What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The
powdered, hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be
snorted or dissolved in water and injected. crack is
cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to
make the hydrochloride salt. This form of cocaine
comes in a rock crystal that can be heated and its
vapors smoked. The term "crack" refers to the
crackling sound heard when it is heated.*
Regardless of how cocaine is used or how frequently, a
user can experience acute cardiovascular or
cerebrovascular emergencies, such as a heart attack or
stroke, which could result in sudden death.
Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac
arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest.
Cocaine Health Hazards
Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant
that interferes with the reabsorption process of
dopamine, a chemical messenger associated with
pleasure and movement. The buildup of dopamine causes
continuous stimulation of “receiving” neurons, which
is associated with the euphoria commonly reported by
cocaine abusers.
Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted
blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased
temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. The
duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects,
which include hyperstimulation, reduced fatigue, and
mental clarity, depends on the route of
administration. The faster the
Absorption, the more intense the high. On the
other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the
duration of action. The high from snorting may last 15
to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to
10 minutes. Increased use can reduce the period of
time a user feels high and increases the risk of
addiction.
Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness,
irritability, and anxiety. A tolerance to the "high"
may develop—many addicts report that they seek but
fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from
their first exposure. Some users will increase their
doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects.
While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also
become more sensitive 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, may lead to a state of increasing irritability,
restlessness, and paranoia. This can result in a
period of full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the
user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory
hallucinations.
Other complications associated with cocaine use
include disturbances in hearth rhythm and heart
attacks, chest pain and respiratory failure, strokes,
seizures and headaches, and gastrointestinal
complications such as abdominal pain and nausea.
Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease appetite,
many chronic users can become malnourished.
Different means of taking cocaine can produce
different adverse effects. Regularly snorting cocaine,
for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell,
nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and
a chronically runny nose. Ingesting cocaine can cause
severe bowel gangrene due to reduced blood flow.
People who inject cocaine can experience severe
allergic reactions and, as with any injecting drug
user, are at increased risk for contracting HIV and
other blood-borne diseases.
Added Danger: Cocaethylene
When people mix cocaine and alcohol
consumption, they are compounding the danger each drug
poses and unknowingly forming a complex chemical
experiment within their bodies. NIDA-funded
researchers have found that the human liver combines
cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third
substance, cocaethylene, that intensifies cocaine's
euphoric effects, while potentially increasing the
risk of sudden death.
* Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine
powder through the nose, where it is absorbed into the
bloodstream through the nasal tissues.
Injecting is the use of a needle to release
the drug directly into the bloodstream; any needle use
increases a user’s risk of contracting HIV and other
blood-borne infections. Smoking
involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the
lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is as
rapid as by injection.
Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Photo 1: Jan Roger Johannesen
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