Cocaine Facts
Cocaine is a powerful and addictive stimulant made from the leaves of the coca plant. It’s recognizable by its street names coke, blow, crack, snow, white lady and horse. It’s a fine white powder with a bitter taste and a notoriously addictive high. A majority of users can be expected to snort cocaine but some people also smoke it or even inject it to get a more potent high. Cocaine itself has been around since it was invented by chemist Albert Neimann in 1860. Three years later a cocktail of red wine and cocaine was combined by French chemist Angelo Mariani, which he named Vin Mariani after himself. The drink eventually evolved into the soft soda Coca-Cola in 1886. Cocaine remained extremely popular and it wasn’t until around this time that people began to realize its negative effects. Soon after, Coca-Cola was altered into a cocaine-free version due to this. Eventually, by the late 1980’s, cocaine turned into the most dangerous and widely used illicit drug in America.
Cocaine Effects
Cocaine is an interesting drug because it can last anywhere from just five minutes all the way to thirty minutes depending on administration. If snorted, the drug can last from fifteen to thirty minutes. Smoking crack cocaine is different because the drugs effects are literally felt immediately after inhaling, hitting the user with a very intense high, yet only lasts about five to ten minutes. Injecting cocaine is taking the drug to the next level of intensity. The way cocaine is injected is by dissolving the drug in water and then inserted it into the bloodstream directly via a needle. In this way, the drug also induces a very intense high, hitting quite immediately, but wearing off pretty fast as well. The more intense the effect, the quicker the person craves more of the drug. No matter which way it is administered though, the general effects from using cocaine are:
– Feeling a strong euphoria
– High energy
– Not needing sleep
– Increased alertness
– Talkativeness
– Fidgety
– Being on a power trip
– Paranoia
– Irritability
– Restlessness
– Anxiety
These aren’t the only effects from using cocaine though. Abusing cocaine can take a dangerous turn, leading the user into a regretful situation they weren’t expecting. Some dangerous effects from using cocaine are:
– Increased heart rate/blood pressure which can cause heart attack
– Stroke
– Seizure
– Violent and aggressive behavior
– Stomach ulcers
– Kidney damage
– Rise in temperature
– Hallucination
– Reduced sexual function
– A severe allergic reaction
– Suicide
– Bizarre/erratic behavior
– Tremors
– Vertigo
– Jaw clenching
– Sudden death
– Coma
Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine addiction is and always has been one of the major drug problems in history. It is widely known for its addictive properties. However, due to the fact that cocaine is continuously glamorized and popularized, people involved in using don’t initially have intentions of getting addicted. In too many cases, the addiction actually starts with a very recreational approach to using. Because tolerance builds fast with the drug, many people who originally planned on just using the drug casually actually end up involved in abusing cocaine heavily and often. Sooner or later, these people become hooked. This drug is highly stigmatized for a reason. It really is a powerfully addictive type of stimulant and many people who dabble with it are ignorant about the hard cold facts on the matter. The estimated statistic is that around two million Americans are cocaine addicts. While the statistics don’t lie, many people get blinded and are misguided by the false rumor that cocaine isn’t actually addictive. A big reason why people become and then stay hooked on cocaine has to with its withdrawal symptoms. It’s difficult to get through these withdrawal symptoms and this can hold someone back who is trying to quit. Some symptoms that occur when the user is withdrawing from cocaine are depression, anxiety, tremors or shakiness, pain, body aches, cravings, chills and not being able to focus.
Who Uses Cocaine?
When cocaine first came into the picture as a highly trendy type of recreational drug, in the 1980’s, it was mostly popular among wealthy business people and entertainers. However, the price of cocaine dropped shortly thereafter, as it became easier to get a hold of and started becoming more widespread in the United States. While it may seem like cocaine is everywhere, you can find a majority of cocaine users dressed to the nines at the bigger city nightclubs. This is where a big portion of the cocaine party scenes reside these days. They are usually regulars hanging out at the hot spots of the urban night life. Part of the reason why this is has to do with how late these places are open and the energy required to dance all night long that the drug can provide. Taking a closer and more specific look into this, it has been found that adults ages 18 to 25 have the highest rate of cocaine use compared to any other age group. Apparently men have a higher rate of using than women. On the surface it might seem like tons of high school kids are involved in using cocaine, but surprisingly this isn’t the case. Government surveys have shown that only 8 percent of high school seniors have tried cocaine (at least one). This reveals a dramatic drop in comparison to the same statistic in 1985, when cocaine use was at its peak. That statistic showed that 17 percent of high school seniors had tried cocaine.
Crack Versus Cocaine
Crack and cocaine are almost the same thing. Crack is just the freebase form of the drug. Sometimes it’s referred to as rock, work, hard, iron, base or other nicknames on the street. Crack is actually more addictive than cocaine because users smoke it which in turn causes them to feel a very intense rush within a minute and a half. It’s pretty much a hardcore version of cocaine. It’s cheaper and hits you faster, where it requires more cocaine than crack to create the same level of high. This makes crack a little bit more dangerous than even cocaine. Legally there are differences, as well. There are higher penalties for the possession and sale of crack. This might seem weird considering they come from the same plant, however it just goes to show how intense crack is.
Cocaine Statistics
Statistics can give a broad and clear picture of the problem regarding this drug in the United States. Here are some statistics involving cocaine use:
– Roughly a staggering 35.9 million people in this country ages 12 or older have tried cocaine (at least one time).
– It is estimated that 2,500 Americans experiment with cocaine for their first time each day.
– Cocaine is the second most used illegal narcotic.
– Cocaine causes more deaths than any other illicit drugs.
– Out of the 2 million Americans which are using cocaine, roughly 700,000 of them use crack.
– A lot of cocaine batches these days are cut with adulterants to increase profits.
– Men are hit with the effects of this drug faster than women.
– Cocaine in combination with alcohol (which is a very common habit with cocaine users) converts into a specific toxic substance (cocaethylene) which is highly dangerous.
– Ten percent of people who start using the drug end up using it heavily.
