Cocaine abuse in the United States has reached an all time high. Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant. Cocaine is processed from the South American coca leaf and sold illicitly in the United States. Street names for cocaine are: 'coke' 'powder' 'white' 'blanca' 'primo' 'rock' 'dope', and other slang terms. Cocaine interferes with the natural release and re-absorption of dopamine as part of the brain's reward system. Cocaine's effects include hyper-stimulation, reduced fatigue, mental clarity and a feeling of euphoria. The high from snorting cocaine can last 15-30 minutes, but it is not as intense as the high from injecting cocaine or from smoking cocaine, which will last 5-10 minutes.
Cocaine is an extremely addictive illegal drug. Once a person has tried cocaine, they cannot predict or control the extent to which they will continue to use the cocaine. Cocaine addiction is powerful and very expensive. Cocaine is snorted, injected, or processed into "crack" cocaine and smoked. Compulsive cocaine use may develop very rapidly. Often, cocaine addicts feel that use of the drug perpetuates itself. "Doing cocaine only makes me want to do more," is a common expression of the cocaine addict. Signs and behavior associated with cocaine use can include spending long periods of time in bathrooms, isolation, irritability, constant need for money or merchandise which can be sold or returned such as CD's, clothing or tools, shoplifting, sleeplessness for long periods followed by intense sleep, paranoia, constant looking at floor or carpet, constant looking out of windows, and sexual dysfunction.
Crack cocaine is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed into a smokable form. Powder cocaine can also be smoked but crack is preferred by long term users due to the intense high it produces and the ease by which crack cocaine is obtained. Rather than requiring the more volatile and dangerous method of processing cocaine into a smokable form using ether, crack cocaine is processed with baking soda and water, which is heated to remove the hydrochloride and other impurities. This produces a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term "crack" refers to the sound heard when the cocaine mixture is smoked.
Smoking cocaine or 'crack' involves using a glass cocaine pipe or other cocaine smoking apparatus to inhale cocaine smoke into the lungs where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection. Cocaine can be smoked using a glass tube as a pipe and a piece of copper dish scouring pad as a filter. Soda cans with cigarette ashes as a filter can also be used as can cocaine pipes made of aluminum foil rolled into tubes.. Physical evidence of smoking cocaine includes broken or empty lighters, any of the cocaine paraphernalia listed above, burns on furniture, burns or swelling on fingertips and lips of the user, rags or cloth with soot marks, baking soda, small vials, small pieces of copper scouring pads, test tubes, glassware, and propane torches.
Snorting cocaine is the process of taking powder cocaine through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Common objects used for snorting cocaine are rolled up dollar bills, straws, and writing pen tubes. Powder cocaine is sold in small clear plastic baggies, glassine envelopes, and bindles made of waxy paper. Evidence of use includes unexplained powder made into 'lines' mirrors, glass picture frames laid on tables, razor blades, credit cars or drivers license with powder on the edges
Injecting cocaine is the act of using a hypodermic needle to inject the cocaine directly into a vein to enter the bloodstream. Long term or 'hardcore' cocaine users prefer this method and often times mix the cocaine with heroin to make what is commonly called 'speedball'. Cocaine is mixed with a small amount of water and injected to produce a very intense 'high'. Evidence of this type of cocaine use is bruises, open sores, or bleeding on the arms, legs or neck of the user, bottle caps, spoons with the handle slightly bent, hypodermic needles or diabetic syringes, small orange plastic caps, small clear plastic caps, tiny pieces of rolled up cotton, torn filters of cigarettes, small containers of water, ear swabs with cotton pulled off, small containers of bleach, bleach stains on clothing or furniture.
People often use alcohol to 'come down' from cocaine. When cocaine users drink alcohol in conjunction with cocaine use, they increase the danger each drug poses. When these two substances are combined a third substance, coca ethylene, is formed. This substance enhances cocaine's euphoric effects, while possibly increasing the risk of sudden death.
Physical effects of cocaine (cocaine hydrochloride) use include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Cocaine's immediate effects, which include hyper-stimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, can last from 5 to 30 minute depending on the method of absorption. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high from cocaine use. On the other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of the euphoria. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Increased use can reduce the amount of time that the cocaine user feels high. Cocaine users report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. Cocaine users may develop a tolerance to cocaine and thus may need to increase the dose and frequency to achieve the same results, and cocaine addicts strive to achieve the same feelings of euphoria that resulted from the first usage of cocaine. These feelings can never be repeated due to the process of cocaine's action in the human brain, but cocaine addicts constantly try.
Evidence suggests that the powerful neuropsychological reinforcing property of cocaine as well as compulsive behavior by cocaine abusers can be responsible for repeated cocaine use, despite harmful physical and social consequences. In some instances, sudden death can occur unexpectedly while using cocaine. Persons who abuse cocaine are prone to paranoia. This cocaine induced paranoia can take the form of feeling 'picked on', imagining that the cocaine user's life is in immediate danger, that law enforcement is waiting outside, that the individual is being followed, and that family members, spouse or friends are all part of a plot to hurt or incarcerate the cocaine abuser. Crack cocaine users can become particularly aggressive or violent. When cocaine abusers stop using cocaine, they can become depressed. This also may lead to further cocaine use to alleviate depression. Prolonged cocaine snorting can result in ulceration of the mucous membrane of the nose and can damage the nasal septum enough to cause it to collapse. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.
There is great risk whether cocaine is used by snorting, smoking, or injection. It appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than snorted. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very quickly and brings an intense and immediate high. The injecting cocaine user is at risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other cocaine injection equipment is used.
