearing on whether not it is on topic. I fully agree with DonielF's assessment. – mevaqesh May 08 '17 at 04:23
  • @donielF I agree, it's whether the bracha should be made or not. Thank you all so for the insights! – Richard Lewis May 08 '17 at 11:54
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    very similar https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/17288/759 – Double AA May 08 '17 at 14:28
  • אשר יצר אתכם בדין – kouty Jan 05 '19 at 17:02

2 Answers2

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Cocaine is a Schedule II substance, which means that a) it has a high potential for abuse, b) it has some accepted medicinal use for treatment, and c) abuse of the substance can lead to severe psychological or physiological dependence.

It was used as a topical anesthetic and some ENTs used to use it as a means to clear a patient's sinuses when administered in a diluted, liquid form. There's some debate as to whether flavored medications require a birchas henehenin which is dependent in part on whether the medication is deemed "objectively" good tasting or only flavored as a means to make taking the medication easier. Cocaine has a bitter taste and is not typically taken orally by itself.

The OP's query concerns nasal ingestion of the powdered form of cocaine; this is not the same as smelling. Additionally, cocaine is described as having a chemical smell which is not typically described as a pleasing scent. Moreover, the numbing effect of the cocaine disables one's ability to smell at all for the duration of the use.

Shmuel Brown
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Since cocaine is harmful, it would not receive any bracha (cf. Shulchan Aruch §202:4).

Oliver
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Loewian
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    Maybe we could say 1: inhaling a substance through the nose as a drug (no smell of fragrances involved) is not a form of halachic eating so it has no brachah. 2: It is very very harmful. So we do not say a blessing on something that detroys one's life. However, harmful alone would not absolve it of a Brachah as long as one got some benefit. Straight pure olive oil and raw barley flour have harmful effect but still require a blessing. see Gem' Brachos 36. – David Kenner May 08 '17 at 00:02