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Cocaine
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Derived from the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca), cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant that produces a euphoric feeling when dosages are high. 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. It was first banned by the Spanish when they arrived, but they found out that the native population worked better with it, so the Catholic Church began cultivating it. It was soon distributed to workers three to four times a day. Within no time, Coca leaves were brought back to Europe by returning conquistadors.
Erythroxylum, the active ingredient in coca leaves, was first isolated by a chemist named Albert Niemann, in 1980, who named the compound cocaine. It became available almost everywhere, and was used in numerous products such as wines and cigarettes. Most notably, it was even incorporated into popular beverages, such as Coca-Cola (though they stopped using cocaine in their formula in 1903 when it was learned that the drug had adverse affects on the brain).
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] 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. Though cocaine is not a narcotic, it was specifically addressed in Section 6 of the act. The importance of this act was to register and tax the people who produce, import, manufacture, sell, or distribute coca. It was finally made illegal in 1970, due to the Controlled Substances Act, where it was classified as a Schedule II drug.
[edit] Slang Terms
- blow
- yeah
- lleyo (Spanish- pronouced: "Yay-Yo")
- coke
- nose candy
- toot
- snow
- white girl
- skiing