Facts About CocaineFacts about Cocaine Over six million people in the USA chose to purchase and use the illegal drug cocaine. The drug can be sniffed, snorted, injected or smoked, but no matter how it is taken, either in powder form or crack cocaine in a pipe, cocaine is popular because it produces an intense euphoric feeling.
They feel energized, but little do users know how powerfully addictive this drug is, nor do they understand or even comprehend its negative side effects. Here are 20 important facts about cocaine. Facts about Cocaine 1. Coca is the bush that grows in the Andes Mountains of South America, but is also found in other South American countries 2. Cocaine is the active chemical in the coca plant 3. People living in the Andes used coca leaves for energy and endurance. They also made the psychoactive effects stronger by adding calcified lime to raise the alkalinity inside the mouth. This increases the extraction of the cocaine from the leaf and allows the drug to be absorbed into the blood supplying the mouth. 4. Cocaine has a medical use as a topical anesthetic 5. It takes 500 kilos of coca leaves to produce one kilo of cocaine 6. Other names for cocaine include, but are not limited to coke, snow, lady, flake, gold dust, freebase and crack. 7. There are a couple forms of cocaine that are most common, cocaine hydrochloride (powder) and “freebase.” The powder can be mixed with water and injected, or snorted through the nose. Most commonly, cocaine on the street is a white powder, diluted by street dealers with talcum powder, mixed with sugar, cornstarch and oftentimes with other stimulants. 8. The term “crack” comes from the street and refers to the cracking sound the drug makes when it is smoked. Crack cocaine is made by combining the powder form of the drug with ammonia or baking soda and water, then heating the mixture to remove the hydrochloride. The drug produces an almost immediate high, usually within 10 seconds. It became popular in the 1980’s for its quick effect and because it’s relatively inexpensive. The combinations of these two factors have made crack a huge problem, as users number close to 600,000. 9. Cocaine is highly addictive and one of the most rapidly addictive drugs used. It has been smuggled into the United States by criminal enterprises for over 100 years.. 10. As a person becomes addicted more of the drug is needed more often to achieve the same results. But even first time users can become addicted, because the drug is that powerful. The craving for the drug can come after the first hit of a crack pipe, or the first snort. More Facts about Cocaine11. Users who chose to snort the drug, often develop nasal congestion and damage the mucous membrane of the nose and have bleeding cartilage. 12. While there are fewer serious withdrawal symptoms, users who are denied the drug might get depressed, or experience insomnia. Cocaine users may also become violent. 13. Use of cocaine causes blood vessels to constrict, leading to an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and heart attacks are common. Cocaine can lead to irregular heart beat, lung disease and irreversible brain damage. 14. Users can experience depression, insomnia, paranoia, restlessness, and crying spells. Addicts have had cravings for the drug for a month or more. 15. Body temperature and blood sugar rise. Respiratory failure, strokes and seizures are also possibilities. In rare cases, first time users have been known to die from the effects of the drug. Cocaine drug addiction also contributes to dramatic changes in behavior, as some users are known to display bizarre actions, or become violent. 16. Cocaine users have been known to contract HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Blurred vision is a common side effect. Women users are susceptible to miscarriage, or if they carry to term, serious birth defects often occur. 17. When cocaine and alcohol are used together, another dangerous physical situation occurs. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse research: the liver combines cocaine and alcohol, producing a new substance, cocaethylene, which intensifies the high, but at the same time increases the risk of sudden death. 18. According to a 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), some 35.3 million Americans (14.3%) age 12 and older have tried cocaine at least once. 19. The most likely age group to use cocaine is adults 18-25, and use among men is slightly higher than women. Five years ago, the estimated number of cocaine-dependent users was 1.5 million. That 2006 study showed that approximately 6.1 million people used cocaine in the previous 12 months and that 2.4 million had used during the last month. 20. Finally, women who are carrying babies are discouraged from using cocaine, because of the risk for spontaneous abortion and a torn placenta. More obvious are the other risks of side effects described above.
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