What is Cocaine?
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 an 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 “crack” 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 crack users and have witnessed the personal and societal devastation it produces, cocaine addiction is, by far, the most serious.
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.
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 aluminium 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.
• How is cocaine used? • What is Cocaine addiction? How does it happen? • What are the symptoms of Cocaine addiction? • Why would anyone become addicted to Cocaine? • What are the physiological effects of long term cocaine use? • How long after cocaine use can it be detected in the urine? • What are the short term effects of cocaine? • What are the medical complications of cocaine use? • I heard that Alcohol consumption complicates Cocaine’s pathophysiology. Is it true ? • Is there any difference in the effects produced by different routes of cocaine administration? • How does cocaine produce its effects? • What are the symptoms of a cocaine overdose? • What are the symptoms of cocaine withdrawal? • How long does cocaine stay in the body? • What are the physical warning signs of cocaine abuse? • How serious and widespread is cocaine abuse? • What are the so-called Date Rape Drugs and how do they work? • I am taking a prescription medication. Will this particular medication test positiv
