Short Term Effects Of Cocaine

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?

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, 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.

Cocaine is a drug produced from the leaves of a coca plant. The coca plant in its natural form has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes including as a topical anesthetic. Cocaine was originally developed in the 1800s as an ingredient that could be ingested to help relieve ailments. Yet, it was soon discovered that cocaine was highly addictive and could cause health problems, including death. Cocaine was soon banned in the U.S. as a publicly available drug. Only medical grade cocaine was allowed for use by physicians for medical care. But cocaine had become known for its short term effects in stimulating the body and producing feelings of euphoria. Thus, it has become one of the most popular illicit drugs on the street today.

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.

Drug abuse is a major public health issue that impacts society both directly and indirectly; every person, every community is somehow affected by drug abuse and addiction and this economic burden is not exclusive to those who use substance, it inevitably impacts those who don't. Drugs impact our society in various ways including but not limited to lost earnings, health care expenditures, costs associated with crime, accidents, and deaths. The use of licit or illicit drugs long term, causes millions of deaths and costs billions for medical care and substance abuse rehabilitation and the effects of drug abuse extend beyond users, spilling over into the society at large, imposing increasing social and economic costs.

The first time you are Introduced to cocaine addicted to the rest of your life until you get some help. The long-term effects are,stress become sensitive, leading to increased in negative moods and having a lack of interest in friends,family,school. When you are not taking the drug, which are signs of withdrawal. All of these effects make the person on the drug more likely to focus on seeking the drug instead of relationships.

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 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.

M.J. is a 21-year-old female who presented herself in the emergency room with a laceration on her hand and a positive test for cocaine in her system. The patient is a single mom of two toddlers and has a live-in boyfriend. The patient presented to the E.R. that her house was destroyed in a fire and lacerated her hand while trying to escape. Her boyfriend, who is a heroin user, perished in the fire. She is now having difficulty remembering the fire and she feels like she is in a dream. M.J. is being admitted to the psychiatric unit. Because of this traumatic event, the likelihood that this patient is experiencing anxiety and depression is very high: leading to acute stress disorder. This disorder is prevalent within the first month of

Heroin is a natural substance made from the seed pods of various opium poppy plants grown in southeast/west Asia, Mexico and Columbia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Ways of using heroin are injecting, sniffing, snorting, or smoking heroin. It’s often mixed with crack cocaine; this practice is called speed balling. Effects of heroin are the heart rate increases; you get less sleep, have trouble breathing. The short-term effects of heroin include dry mouth, flushing of the skin, a feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs, nausea/vomiting, severe itching, it slowly clouds your mental functions, and trouble staying conscious.

In your post you are saying “A faster drug such as heroin and cocaine occupies enough brain receptors to produce psychoactive effect. It just slows the brain down.” I do agree on the drugs do it does slows the brain down and the side of effects are when it enter the brain heroin goes into morphine that is when binds to molecules on cell opioid receptors. The receptors are located in many areas of the brain and in the body and the opioid receptors are located in the brains stem too. That controls such as blood pressure, arousal, and respiration. Cocaine can prevent dopamine from recycling prevents dopamine from recycling and if you flood of dopamine ultimately it can disrupts normal brain communication and causes cocaine’s high, the short term

Stimulant drugs rev up the central nervous system by increasing heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. Thus, someone who abuses stimulants will experience enhanced positive emotional reactions and a minimized level of negaitve emotional reactions, as well as alertness. Someone who abuses nicotine, a stimulant, will experiecne relaxation and alertness due to the way in which nicotine activates receptors sensitive to the neurotransimitter acetylcholine. Someone who abusues the stimulant cocaine will experience euphoria, enhanced mental and physical capabilities, stimulation, a decrease in hunger, indifference to pain, and diminished fatigue. Crack cocaine will generate intense euphoria, but will follow with unpleasant feelings. Stimulants

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug that has become increasingly prevalent due to its rewarding effects. The rewarding effects of cocaine are largely mediated by its actions in blocking brain dopamine transmitters to increase extracellular levels of the neurotransmitter in the brain’s reward circuits (Hancock & McKim, 2012). Cocaine is administered through the nose, where it is absorbed through the nasal tissues, or intravenously into the bloodstream. Once cocaine has been administered into the body, like Amphetamines, it stimulates the sympathetic nervous system causing an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. The effect of cocaine on mood and performance is what creates a strong dependence among users. In low doses, it produces euphoria, exhilaration, feelings of well-being, and an increased interest in sex. As the doses increase, the feelings are replaced by anxiety, hyperactivity, sleep deprivation, and paranoia (Hancock & McKim, 2012).

Grown in the countries of South America, with Columbia being the most productive, the Erythroxylon Coca bush is the natural origin of cocaine, a central nervous stimulant. Its history is as rich and diverse as the people using and dealing the drug.