Cocaine Research Paper

The long term effects of cocaine are very extreme. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty controlling the urge to use the drug and the perspective might change leaving the consumption of the drug as primordial. Cocaine’s stimulant and addictive effects are due primarily as a result of its ability to stop the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve

"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.

Cocaine usage is not as popular today as it was back in the 1900s but it continues to be abused as it was then. The drug has become addictive to those that used the drug intravenously, and free base (smoking crack). It has been said that individuals who try cocaine by inhaling, injecting, snorting would become addicted by using it for the first time. The individuals try to capture the pleasure or that high he/she first got when using the drug, the psychological effects of cocaine, addiction and dependence reports “only about 10 to 15% of those who initially try cocaine intranasally become abusers” (Gawin, 1991, p.1584).

Addiction of cocaine has proven to be a lifetime addiction and there is always a possibility for relapse even after years of curtailment. These drugs have the ability to alter the physical makeup of the brain.

As a coach, I had a player, who was very polite and worked hard in practice. She was very timid around other teammates. She would stop in to talk to me and never had friends that I could see her relate to. Trying to fit in desperately, she was happy to be included in the “social” activities in college. She got pregnant and her boy friend and her were arrested for conspiracy to deliver cocaine and both sentenced to prison. This course states cocaine can cause an initial rush of pleasure that makes you alert, talkative and confident. With prolonged exposure to meth and cocaine, it can destroy up to 50% of dopamine – producing neurons in certain parts of the brain. This can lead to irreversible symptons of Parkinson’s disease. (Cocaine handout) After several letters from her in prison, she thanked me for being a good listener. I know her family closed their eyes thinking it’s not an addiction, but a social activity that they can quit at any time. This course explains how a higher level of dopamine on a regular basis is needed just to keep you feeling normal. Cocaine can make people feel paranoid, angry and hostile even when they are not high. Prolonged use causes sleep deprivation and loss of appetite. A person can become psychotic and experience hallucinations. It increases the risk that the user will experience a heart attack, stroke, or respiratory failure which can result in sudden death. (Foundation for a Drug-Free

Crack cocaine can be consumed by smoking the as much as 90% pure rocks in a glass water pipe. Once the crack fumes hit the lungs, it will only take 8-10 short seconds to meet the brain. The high or “rush” will only last a few minutes ranging from 3-5 minutes and then the crash can last up to 40 minutes.

Cocaine is a very addictive stimulant drug. The United States has the most prevalent use of 6.4 million people using this drug (Gorelick). Most of the cocaine use in the United States is used by urban man in the age range of 15 to 35 years old. Cocaine has been on the decline in the 15 to 35 year old age range (Gorelick). Cocaine is the illegal drug most often associated with visits to the US emergency department in the United States (Gorelick).

Cocaine is an intense, euphoria-producing stimulant drug with strong addictive potential (Drug Enforcement Administration). Cocaine is derived from the coca plant grown in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. When injected, snorted, or smoked it blocks the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain that causes a “rush” through the body. There are two forms of cocaine, freebase and crack. This illicit drug, when used, will increase the heart rate, blood pressure, dilate the pupils, insomnia, and loss of appetite. People who use cocaine may seem excited and may act more confident than when they weren’t under the influence. Cocaine use alters the mental state of the individual who is using and causes paranoia, poor judgment, delusions and hallucinations. Those who have a been using for a long time will often have a runny nose or sometimes nose bleeds. In addition, their craving for the drug will intensify which often results in need for higher doses. Some of the street slang names you may hear is coke, crack, soda and nose candy (Hanson, G. et al, 2015).

When they are smoked or injected intravenously, both amphetamine and cocaine produce an intense, extremely pleasurable “rush” almost immediately, followed by euphoria, and referred to as a “high.” When snorted, they produce the high without the intense rush and the effects can be felt 3-5 minutes after ingestion. In both cases the pleasurable effects begin to disappear before the drug is fully metabolized, prompting some users to take more in order to maintain the high. Amphetamine’s high lasts anywhere from 8 to 24 hours, and 50 percent of the drug is removed from the body in 12 hours. Cocaine’s high lasts anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, and 50 percent

Cocaine’s mechanism of action includes delaying the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin from reuptake following their release. This contributes to these three neurotransmitters having extended effects and causing a large amount of stimulation. Cocaine can be absorbed at different rates depending on the route of consumption. Specifically, the chewing or sucking of leaves causes gradual absorption and onset of effects. Snorting cocaine contributes to fast absorption and onset of effects. Absorption and the onset of effects occur the fastest when crack is smoked. Outcomes of consuming cocaine include feeling alert, competent, and an increase in energy. However, there are negative effects which include paranoia, restlessness,

Cocaine is an extremely addictive stimulant that creates a sense of euphoria and increased energy in people who use it. A cocaine high tends to be short-lived so it is often used in a binge pattern, meaning it’s used repeatedly and in increasingly larger doses over a short period of time. Cocaine raises the risk of serious heart problems and even of sudden death in people who use it because of its range of cardiovascular effects, which include sharp increases in heart rate and narrowing (constriction) of blood

Have you ever been on an energy high or sugar high?You think everything is funny? Are you having so much fun?So do you ever want it to stop? That is what cocaine does to you it can make everything in your life better, but only for a short amount of time.When the high fades away, you crave it some more. Cocaine is very dangerous to insert into your body in various ways. Cocaine has been around for many years it is not a newly discovered drug. There are recovery options but it can be hard to stay sober for a long period of time. Cocaine is a very addictive drug because it is a stimulant and directly dangers many parts of the body, but there is treatment although difficult.

Statistics say that 7.5 million people have used cocaine at least one time in their lifetime, 3.5 million in the last year, and 1.5 in the last year. But why do so many people use it? Some reasons that they use it is so they can fit in, escape the world and be relaxed, to relieve boredom, to act grown up, and to experience new things.

The first stage of cocaine intoxication is cocaine euphoria this results into rapid movements the person has rapid speech speaking so fast also a another side effect is that person can not sleep what so ever he has insomnia and rapid speech also with these kind of behaviors there are very hyper in almost every way and also there do not fell like sleeping because there have to much energy there do not what to do it make the person happy there fell that there are on top of the word when there first take cocaine that person had boost in confrinetion that there are untouchable and very happy and excitement .

Short-term effects of cocaine include constricted peripheral blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite, feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety (NIDA, 1984). The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include energy, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depends on how it is taken (NIDA, 1984). The quicker the cocaine is absorbed into the body, the more intense the effects are (NIDA, 1984). However, the quicker the absorption, the shorter the high effects last (NIDA, 1984). The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while the high from smoking cocaine may last 5 to 10 minutes (NIDA, 1984). The effects of cocaine are short lived, and once the drug wears off, the user experiences a "crash" that includes depression, irritability, and fatigue (NIDA, 1984).