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Cocaine
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Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant, derived from the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca). The drug makes users feel alert, energetic, and can produce feelings of euphoria at high dosages. It has a numbing effect when it comes into contact with skin or other tissue. It has been used medically for many years as a topical anesthetic and was a common additive in early medicines. Today, it has mostly dental applications and is rarely prescribed during minor oral surgery.
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[edit] A Brief History
Traditionally, coca leaves had been chewed for social, mystical, medicinal, and religious purposes by the native population of South America. By chewing on the raw leaves, it produces a mild stimulus similar to the effects of a strong coffee. Native South Americans have been using coca for over 5000 years. Upon the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, cocaine became illegal for ritualistic purposes, while remaining legal for economic and militaristic purposes. Cocaine use was actually encouraged for Peruvian slave miners. By the end of the 16th century, European explorers were returning to their homelands with this new compelling substance.
Erythroxylum, the active ingredient in coca leaves, was first isolated by a chemist named Albert Niemann, in 1860, who named the compound cocaine. It became available almost everywhere, and was used in numerous products such as wines, gum, cigarettes, and soft drinks such as Coca-Cola. The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud glorified the new drug for its medicinal properties, including treating morphine addiction. However, it wasn't long before awareness of the addictive properties of cocaine became better known. By the 1890's, society's disapproval of cocaine was growing.
The first cocaine cartel was formed in Amsterdam, though currently, most cocaine production occurs in the Andean Region of South America. These South American countries, most notably being Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia, have used cocaine as a major source of income since the 1980s. Most of the finished product is exported to the United States and Europe.
[edit] Effects of Cocaine
[edit] How It Works
Cocaine works as a stimulant and mood enhancer by interfering with the recycling of the chemical messengers serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine between brain cells. Since less is recycled, more is available to transmit signals. The local anesthetic effect is caused by the blockage of sodium ion channels in nerve cells that are responsible for transmitting pain and touch signals, making the affected area numb. This same effect on sodium channels can cause the heart to lose its rhythm with higher doses of cocaine.
[edit] Psychological Effects
"Varies with dose and the tolerance of the user. Increases alertness, wakefulness, elevates the mood, mild to high degree of euphoria, increases athletic performance, decreases fatigue, clearer thinking, increases concentration, increases energy, increased irritability, insomnia, restlessness. With high doses may exhibit a pattern of psychosis with confused and disorganized behavior, irritability, fear, paranoia, hallucinations, may become extremely antisocial and aggressive." (Erowid)
[edit] Physical Effects
"Increases heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and sweating. Increases speed of respiration, dilates the pupils, decreased sleep and appetite. Can decrease seizure threshold and is associated with seizures, strokes, and heart attacks in susceptible individuals." (Erowid)
[edit] Withdrawal Symptoms
"Although cocaine does not cause dangerous physical addiction, discontinuing regular use can lead to a wide varieties of (very) unpleasant withdrawal and craving symptoms, including: intense cravings for more cocaine, hunger, irritability, apathy, depression, paranoia, suicidal ideation, loss of sex drive, insomnia or excessive sleep, dizziness, shaking, and/or feeling cold. Although the withdrawal from heavy cocaine use is not as debilitating as the withdrawal from opiates or benzodiazepines, it is still usually quite unpleasant. Often, individuals simply take more cocaine to reduce these effects, leading to a pattern of habituation, dependence, and addiction." (Erowid)
[edit] Overdose Symptoms
"Agitation, hostility, hallucinations, convulsions, high body tempertature (hyperthermia), stroke, heart attack, and possibly death. People with latent congenital heart defects, high blood pressure, or thyroid problems are at higher risk of dangerous reactions and heart failure with the recreational use of cocaine." (Erowid)
[edit] Long-Term Effects
"Heavy, regular use of cocaine is known to cause restlessness, anxiety, hyperexcitability, paranoia, irritability, insomnia, weight loss, and a variety of other less acute psychological symptoms. Insufflation of any substance can lead to damaging the cartiledge and mucosa in the nose, eventually leading to a hole in the septum (the soft structure separating the nostils). If injected, cocaine use can lead to a wide variety of problems including life-threatening infections, shared needle-related blood diseases, etc." (Erowid)
[edit] Illegality
Cocaine use in the United States moved towards becoming illegal in 1914 through the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, which made the use and distribution of cocaine legal only for registered individuals. Though cocaine is not a narcotic, it was treated as a narcotic drug under the Harrison Narcotics Act, and still is today. The importance of this act was to register and tax the people who produce, import, manufacture, sell, or distribute coca. In 1970, cocaine was placed in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, reflecting its limited medical use as a local anesthetic.
[edit] Slang Terms
- blow
- yeah
- lleyo (Spanish- pronouced: "Yay-Yo")
- coke
- nose candy
- toot
- snow
- white girl
- skiing