Cocaine addiction is one of
society's greatest problems today. Individuals addicted to cocaine will do
almost anything to get the drug. It has penetrated all levels of our society
infecting the rich, poor, and everyone in between. Family members connected to
individuals with a cocaine addiction live in chaos and confusion because they do
not understand the underlying mechanics of cocaine addiction.
Q) What is Cocaine?
A) Cocaine, the most potent
stimulant of natural origin, is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon
coca), which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. It is a
potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine
is produced as a white chunky powder. It is sold most often in aluminum foil,
plastic or paper packets, or small vials. Cocaine is usually chopped into a fine
powder with a razor blade on a small mirror or some other hard surface, arranged
into small rows called "lines," then quickly inhaled (or "snorted") through the
nose with a short straw or rolled up paper money. It can also be injected into
the blood stream.
Q) What are the slang terms
commonly associated with cocaine?
A) Street drug language changes all of the time, so as soon as a list is
published it’s somewhat out of date. The slang used for cocaine in your area may
include some of these terms and/or some totally new terms. Big C, Big Flake,
Blow, Bump, C, Caine, Candy, Charlie, Coca, Coke, Do a Line, Dust, Nose Candy,
Powder, Snort, Sniff, Soda, Speedball, and Yeyo (Spanish).
Q) How Does Cocaine Produce Its
Affects?
A) A great amount of
research has been devoted to understanding the way cocaine produces its
pleasurable effects, and the reasons it is so addictive. One mechanism is
through its effects on structures deep in the brain.
Scientists have discovered regions within the brain that,
when stimulated, produce feelings of pleasure. One neural system that appears to
be most affected by cocaine originates in a region, located deep within the
brain, called the ventral tegmental area (VTA).
Nerve cells originating in the VTA extend to the region of
the brain known as the nucleus accumbens, one of the brain's key pleasure
centers. In studies using animals, for example, all types of pleasurable
stimuli, such as food, water, sex, and many drugs of abuse, cause increased
activity in the nucleus accumbens.
Researchers have discovered that, when a pleasurable event
is occurring, it is accompanied by a large increase in the amounts of dopamine
released in the nucleus accumbens by neurons originating in the VTA.
In the normal communication process, dopamine is released
by a neuron into the synapse (the small gap between two neurons), where it binds
with specialized proteins (called dopamine receptors) on the neighboring neuron,
thereby sending a signal to that neuron.
Drugs of abuse are able to interfere with this normal
communication process. For example, scientists have discovered that cocaine
blocks the removal of dopamine from the synapse, resulting in an accumulation of
dopamine. This buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of receiving
neurons, probably resulting in the euphoria commonly reported by cocaine
abusers. As cocaine abuse continues, tolerance often develops. This means that
higher doses and more frequent use of cocaine are required for the brain to
register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use.
Recent studies have shown that, during periods of
abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine
use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous
craving and relapse to drug use, even after long periods of abstinence.
Q) How much does Cocaine cost?
A) Cocaine prices depend upon the
purity of the product. In 2001, cocaine purity declined by 8 percent, from 86
percent pure in 1998 to a 78 percent pure in 2001. The decrease in purity
indicates a decrease in the supply of cocaine in the United States. Cocaine
remained low and stable, which suggests a steady supply to the United States.
Nationwide, prices ranged from $12,000 to $35,000 per kilogram.
Q) How does Cocaine get to the
United States?
A) The U.S./Mexico border is the
primary point of entry for cocaine shipments being smuggled into the United
States. According to a recent interagency intelligence assessment, approximately
65 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States crosses the Southwest
border. Cocaine is readily available in nearly all major cities in the United
States. Organized crime groups operating in Colombia control the worldwide
supply of cocaine. These organizations use a sophisticated infrastructure to
move cocaine by land, sea, and air into the United States. In the United States,
these Colombia-based groups operate cocaine distribution and drug money
laundering networks comprising a vast infrastructure of multiple cells,
functioning in many major metropolitan areas. Each cell performs a specific
function within the organization, e.g., transportation, local distribution, or
money movement. Key managers in Colombia continue to oversee the overall
operation.
Over the past decade, the
Colombia-based drug groups have allowed Mexico-based trafficking organizations
to play an increasing role in the U.S. cocaine trade. Throughout most of the
1980s, the criminals in Colombia used the drug smugglers in Mexico to transport
cocaine shipments across the Southwest border into the United States. After
successfully smuggling the drugs across the border, the Mexican transporters
transferred the drugs to the Colombian groups operating inside the United
States. However, the seizure of nearly 21 metric tons of cocaine in 1989 led to
a new arrangement between transportation organizations operating from Mexico and
the organized crime groups operating from Colombia. This new arrangement
radically changed the role and sphere of influence of the Mexico-based
trafficking organizations in the U.S. cocaine trade. By the mid-1990s,
Mexico-based transportation groups were receiving up to half the cocaine
shipment they smuggled for the Colombia-based groups in exchange for their
services. Both sides realized that this strategy eliminated the vulnerabilities
and complex logistics associated with large cash transactions. The
Colombia-based groups also realized that relinquishing part of each cocaine
shipment to their associates operating from Mexico ceded a share of the
wholesale cocaine market in the United States.
Today, traffickers operating from
Colombia continue to control wholesale-level cocaine distribution throughout the
heavily populated northeastern United States and along the eastern seaboard in
cities such as Boston, Miami, Newark, New York, and Philadelphia. There are
indications, however, that other drug trafficking organizations are playing a
larger role in the distribution of cocaine in conjunction with the Colombian
organizations. Dominican drug trafficking organizations have traditionally been
responsible for the street-level distribution of cocaine. The DEA Philadelphia
Field Division reports that the primary sources of supply for cocaine in the
city are Colombian and Dominican organizations, which are capable of moving
multi kilogram quantities. The DEA Boston Field Division reports that Dominican
traffickers are expanding their roles in cocaine distribution, and have been
instrumental in obtaining multi kilogram quantities of cocaine for distribution
in New England. In New York City, Colombian, Dominican, and Mexican drug
trafficking organizations distribute multi kilogram quantities of cocaine.
Furthermore, Mexican drug trafficking organizations are increasingly responsible
for the transportation of cocaine from the Southwest border to the New York
market.
Traffickers operating from Mexico
now control wholesale cocaine distribution throughout the western and midwestern
United States. The distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine, once
dominated by the Colombia-based drug groups, is now controlled by Mexico-based
trafficking groups in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. In the early 1990s,
when the organized crime groups from Mexico were expanding their roles as
cocaine transporters and wholesale-level distributors, most of their U.S.-based
command and control operations were in southern California. Today, Chicago is
also a key command and control center for their cocaine operations. Currently,
these traffickers control cocaine shipments from the time they are smuggled
across the border until they are distributed to markets across the country.
The role of Mexico-based
trafficking organizations is continuing to evolve. Recent reports suggest that
some major international criminals in Colombia are continuing to distance
themselves from day-to-day wholesale-level cocaine distribution in the United
States by turning this task over, at least occasionally, to the organizations
operating from Mexico. Likely motivations for this change include the
non-retroactive extradition law enacted by the Colombian National Assembly in
December 1997. Accordingly, Colombian traffickers now face the prospect of
extradition for overt acts committed on or after the date (December 17, 1997)
that the extradition amendment went into effect. By distancing themselves from
overt acts in the United States, Colombian drug lords hope to minimize the
threat that the United States will gather sufficient evidence to support an
extradition request. This shift does not mean to suggest that traffickers
operating from Colombia will abandon the U.S. cocaine market in mass. Emerging
drug lords—who do not face the difficulties in micro-managing operations as do
the jailed Cali criminal leaders—have little reason to forego the profits
generated by the wholesale U.S. cocaine market.
Colombian drug trafficking
organizations have increasingly relied upon the eastern Pacific Ocean as a
trafficking route to move cocaine to the United States. Law enforcement and
sources in the intelligence community estimate that 65 percent of the cocaine
shipped to the United States moves through the Central America-Mexico corridor,
primarily by vessels operating in the eastern Pacific. Colombian traffickers
utilize fishing vessels to transport bulk shipments of cocaine from Colombia to
the west coast of Mexico and, to a lesser extent, the Yucatan Peninsula. The
cocaine is off-loaded to go-fast vessels for the final shipment to the Mexican
coast. The loads are subsequently broken down into smaller quantities to be
moved across the Southwest border.
Cocaine continues to be
transported through the Caribbean; Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and
Haiti are the predominant transshipment points for Colombian cocaine transiting
the Caribbean. Because of lawlessness and deteriorating economic conditions,
Haiti is becoming a growing transshipment point for Colombian cocaine destined
for eastern U.S. markets. Haitian drug traffickers, utilizing maritime shipments
to transport cocaine to South Florida, are becoming a major threat. Law
enforcement reporting indicates that Jamaica is an increasingly significant
transshipment point for cocaine destined for the United States since it is
located midway between South America and the United States. Cocaine is primarily
smuggled into Jamaica by maritime methods, and the cocaine transshipped through
Jamaica often is destined for the Canadian, European, and U.S. markets. Cocaine
destined for the United States is usually smuggled from Jamaica to the Bahamas
aboard go-fast boats. The cocaine is subsequently smuggled to the Florida coast
using go-fast boats, pleasure craft, and fishing vessels.
Q) How is cocaine used?
A) There are four primary methods
of ingesting cocaine. These are:
1. "Snorting" - absorbing cocaine
through the mucous membranes of the nose.
2. Injecting - users mix cocaine
powder with water and use a syringe to inject the solution intravenously.
3. Freebasing - Cocaine
hydrochloride is converted to a "freebase" which can then be smoked.
4. Crack Cocaine - Cocaine
hydrochloride is mixed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and
other ingredients, causing it to solidify into pellets or "rocks". The crack is
then smoked in glass pipes.
Q) What are the symptoms of
Cocaine use?
Q) What Paraphernalia is Commonly
Associated with Cocaine?
A) Paraphernalia associated with
inhaling cocaine includes mirrors, razor blades, straws, and rolled paper money.
Paraphernalia associated with injecting the drug include syringes, needles, and
spoons, along with belts, bandanas, or surgical tubing used to constrict the
veins. Scales are used by dealers to weigh the drug. Sometimes substances such
as baking soda or mannitol are used to "cut" cocaine in order to dilute the drug
and increase the quantity of the drug for sale.
Q) What is Cocaine addiction?
A) Cocaine addiction can occur
very quickly and can be very difficult to break. Animal studies have shown that
animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single
injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even
when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine
limited in order to prevent taking toxic or even lethal doses.
Researchers have found that
cocaine stimulates the brain's reward system inducing an even greater feeling of
pleasure than natural functions. In turn, its influence on the reward circuit
can lead a user to bypass survival activities and repeat drug use. Chronic
cocaine use can lead to a cocaine addiction and in some cases damage the brain
and other organs. An addict will continue to use cocaine even when faced with
adverse consequences. Dependency can develop in less than 2 weeks. Some research
indicates that a psychological dependency may develop after a single dose of
high-potency cocaine. As the person develops a tolerance to cocaine, higher and
higher doses are needed to produce the same level of euphoria.
Q) How does Cocaine effect the
brain?
A) Through the use of
sophisticated technology, scientists can actually see the dynamic changes that
occur in the brain as an individual takes cocaine. They can observe the
different brain changes that occur as a person experiences the "rush," the
"high," and finally the craving of cocaine. They can also identify parts of the
brain that become active when a cocaine addict sees or hears environmental
stimuli that trigger the craving for cocaine.
Researchers know that certain
kinds of experiences, such as those involved in learning, can physically change
brain structure and affect behavior. Now, new research in rats shows that
exposure to stimulant drugs such as cocaine can impair the ability of specific
brain cells to change as a consequence of experience.
“The ability of experiences to
alter brain structure is thought to be one of the primary mechanisms by which
the past can influence behavior and cognition,” says NIDA Director Dr. Nora D.
Volkow. “However, when these alterations in brain structure are produced by
drugs of abuse, they may lead to the development of compulsive patterns of
drug-seeking behaviors that are the hallmark of addiction.”
The researchers conducted a
series of experiments to examine how drugs of abuse and experience might
interact to produce changes in brain structure. To accomplish this, they
administered amphetamine, cocaine, or saline repeatedly for 20 days to
individually housed rats. This pattern of drug administration was previously
shown by these investigators to produce both behavioral changes in response to
the drugs and structural changes in several brain regions. However, in the
current study, the researchers went one step further. After the 20-day drug
exposure, the rats were housed in a new environment for
3 to 3.5 months. Half of the drug- and saline-injected
animals were placed in standard laboratory cages; the other animals in each
group were housed in a complex environment. The environment contained a variety
of stimuli: multiple levels with ramps, bridges, a climbing chain, tunnels, and
toys that were rearranged once a week to encourage continued exploration of the
environment. At the end of 3 or 3.5
months, the rats’ brains were analyzed for changes in dendritic branching and
spine density. Specifically, the researchers examined the spiny neurons in the
nucleus accumbens and the pyramidal cells in the parietal cortex. These areas
were shown in previous studies to be altered by experience and/or drugs of
abuse. The nucleus accumbens is involved in motivation and reward, and the
parietal cortex is important for sensory-motor function.
Remarkably, animals that had been
given amphetamine and then placed in the complex environment did not show the
same environmental-induced structural changes in the nucleus acccumbens and
parietal cortex as did saline-treated animals in the complex environment. The
results for those animals treated with cocaine were similar, in that prior
treatment with cocaine blocked the environment-induced changes in the medium
spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens (the only region examined).
“The findings from this study
indicate that at least some of the cognitive and behavioral advantages that
accrue with experience may be diminished by prior exposure to psychostimulant
drugs,” says Dr. Kolb. “This impairment of the ability of specific brain
circuits to change in response to experiences may help explain some of the
behavioral and cognitive deficits seen in people who are addicted to drugs. More
research is warranted to determine whether certain experiences, such as exposure
to complex or rewarding environments, can alter the ability of drugs to induce
structural changes in the brain. If exposure to psychostimulant drugs can alter
the effects of subsequent experience, experience may be able to influence the
later effects of drugs. It may even be possible for certain experiences to
counteract the effects of psychostimulant drugs.”
Q) What are the
symptoms of Cocaine addiction?
Q) Why would anyone become
addicted to Cocaine?
A) The effects of cocaine are
immediate, extremely pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine produce intense but
short-lived euphoria and can make users feel more energetic. Like caffeine,
cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects include
feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with
anxiety and restlessness. As the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of
mastery are replaced by an intense depression. The drug abuser will then
"crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days.
Q) How widespread is cocaine
addiction?
A)
·
In 1997, there were
approximately 1.5 million regular cocaine abusers.
·
1-tenth of the
population - over 22 million people have tried cocaine.
·
Each day 5,000 more
people will experiment with cocaine.
·
Cocaine is a $35
billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia's #1 export, coffee.
·
1 in 10
workers say they know someone who uses cocaine on the job.
·
The annual number
of new cocaine users has generally increased over time. In 1975, there were
30,000 new users. The number increased from 300,000 in 1986 to 361,000 in 2000.
·
The average age of
cocaine initiates rose from 17.2 years in 1967 to 23.8 years in 1991 and
subsequently declined to approximately 20 years from 1997 to 2000.
·
Cocaine addiction
was responsible for 14 % of the 1.6 million admissions in 1999 to publicly
funded drug addiction facilities.
In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million
Americans (0.7 percent of those age 12 and older) were current cocaine users,
according to the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). This
number has not changed significantly since 1992, although it is a dramatic
decrease from the 1985 peak of 5.7 million cocaine users(3 percent of the
population). Based upon additional data sources that take into account users
underrepresented in the NHSDA, the Office of National Drug Control Policy
estimates the number of chronic cocaine users at 3.6 million.
Adults 18 to 25 years old have a
higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other age group. Overall,
men have a higher rate of current cocaine use than do women. Also, according to
the 1997 NHSDA, rates of current cocaine use were 1.4 percent for African
Americans, 0.8 percent for Hispanics, and 0.6 percent for Caucasians.
Cocaine remains a serious problem
in the United States. The NHSDA estimated the number of current cocaine users to
be about 604,000 in 1997, which does not reflect any significant change since
1988.
The 1998 Monitoring the Future
Survey, which annually surveys teen attitudes and recent drug use, reported that
lifetime and past-year use of cocaine increased among eighth graders to its
highest levels since 1991, the first year data was available for this grade. The
percentage of eighth graders reporting cocaine use at least once in their lives
increased from 2.7 percent in 1997 to 3.2 percent in 1998. Past-year use of
cocaine also rose slightly among this group, although no changes were found for
other grades.
Data from the Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN) showed that cocaine-related emergency room visits, after
increasing 78 percent between 1990 and 1994, remained level between 1994 and
1996, with 152,433 cocaine-related episodes reported in 1996.
Q) How does cocaine produce its
effects?
A) A great amount of research has
been devoted to understanding the way cocaine produces its pleasurable effects,
and the reasons it is so addictive. One mechanism is through its effects on
structures deep in the brain. Scientists have discovered regions within the
brain that, when stimulated, produce feelings of pleasure. One neural system
that appears to be most affected by cocaine originates in a region, located deep
within the brain, called the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nerve cells
originating in the VTA extend to the region of the brain known as the nucleus
accumbens, one of the brain's key pleasure centers. In studies using animals,
all types of pleasurable stimuli, such as food, water, sex, and many drugs of
abuse, cause increased activity in the nucleus accumbens.
Cocaine in the brain - In the
normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse,
where it can bind with dopamine receptors on neighboring neurons. Normally
dopamine is then recycled back into the transmitting neuron by a specialized
protein called the dopamine transporter. If cocaine is present, it attaches to
the dopamine transporter and blocks the normal recycling process, resulting in a
build-up of dopamine in the synapse which contributes to the pleasurable effects
of cocaine.
Researchers have discovered that,
when a pleasurable event is occurring, it is accompanied by a large increase in
the amounts of dopamine released in the nucleus accumbens by neurons originating
in the VTA. In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a
neuron into the synapse (the small gap between two neurons), where it binds with
specialized proteins (called dopamine receptors) on the neighboring neuron,
thereby sending a signal to that neuron. Drugs of abuse are able to interfere
with this normal communication process. For example, scientists have discovered
that cocaine blocks the removal of dopamine from the synapse, resulting in an
accumulation of dopamine. This buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation
of receiving neurons, probably resulting in the euphoria commonly reported by
cocaine abusers.
As cocaine abuse continues,
tolerance often develops. This means that higher doses and more frequent use of
cocaine are required for the brain to register the same level of pleasure
experienced during initial use. Recent studies have shown that during periods of
abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine
use or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous
craving and relapse to drug use even after long periods of abstinence.
Q) What are the physical effects
of cocaine addiction?
A) With the accumulating medical
evidence of cocaine's deleterious effects and the introduction and widespread
use of cocaine, the public and government have become alarmed again about its
growing use. To many Americans, especially health care and social workers who
deal with cocaine users and have witnessed the personal and societal devastation
it produces, cocaine addiction is by far the most serious drug problem in the
United States.
Cocaine use increases the risk of
sudden heart attack and may also trigger stroke, even in users who otherwise are
not at high risk for these sometimes fatal cardiovascular events. The risk is
related to narrowing of blood vessels and increases in blood pressure and heart
rate. Recently, NIDA-supported researchers at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Research Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, have identified
changes in blood components that may also play a role in cocaine-related heart
attack and stroke.
The physical effects of cocaine
addiction include but are not limited to:
·
Changes in blood
pressure, heart rates, and breathing rates
·
Nausea
·
Vomiting
·
Anxiety
·
Convulsions
·
Insomnia
·
Loss of appetite
leading to malnutrition and weight loss
·
Cold sweats
·
Swelling and
bleeding of mucous membranes
·
Restlessness and
anxiety
·
Damage to nasal
cavities
·
Damage to lungs
·
Possible heart
attacks, strokes, or convulsions
HEALTH EFFECTS
Even though the public is often
regaled with highly publicized accounts of deaths from cocaine, many still
mistakenly believe the drug to be non-addictive and not as harmful as other
illicit drugs. Cocaine's immediate physical effects include raised breathing
rate, raised blood pressure and body temperature, and dilated pupils.
By causing the coronary arteries
to constrict, blood pressure rises and the blood supply to the heart diminishes.
This can cause heart attacks or convulsions within an hour after use. Chronic
users and those with hypertension, epilepsy, and cardiovascular disease are at
particular risk. Studies show that even those with no previous heart problems,
risk cardiac complications from cocaine. Increased use may sensitize the brain
to the drug's effects so that less of the substance is needed to induce a
seizure. Those who inject the drug are at high risk for AIDS and hepatitis when
they share needles. Allergic reactions to cocaine or other substances mixed in
with the drug may also occur.
Q) What are the short term
effects of Cocaine?
A) Cocaine's effects appear
almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or
hours. Taken in small amounts (25 to 150 mg), cocaine usually makes the user
feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the
sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need
for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple
physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the
opposite effect.
The short-term effects of cocaine
include but are not limited to:
·
Increased energy
·
Decreased appetite
·
Mental alertness
·
Increased heart
rate
·
Increased blood
pressure
·
Constricted blood
vessels
·
Increased
temperature
·
Dilated pupils
·
A feeling of
euphoria
·
Excitement
·
A feeling of
strength and power
The duration of cocaine's
immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster
the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the
shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in
onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last
5 to 10
minutes
The short-term physiological
effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and
increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several
hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to
bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. These users may experience tremors,
vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction
closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings
of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can
occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related
deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory
arrest.
Various doses of cocaine can also
produce other neurological and behavioral effects such as:
·
dizziness
·
headache
·
movement problems
·
anxiety
·
insomnia
·
depression
·
hallucinations
Q) What are the long term effects
of cocaine?
A) Cocaine is a powerfully
addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty
predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the
drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a
result of its ability to inhibit the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve cells.
Dopamine is released as part of the brain's reward system, and is either
directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug
of abuse.
The long-term effects of cocaine
include but are not limited to:
·
Irritability
·
Mood disturbances
·
Restlessness
·
Paranoia
·
Auditory
hallucinations
·
Addiction
An appreciable tolerance to
cocaine's high may develop, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail
to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users
will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric
effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more
sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant effects,
without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some
deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.
Use of cocaine in a binge, during
which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a
state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in
a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with
reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.
Q) What are the medical
complications of cocaine use?
A) There are enormous medical
complications associated with cocaine use.
Medical consequences of cocaine abuse:
Cardiovascular effects
·
disturbances in
heart rhythm
·
heart attacks
Respiratory effects
·
chest pain
·
respiratory failure
Neurological effects
·
strokes
·
seizures
·
headaches
Gastrointestinal effects
·
abdominal pain
·
nausea
Cocaine use has been linked to
many types of heart disease. Cocaine has been found to trigger chaotic heart
rhythms, called ventricular fibrillation; accelerate heartbeat and breathing;
and increase blood pressure and body temperature. Physical symptoms may include
chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma.
Different routes of cocaine
administration can produce different adverse effects. Regularly snorting
cocaine, for example, can lead to; loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems
with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum. This
can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause
severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow.Persons who inject cocaine have
puncture marks and "tracks," most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous
cocaine users may also experience an allergic reaction, either to the drug or to
some additive in street cocaine, which in some cases can result in death.
Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease food intake, many chronic cocaine
users lose their appetites and can experience significant weight loss and
malnourishment.
Research has revealed a
potentially dangerous interaction between cocaine and alcohol. Taken in
combination, the two drugs are converted by the body to cocaethylene.
Cocaethylene has a longer duration of action in the brain and is more toxic than
either drug alone. While more research needs to be done, it is noteworthy that
the mixture of cocaine and alcohol is the most common two-drug combination that
results in drug-related death.
Q) What are the symptoms of
cocaine withdrawal?
A) Regular use of cocaine can
lead to strong psychological dependence (addiction). Those who abruptly stop
their cocaine use can experience cocaine addiction withdrawal symptoms as they
readjust to functioning without the drug. The length of cocaine addiction
withdrawal varies from person to person and also depends on the amount and
frequency of use.
Cocaine addiction withdrawal
symptoms include but are not limited to:
·
agitation
·
depression
·
intense craving for
the drug
·
extreme fatigue
·
anxiety
·
angry outbursts
·
lack of motivation
·
nausea/vomiting
·
shaking
·
irritability
·
muscle pain
·
disturbed sleep
Q) What are the symptoms of a
cocaine overdose?
A) The symptoms of a cocaine
overdose are intense and generally short in nature. Although fairly uncommon,
people do die from cocaine overdose. The exact amount of cocaine that causes an
overdose varies from person to person and is dependent on a variety of factors
including weight, metabolism, health etc. Cocaine is often "cut" with various
adulterants. This increases the risk of overdose, since the purity of cocaine is
difficult to determine. An overdose from cocaine can cause a serious increase in
blood pressure, which can cause bleeding in the brain leading to a higher
possibility of a stroke. A cocaine overdose can cause heart and respiratory
problems resulting in death.
Symptoms of cocaine overdose may
include some or all of the following:
·
Dangerous or fatal
rise in body temperature
·
Seizures
·
Heart attack
·
Brain hemorrhage
·
Kidney failure
·
Stroke
·
Repeated
convulsions
·
Tremors
·
Delirium
·
Death
Q) What is the History of
Cocaine?
A) Cocaine is derived from the
leaves of the coca bush, which grows in South America. Cocaine has been used for
centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air.
In the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others. Until 1906,
this substance was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and was also used as a
anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts against
cocaine in the early 1900s. The danger associated with cocaine was ignored in
the 1970s and early 1980s, and cocaine was proclaimed by many to be safe. With
the accumulating medical evidence of cocaine's deleterious effects and the
introduction and widespread use of cocaine, the public and government have
become alarmed again about its growing use.
