Cocaine : Drugs And Drugs

Cocaine, a narcotic drug that took the entire world by storm in the 1980’s, has continued to find it’s way into countries all over the world. The drug is a highly addictive stimulant that is extracted from the leaves of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. It comes in two main forms, powder and crystalline, also known as “crack” (“Cocaine Use and Its Effects”). Although the short term effects of cocaine seem somewhat harmless, the long term effects are devastating and have ruined the lives of many users. The short and long term effects of cocaine can be seen on Ishmael Beah, and his companions in the novel A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.

The short term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts intensify the user’s high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. The short term effects on the brain are tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety

Cocaine is one of the oldest, most powerful and most dangerous stimulants in the world. This powerfully addictive drug effects over 35 million people In the United States. Cocaine addiction prevents a person from being a productive member in our society. It also increases the cost for law enforcement and treatment facilities. It rapidly decreases the workplace, increases the homeless rate and needless deaths on a daily basis.

"Cocaine and crack are among the most addictive substances known to modern science, and they have already ruined the lives of millions of Americans" (Morganthau and Miller, 208). Cocaine and crack are both dangerous, harmful drugs. Though pleasurable effects can be obtained from these drugs, the use of crack and cocaine cannot be worth the actual consequences that are inflicted on mind and body. The bad effects of these drugs, by far outweigh the good. Because crack and cocaine are so closely related, it is important to have a firm understanding of both drugs.

The short term effects of the crack includes: higher breathing rate, elevated blood pressure, soaring heart rate, compressed blood vessels, lack of appetite, dilated pupils, extreme euphoria for both casual and heavy users. The long term effects are the following: depression, violent, fearful performances, hallucinations, bad temper, psychosis, heart attack/stroke, sterility (for both men and women), brain convulsion, respiratory malfunction and even death for heavy users! Since crack cocaine is exceedingly addictive, addicts can easily build up tolerance and become addicted in a short time by smoking it constantly. There are many ways to take crack cocaine. Users can smoke through a hand pipe or a water pipe, snort, infuse through vein, or they can combine crack with marijuana, heroin etc (University Of Maryland). While taking crack, users face plenty of risks like: coughing, respiratory bleeding, out of breath, paranoia, lung trauma and many more (“Crack cocaine facts”). Dealers shipped crack cocaine from the Bahamas and the Caribbean to Miami, where the dealers would sell it for lower incomes (“A Complete History of Crack Cocaine”). Anyone can be addicted to crack cocaine – from adults to teens. Crack cocaine is most rampant in urban regions but addicts from rural areas can also be seen. Crack is highly addictive because a user trying for the first time becomes addicted to it and he uses it many times throughout the day. A single dosage is inexpensive but a crack

Cocaine is: a white powder, rock crystal, pure chemical cocaine hydrochloride. Cocaine is a drug, both used medically and illegally, primarily known for its euphoric effects. It essentially affects the physical and mental processes of the body and brain. Cocaine can be a dangerous drug to play with, and the influence of it changes lives. The use of cocaine is potentially taken to receive a “high” effect, which can last for up to fifteen minutes. Cocaine empowers the body to be mentally alert after a single dose, but misuse or abuse of cocaine, or any other drug, can lead to fatal and serious effects. Utilizing cocaine is a critical and life-threatening decision; regardless of the pleasure that the current spur of the moment brings, the

One of the most detrimental and addictive narcotics in the world today is cocaine. Cocaine dates back as early as 3000 BC. Ancient Incas used the coca leaves to counter the effects of living in thin mountain air. Native Peruvians in the 1500’s chewed the plant strictly for religious ceremonies. Andean Indians are believed to chew the leaves of the coca plant to increase their energy for work while decreasing their hunger and pain. It wasn’t until 1859 when a German chemist Albert Niemann successfully extracted the narcotic from the coca leaf. In the 1880’s, it was freely prescribed by physicians for “maladies as exhaustion, depression, and morphine addiction and was available in many patent medicines” (“Cocaine”), until users and doctors began to realize its dangers and side effects. While it was not fully understood at the time, cocaine has many devastating and lasting effects on the user.

Cocaine’s primary effect on the brain is to produce “psychoactive and addictive effects primarily by acting on the brain’s limbic system, a set of interconnected regions that regulate pleasure and motivation. Initial, short- term effect- a buildup of the neurochemical, dopamine which gives rise to euphoria and a desire to take the drug again”(Nestler, 2005, p.4). This is normally seen in some individuals that draw in the drug like through inhaling. It gives them an instant increase in blood, and brain levels. It causes the individual to become addicted to this substance. Cocaine is thought to produce pleasure/reward like any addicted drug

Crack cocaine, aka benzoylmethylecgonine, is one of the most addicting and deadly drugs. It has many negative effects on the body, especially the nervous system. The effects on the user are usually long-lasting and irreversible. It is classified as a stimulant drug, meaning that it excites any bodily function. Stimulants usually target more of the brain and nervous system, which can cause higher alertness, an elevated mood, wakefulness, increased speech and motor activity and a decrease in appetite. Crack cocaine has many nicknames, which includes crack, snow coke, nose candy, and stardust. Crack cocaine can be used in various ways, for example it could be snorted with its original white powder, smoked, or injected directly into the bloodstream. It is mainly snorted so it can be absorbed fast by the nasal tissues. When people smoke crack, it gets inhaled into the lungs, just as quick as getting it injected directly into your vein. The main

Cocaine also known as crack cocaine is a stimulant drug, a stimulant raises one’s heart rate, attention and awareness and breathing. Stimulants were used to treat respiratory issues but is now prescribed for individuals with ADHD. In the 1800’s is when cocaine began to be seen as an addicting substance due it’s mood-altering effects on one’s brain. Cocaine can be inhaled through a pipe, when in powder form it can be snorted, and some individuals inject the drug into their bloodstream through intermuscular or intravenously. Individuals that use cocaine repeatedly use the drug within a short time span between each time used so that the euphoric high stays longer. The effects that cocaine has on the central nervous system is so

To understand the devastating effects of cocaine one needs to understand its history and how it became one of the most potent drugs in today’s society. Cocaine is extracted from the coca leaves and is one of the oldest and natural stimulants. Ancient Incas and native Peruvians chewed cocas leaves for religious ceremonies and to counter the effects of living in thin mountain air and air sickness prevention. To this day Peruvian markets sell coca products, from teas, soft drinks, cocktails and candy; its use is accepted and is an integral part of their culture and way of life. So the question one must ask is when did this natural product become a notorious drug that is abused by many?

There are different types of effects this drug can cause which is short term and long term damage. Short term effects cocaine can cause a short lived. Other effects is intense high which is followed by intense depression, edginess and you start to get addicted to the drug. Cocaine increases the chance of heart attack, stroke, seizure or respiratory breathing failure. Long term phrase is

For my research paper I chose the drug Cocaine as my research topic. "Cocaine delivers an intensity of pleasure - and despair - beyond the bounds of normal human experience. Probably very few people aspire to be drug addicts. But it happens, every day. Why? What is so good about a drug that can potentially destroy a person 's body? How does it work? What are its effects on the brain? Why is it so hard to quit? Cocaine (C17H21NO4) comes from the leaf of an Erythroxylon coca bush. It is a drug that affects the central nervous system. It causes feelings of euphoria, pleasure, increased energy and alertness. People under the influence of cocaine often do not feel the need for food or sleep. They also feel energetic and may talk a lot. However, depending on factors such as environment, dosage, and the manner in which the drug is taken, cocaine can have adverse effects such as violent, erratic behavior, dizziness, paranoia, insomnia, convulsions, and heart failure to name a few. Long- term effects of cocaine include, but are not limited to strokes, heart attacks, seizures, loss of memory, and decrease in learning capability (1). People may not always know the exact consequences of the drug they are taking; however, chances are that they do know that the drug is unhealthy for them. Schools across the country educate about the dangers of drug use and abuse through programs like D.A.R.E., television stations show anti-drug advertisements as a public service, and even city buses

The number of methods that produce powdered cocaine and crack have a huge impact on how they are delivered to the body. Because cocaine constricts the blood vessels that are absorbing it, snorting is a relatively slow way to deliver it into the blood stream. Blood levels rise gradually and don’t reach a peak for about thirty minutes after snorting. In its crack form, the vapors inhaled deliver cocaine as fast as injecting it with a needle would. The faster the rush occurs, the greater the risk of addiction or overdose is. The rush and crash phenomenon can lead the cocaine user to keep taking additional doses until blood levels accumulate to toxic levels. Ingesting cocaine is the least effective route of delivery”. (Kuhn, 2008, p.

The most immediate and also most dangerous method to take Cocaine is to inject. There is higher risk of an overdose. Additionally, there are associated risks such as HIV, Hepatitis and Syphilis due to pre-used needles and/or syringes (known as the