Media Analysis Cocaine is a stimulant drug that can be snorted, injected, or smoked. Cocaine comes from a Coca plant (Hart & Ksir, 2016). It can come from any of the four Erythroxylaceae plants, but it most commonly comes from the Erythroxylon Coca plant (Hart & Ksir, 2016). These plants are commonly grown in South America (Karch, 1998). Cocaine interacts with several neurotransmitters in the brain, such as “Dopamine, Serotonin, Gaba, and Glutamate” (Hart & Ksir, 2016). Upon consumption of the drug it also influences adrenaline reuptake and causes more to be released (Karch, 1998). Cocaine is a popular mainstream drug, it impacts the user positively and negatively, and has known stereotypes associated with it. Cocaine is available throughout
One can feel the effects of cocaine almost immediately after use, with these effects lasting only a few minutes or hours. The duration of cocaine 's effects depends upon how it is administered. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the high, but also the shorter the duration. The high from snorting is relatively slow to arrive but it may last 15 to 30 minutes. In contrast, the effects from smoking are more immediate but may last only 5 to 10 minutes. “In the brain, cocaine interferes with the chemical messengers -- neurotransmitters -- that nerves use to communicate with each other. Cocaine blocks norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The resulting
What is Cocaine? Cocaine is the most powerful stimulant of natural origin. It is taken from the leaves of the coca plant which is native to the Andean highlands of South America. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most addictive drugs. In ancient times, South American natives used coca for religious and medicinal purposes. The natives took advantage of cocaine’s stimulant properties to fight fatigue and hunger or to enhance endurance.
Cocaine originated from South America, from coca leaves. Originally, the coca leaves were chewed by workers to decrease fatigue, improve endurance and have a greater resistance to the cold. This was to benefit the workers so they could work longer hours and be more productive. In 1855 the active ingredient in cocaine was isolated from the leaves, and in 1880 it was used as a local anesthetic (Nunes,2006). It was also used in coca cola. In 1855, coca cola was a soda beverage that contained sixty milligrams of cocaine for every eight ounces of the beverage. The idea behind this was to give people energy and a sense of well being (Nunes, 2006). By the late 1880s Sigmund Freud was using cocaine regularly and was even recommending it to others.
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 mode of action has been shown to involve the dopamine receptors. This paper will discuss how cocaine affects dopamine receptors, the mode of addiction, how cocaine affects the frontal brain metabolic activities, as well as the role of excitatory amino acids in cocaine’s mechanism. I will also discuss how cocaine affects another system through its mechanism on the brain—the renin angiotensin system.
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
Cocaine is a drug that is derived from the coca plant. It is a powerful stimulant that is very addictive. The freebase form of this drug that can be smoked is often referred to as crack. This drug first hit the streets during the 1980s.
What is Cocaine? Cocaine comes from the leaves of coco plants. Cocaine is high addict
Cocaine abuse has been a persistent health problem worldwide for many years (Platt, 2002). Adults aged 18 to 25 year have a higher rate of current cocaine use than any other age group, with 1.5 percent of young adults reporting past month cocaine use (The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction , 2013). Every drug has a history as to how it came about, also, as to why it is used and or abused among adults. Each drug has its own chemical make-up, along with how that drug works in the human body. Treatment of cocaine addiction must be comprehensive, and strategies need to assess the neurobiological, social, and medical aspects of the patient’s drug abuse (The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction , 2013). Due to the treatment intensity, how willing one
This video is on the topic of substance abuse disorders. Before I watched this video, I was not aware of the immense physical affect that these drugs have on a person, particularly cocaine and crack cocaine. I had seen lists of physiological symptoms and descriptions of its effects, but I had never before seen a firsthand account of what it actually feels like to experience a cocaine high. The cocaine users that were shown in the video gave vivid descriptions of exactly how it felt when they were using, and the voice narration described what the high actually, feels like. I learned that crack cocaine, when smoked, reaches the brain from the lungs in about 8 seconds, whereas snorted cocaine
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,
From then on cocaine took off and was a daily part of the average American’s life, even being so prevalent as being a main ingredient of the soft drink Coca Cola. Cocaine is generally snorted or injected and acts as a stimulant of the central nervous system. Instead of having a calming, relaxing affect like that of opium, cocaine brings the user up with increased energy and inflated self-esteem. Cocaine also produces feelings of euphoria and elevated mood, these symptoms are wanted by the user, and are the primary reason the drug is
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
According to a national survey performed in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 35.9 million Americans aged 12 and older have tried cocaine at least once in their lifetime and approximately 2.1 million Americans are regular users (Substance Abuse & Mental Health, 2012). Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that has gratifying yet dangerous short term physical effects, devastating long term physical effects, and intense psychological effects. Cocaine is a crystalline atropine alkaloid that is produced from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine was first introduced into the United States in the 1880’s, where
The drug Cocaine alters chemical levels in the brain which can lead the user to have the ‘feel good’ factor.