Cocaine
Cocaine
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Cocaine is a stimulant drug which means that it speeds up the messages travelling between the brain and the rest of the body. Cocaine comes from the leaves of the coca bush (Erythroxylum coca), which is native to South America.
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Cocaine Variants
The leaf extract is processed to produce 3 different forms of cocaine.
Cocaine hydrochloride:a white, crystalline powder with a bitter, numbing taste. Cocaine hydrochloride is often mixed, or ‘cut’, with other substances such as lactose and glucose, to dilute it before being sold.
Freebase: a white powder that is more pure with less impurity than cocaine hydrochloride.
Crack: crystals ranging in color from white or cream to transparent with a pink or yellow hue, it may contain impurities.
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Common names & How is it used?
C
Coke
Nose Candy
Snow
Charlie
Blow
White
Flake
Cocaine hydrochloride is most commonly snorted. It can also be injected, rubbed into the gums, added to drinks or food. Freebase and crack cocaine are usually smoked. Indigenous people of South America have traditionally chewed the leaves of the coca bush, or brewed them as a tea, for use as a stimulant or appetite suppressant.
Side Effects of Cocaine
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There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries risk.
Cocaine affects everyone differently, based on:
• Size, weight and health
• Whether the person is used to taking it
• Whether other drugs are taken around the same time
• The amount taken -
The strength of the drug varies from batch to batch. You may experience:
Happiness and confidence
Talking more
Feeling energetic and alert
Quiet contemplation and rapture
Feeling physically strong and mentally sharp
Reduced appetite
Dry mouth
Enlarged (dilated) pupils
Higher blood pressure and faster heartbeat and breathing (after initial slowing)
Higher body temperature
Unpredictable, violent or aggressive behavior
Indifference to pain / Increased sex drive
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Long-term effects:
Regular use of cocaine may eventually cause:
Insomnia and exhaustion
Depression
Anxiety, paranoia and psychosis
Sexual dysfunction
Hypertension and irregular heartbeat
Heart disease and death
Snorting cocaine regularly can also cause:
Runny nose and nose bleeds
Nose infection
A hole in the tissue separating the nostrils
Long term damage to the nasal cavity and sinuses
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High doses and frequent heavy use can also cause ‘cocaine psychosis’, characterised by paranoid delusions, hallucinations and out of character aggressive behavior. These symptoms usually disappear a few days after the person stops using cocaine.
Injecting cocaine and sharing needles may also cause:
Increased likelihood of overdose
Tetanus
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
HIV/AIDS
But Coke will sober me up
It’s a myth that cocaine sobers you up. Your brain is still switching off from the effects of the alcohol, but your physiology is being pumped because cocaine is a sympathomimetic. It stimulates that fight or flight response. In evolutionary terms, if a lion comes towards you, your body pumps itself up and gets ready to fight or run away. That’s what the cocaine is doing!
Cocaine Overdose
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If you take a large amount, you could overdose. If you have any of the symptoms below, call an ambulance straight away by dialing 999 or 112:
Nausea and vomiting
Extreme anxiety
Chest pain
Panic
Extreme agitation and paranoia
Hallucinations
Tremors
Breathing irregularities
Kidney failure
Seizures
Stroke
Heart problems
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Coming Down
In the days after cocaine use, you may feel:
Tension and anxiety
Depression
Mood swings
Total exhaustion
Mixing Cocaine with other drugs
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Cocaine + Alcohol
Increases heart rate and blood pressure, which further heightens the risk of a heart attack.
Cocaine and alcohol also react within the liver to form a chemical known as Cocaethylene, which has toxic effects on the heart, liver and other organs. This can happen even if cocaine and alcohol are used separately on consecutive days.
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Cocaine + Heroin
Sometimes known as a “Speedball”
Heroin and cocaine have opposing effects on the central nervous system –heroin depresses it and cocaine stimulates it. Both heroin and cocaine can cause breathing difficulties and the use of them together can adversely affect a person’s heart rate.
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Cocaine + MDMA
Increases heart rate and body temperature.
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Cocaine + Antidepressants
Increases the risk of “serotonin syndrome” — a condition when the brain is overloaded with serotonin. This can lead to excessive sweating, tremors, increased heartbeat and could also lead to seizures, shaking and shivering and death.
The effects of taking Cocaine with other drugs including over-the-counter or prescribed medications can be unpredictable and dangerous.
