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Cocaine Take Over
Cocaine is the second most popular illegal substance in the United States and continues to be no matter how severe the damages to people can be. People let drugs take over them, cocaine ruins them not only mentally but also physically. They let this drug ruin their lives only for temporary pleasure and don't realize how much it can hurt them in the long run. Those who do realize how it hurts their future, still let this illegal substance control their lives.
Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of a coca plant and is one of the most used and addictive drugs. Pure cocaine grows from the coca bush Erythroxylon which grows mostly in South America, in Bolivia, and Peru (What is Cocaine?). All over the world, people use this illegal substance keeping in mind the risk they are putting their bodies in, and don't even worry about it.
This widely known drug doesn't come in only one form, but the two most popular would be Hydrochloride Salt and Freebase form, and Crack. Hydrochloride Salt is the powdered form of cocaine. It is a white crystalline substance like shown in movies and shows. People can either snort this through their nose or inject it into their veins as it dissolves into water. Street names for this from of cocaine are blow, coke, flake, C and snow. Freebase cocaine is the type people smoke, it is chosen over Hydrochloride Salt because it takes effect in 10 seconds. Crack cocaine is considered to be the most potent and addictive form. The most famous form of cocaine would be crack. It is processed from powdered to freebase. Cocaine can only be detected in blood or urine only several hours after it's use, meaning if they were to be tested after those hours they would seem drug free.
Cocaine is cons...
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... and anger. Addiction inflicts on its victims and their families every day, millions of people destroy their lives for cocaine only for the temporary pleasure. But most will tell you that until you go through it, or watch a loved one go through it, there is no way to fully view the true effects of cocaine addiction.
Cocaine addiction within a person may also have an impact on society. Drugs like cocaine are diseases in the brain, causing you to act in a way you cannot control. Aggressive and irresponsible behavior is usually what follows the addiction of cocaine. Coke causes people to make bad choices because the drug is controlling their brain. They wouldn't be able to control this, causing them to have destructible behavior. When a person can't take over their brain, more than a few small things can go wrong. Behavioral changes occur with repeated use of cocaine.
Porrino, L.J., Smith, H.R. Nader, M.A., Beveridge, T.J.R. (2007). The effects of cocaine: A shifting target over the course of addiction. Prog Nueropsychopharmocol Biol Psychiatry, 31(8), 1593-1600. (Porrine et al., 2007).
“It is synthesized from the leaves of the coca plant to form a paste. This paste is further synthesized and cut with adulterant substances to make it into street-level cocaine that can be injected, snorted or smoked. To make the paste, there is a process of extracting the cocaine that includes the use of toxic chemicals. There are two main ways that the cocaine paste is made: solvent extraction and acid extraction”.
There are three different stages to addiction, the first being the adaptive stage. In this stage, the user is on top of his/her game. They feel as if they can function better while on the drug and are able to handle larger amounts. This is the person that can smoke crack before they go to work and will probably be more productive then most. “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 continu...
David, A.G (2013). Cocaine use disorder in adults: Epidemiology, pharmacology, clinical manifestations, medical consequences, and diagnosis. ©2014 UpToDate, Inc.
Cocaine originated from South America, from coca leaves. Originally, the coca leaves were chewed by workers to decrease fatigue, improve endurance and have a greater resistance to the cold. This was to benefit the workers so they could work longer hours and be more productive. In 1855 the active ingredient in cocaine was isolated from the leaves, and in 1880 it was used as a local anesthetic (Nunes,2006). It was also used in coca cola. In 1855, coca cola was a soda beverage that contained sixty milligrams of cocaine for every eight ounces of the beverage. The idea behind this was to give people energy and a sense of well being (Nunes, 2006). By the late 1880s Sigmund Freud was using cocaine regularly and was even recommending it to others. This only lasted for less than twenty years, until he started discouraging it to others. Then by 1914 cocaine was banned for medical use and in beverages. This caused the use of cocaine and by the 1930s, the use had drastically decreased. It then became popular for recreational use in the 1980s (Nunes, 2006). It was often used and shown in movies such as Scarface, and is famous for the amount of cocaine that Al Pacino uses in one of the final scenes of the movie. Now it is still used recreationally and used by a ‘party crowd’. Although this is the primary category of people who use cocaine, people of all demographics use cocaine recreationally.
Cocaine is known for being a very addictive drug. Produced from the leaves of a coca plant caused the vast manufacturing of the drug. The process of creating cocaine is a long procedure but there are five key points. The leaves of the coca plant stripped in order to get to the essence of natural properties, soon after the escarpments from the leaves are dried. The dried leaf escarpments are then synthesized to create a paste that will be dissolved in order to condense and multiply the amount of the drug. After this process two very key chemical combinations are added sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate. The product is further dried and turns white thus cocaine is created and sold on the streets of our nation. Cocaine is known as “pure” and the extensive process of making cocaine is time consuming, thus making this form of the drug expensive.
Cocaine is a drug derived from the leaf of the Erytroxylon cocoa bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia. Cocaine also known as coke, C, snow, flake, nose candy, blow, or crack is generally sold on the street as a hydrochloride salt( a water-soluble salt). Cocaine is a fine, white crystalline powder often diluted with similar-looking substances such as talcum powder, sugar, or amphetamines. The powder can be snorted into the nostrils, also may be rubbed onto the mucous linings of the mouth, rectum, or vagina. To experience cocaine's effects quickly, and to heighten their intensity, users sometimes dissolve it in water and injects into a vein. The drug may be smoked in a purified form through a water pipe (freebassing) or in a concentrated form (crack) shaped into pellets or rocks and placed in special smoking gear. Despite today's abuse of the highly addictive drug, cocaine was intended for medical purposes. Pure cocaine was first extracted and identified by the German chemist Albert Niemann in the mid-19thcentury, and was introduced as a tonic/elixir in patent medicines to treat a variety of real or imagined illnesses. Later, it was used as a local anesthetic for eye, ear, and throat surgery and continues today to have limited use in surgery. Cocaine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that heightens alertness and provides intense feelings of pleasure. Because of it's potent euphoric and energizing effects, many people
When most people think of cocaine they mainly think of this drug being very powerful and addicted, and “cocaine is found in all parts of the coca plant, comprising approximately 1% of the weight of the leaves” (Warner, 1993, p.226). Over some years cocaine has become the most abused drug across the nation especially in the 1900s. It was a popular drug at the time almost everyone was using it and with just one time self-administering the drug people were experiencing addiction-like symptoms to this drug.
Pure cocaine is the product of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which is mostly found in South America (NIDA, 2014). In South America the consumption of the coca leaf have been recorded as far back as 3000 B.C. (Warner EA, 1993). The coca leafs only contain about two percent of cocaine and in this form there is few instances of abuse. The rate at which it is absorbed is slow in the digestive system and very little cocaine reaches the bloodstream. When the Spaniards came to the Inca civilization in 1532 the drug allowed the locals to endure a harsh and physically demanding life in the Andes. It was seen as a gift from the god Inti (Inciardi, 2002, pg. 49). Even today those natives of the region chew the coca leaves.
...te an artificial high. Cocaine can cause serious damage to the nervous system, as it eats away chunks of the brain and increases blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature, often for the rest of the addict¡¯s life.
Cocaine (C17H21NO4) comes from the leaf of an Erythroxylon coca bush. It is a drug that effects the central nervous system. It causes feelings of euphoria, pleasure, increased energy and alertness. People under the influence of cocaine often do not feel the need for food or sleep. They also feel energetic and may talk a lot. However, depending on factors such as environment, dosage, and the manner in which the drug is taken, cocaine can have adverse effects such as violent, erratic behavior, dizziness, paranoia, insomnia, convulsions, and heart failure to name a few. Long- term effects of cocaine include, but are not limited to strokes, heart attacks, seizures, loss of memory, and decrease in learning capability (1).
The use of cocaine in the United States has declined over the last twenty years while the use of crack has increased. Many people avoided the use of crack because of the harmful chemicals used in creating the drug. One of the reasons why crack became popular is because of not needing to inject the drug hence less risks of being infected by the AIDS virus. Carroll (2000) states cocaine is the most powerful stimulant of natural origin. Most users snort or inject the drug to enable a quicker “high.” Cocaine use brings on many health problems. Fatal complications occur from regular use, for example, liver damage, seizures, elevated blood pressure causing stroke, heart failure, or heart attack.
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go
2. Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the cocoa plant and is then further processed to produce the common street drug.
The addict becomes dependent on the drug. The addict uses it, despite having full knowledge of its harmful effects on health. It is considered a brain disease because it changes the structure and functioning of the brain.There is an uncontrollable desire or craving to consume the drug. Addicted people often engage in compulsive behavior to obtain the drugs. The addicts find if impossible to control the drug intake. In case of drug abuse, people start taking drugs in larger doses than the recommended doses. The addict is not able to discharge his/her day-to-day responsibilities in an efficient manner. It effects both the physical and mental health of the addict. Very often, addicts witness extreme changes in body weight. Very often, the addict stops socializing.Sometimes, drug addiction is also referred to as drug dependency since the addict develops dependency or addiction for a particular