cocaine

What is Cocaine?

cocaine picCocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin. It is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant which grows on the mountain slopes of the Andes Mountains of South America. Illegal cocaine is usually distributed as a white crystalline powder or as an off-white chunky material. Cocaine base is converted into the powder form, which is usually cocaine hydrochloride, by diluting it with other substances. The substances most commonly used in this process are sugars, such as lactose and mannitol, and local anesthetics, such as lidocaine –yes, like the dentist uses, but in powder form. This mixing of cocaine increases its volume and then multiplies profits for drug dealers.

Cocaine Use

Cocaine is snorted, injected, and smoked (freebase and crack cocaine). Snorting is inhaling cocaine powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine smoke into the lungs, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream as quickly as when it is injected!

A Short History of Cocaine

coca plant, leaves and beansNative cultures have used coca leaves in chewed and brewed forms for thousands of years for social and religious occasions. In 1860, cocaine was isolated from all the other chemicals in the coca leaf, and a pure form of cocaine was extracted. The drug readily dissolves in water, allowing users to dissolve it directly into soft drinks. Injecting cocaine results in an intense rush in fifteen to thirty seconds, while drinking it results in a milder, yet longer lasting, stimulation thirty to forty-five minutes after ingestion. Both these methods of using cocaine popularized the drug in the United States in the early 1900s.

It was not uncommon to mix your cocaine with a soft drink. No one knew how dangerous it was then. Cocaine was used in wines and soft drinks such as Coca Cola. Cocaine was widely used until it was outlawed by the Harrison Act in 1914 during the temperance movement. ²One of the reasons why it was used in soft drinks? So people drinking to soda would become addicted to it and therefore buy more. (Hmm… maybe why they use caffeine in them today).²

Above – Photograph of coca leaves, plant and beans.

What is Crack?

Crack “Crack” is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a ready-to-use form for smoking. Rather than requiring the more dangerous method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term “crack” refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is heated, presumably from the sodium bicarbonate. On the illicit market, crack, or “rock,” is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units. Smoking this form of the drug delivers large quantities of cocaine to the lungs, producing effects comparable to intravenous injection. These effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, and do not last long.

The photo above is an accurate depiction of crack cocaine and how it is sold in small glass or plastic vials.
On the illicit market, crack, or “rock,” is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units. Smoking this form of the drug delivers large quantities of cocaine to the lungs, producing effects comparable to intravenous injection. These effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, and do not last long.

Street Names for Cocaine: Coke, Dust, Toot, Line, Nose Candy, Snow. Sneeze, Powder, White Pony, Flake, The Lady, Cain, Rock, and Crack, we are sure you have heard others.

How to recognize it: Cocaine is white and looks like a crystalline powder. Cornstarch, crushed or powdered vitamin substances, sugar, and flour are often mixed with cocaine to make the drug less strong. This is called “cutting” the drug. Crack cocaine looks like small (sometimes pink) rocks.

For more photos of cocaine and crack see our drug photo page.

Physical Effects

coke & razor The physical effects of coke are the same as any other stimulant drug — except that the first rush is possibly much more intense. The initial effects are pleasant, they give the user increased confidence, a willingness to work, greater motivation, increased libido, and a euphoric rush or high.

At the same time, coke raises blood pressure, increases heart rate, causes rapid breathing, tenses muscles, and causes the jitters (although many don’t notice it because they’re feeling so alert and euphoric). Over time, and with regular use, people may get paranoid, anxious, and confused, and sometimes they hallucinate. Insomnia, agitation, and depression can also result from frequent cocaine use. The problems with cocaine come from doing too much, its mixture with other drugs, and the crash after binge use. The latter arrives when the initial feelings of well-being and confidence, the sense of being invincible, and the satisfied feelings disappear as suddenly as the rush appeared, leaving the user with the desire to have more. Usually, after a night, or a few nights, of snorting coke, the user crashes — sleeping all day long, trying to put energy back into the body — and decides never to do the drug again. Anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks later, the person wants to do it again, searching for that good feeling from the last time.

Cocaine use can easily turn into abuse — and yes, this can occur shortly after one’s first cocaine experience. The brain’s pleasure centers that cocaine short-circuits makes its use a mighty hard habit to kick — despite the side effects of chronic nasal irritation, nosebleeds, paranoia, and bank account depletion. This is an expensive habit!

Some Mental And Physical Effects:

guy wired

  • Angry, hostile and anxious feelings.
  • Violent behavior.
  • Confusion.
  • Mental illness that looks like schizophrenia (paranoid feelings, hallucinations).
  • The user can also be haunted by his or her thoughts. Increased physical activity.
  • Loss of appetite, which can result in severe weight loss (anorexia).
  • Inability to sleep.
  • Increased heart and pulse rate.
  • Permanent damage to the blood vessels in the brain. which can lead to strokes.
  • Convulsions and body tremors.
  • Chest pain and raised blood pressure, which could lead to a heart attack and then death.
  • Irregular heartbeat.
  • AIDS or hepatitis resulting from shared needles.
  • Dependence and addiction.
  • Tolerance to the drug.
  • A runny nose and/or nose bleeds can occur.
  • Snorting can damage the nasal tissue and the septum — the wall that separates the nasal cavities.

Overall Usage

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) reported that, in 1998, cocaine was used by 3.8 million Americans, or 1.7 percent of the household population aged 12 and over. Estimates of the current number of those who use cocaine regularly (at least once per month) vary, but 1.75 million is a widely accepted figure within the research community. Although cocaine use has not significantly changed over the last six years, the number of first time users has increased in the United States. *However, cocaine use is significantly less prevalent than it was during the early 1980s. Cocaine use peaked in 1982 when 10.4 million Americans (5.6 percent of the population) reportedly used cocaine. That was a lot of cocaine.

Availability

Cocaine is readily available in all major U.S. metropolitan areas. According to the Summer 1998 Pulse Check, which is published by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, cocaine use has stabilized across the country, with a few increases reported in San Diego, Bridgeport, Miami, and Boston. In the West, cocaine use is down perhaps because some users are switching to methamphetamine, which is cheaper and provides a longer lasting high…

This chart is for your reference… something to think about…

cocaine emergencies chart

Sources of Cocaine

In 1999, Colombia remained the world’s leading producer of cocaine. Three quarters of the world’s annual yield of cocaine is produced there. In the year 2000, Columbia still remains the world’s leading producer of
the drug.

Trafficking

Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved overland or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.Mexico border. The primary cocaine importation points in the United States are in Arizona, southern California, southern Florida, and Texas. Usually land vehicles are driven across the Southwest Border. Colombian traffickers have also started using a new concealment method whereby they add chemical compounds to cocaine hydrochloride to produce “black cocaine.” The cocaine in this substance is not detected by standard chemical tests or drug-sniffing canines. Cocaine traffickers from Colombia have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas Island chain, and South Florida. Methods of trafficking include airdrops of 500-700 kilograms in the Bahamas Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico, mid ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500-2,000 kilograms, and the commercial shipment of multi tons of cocaine through the port of Miami and to the Islands in the Caribbean. These vessels are typically 150 to 250 foot coastal freighters that carry an average cocaine load of approximately 2.5 metric tons.

Medical Uses

Cocaine is still used medicinally as a local anesthetic and vasoconstrictor in Europe. In the United States cocaine was once used to treat sinusitis, hay fever, depression, chronic fatigue and for appetite suppression. It has not been used as medicine in the U.S. since 1914.

COCAINE IS ILLEGAL:

In all states in the US, even though state laws vary. Possession for first time offenders carries a penalty of time in jail and a fine. Those who distribute the drug can spend a longer time in jail and have to pay even bigger fines. If you or someone you know needs help with a cocaine addiction, call the Cocaine Help Line
phone1-800-COCAINE (1-800-262-2463)
in the United States.

Thanks and appreciation are extended to the U.S. Department of Justice – Drug Enforcement Administration for their information and for the use of their photographs.

Amy - Teen's Health Expert

By Amy - Teen's Health Expert

Discover the dedicated author behind Teen Health Secrets, an experienced expert committed to providing in-depth knowledge and guidance on various aspects of teen health, ensuring young individuals lead healthy, informed lives.