Is Occasional Cocaine Use Okay?

Cocaine is often portrayed as glamorous by the media and entertainment industry. Users appear hip and energetic and rarely exhibit the negative effects of cocaine use. This has led to the belief that cocaine is safe when used rarely, but even occasional use can have serious health consequences and may lead to addiction. Risks of Cocaine Use People often try cocaine at parties or clubs, thinking it’s not harmful if they aren’t using it regularly. However, there are risks when using cocaine...

What Makes Cocaine so Addictive?

Cocaine, a stimulant drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant, is seen as a status symbol in certain subcultures, and can cost up to $12,000 per kilogram. Cocaine abuse can soon bankrupt users, but more importantly, the drug is highly addictive and causes self-destructive behavior. Cocaine use soon leads to an addiction that can only be conquered with professional help from a high quality rehab center. How Cocaine Impacts the Brain Cocaine stimulates the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of...

Making a Mistake While High on Cocaine

NIDA defines cocaine as a “powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain.” In addition to studying the genetic and environmental factors that influence addiction, NIDA has worked with scientists who use imaging tools to see how cocaine affects the brain. One interesting finding of these imaging studies was how the brain behaves when exposed to cues that trigger drug cravings. Effects of Cocaine Even when taken in small amounts cocaine creates the following...

Problems with a Cocaine High

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that gives users increased energy and euphoria when first taken. A cocaine high is a powerful experience that – when first used – removes any feelings of insecurity, pain, frustration or loneliness. While someone is high on cocaine everything feels right and good. The problem is that it is a lie. Physical Health Risks of Cocaine Abuse A cocaine high is relatively short-lived. When smoked in crack form, the high is especially intense and extremely short-lived....

Dangers of Counterfeit and Street Versions of Cocaine

Cocaine is an illegal drug that has been abused and sold on the black market for decades. While its dangers are well known, cocaine-related deaths and overdose are quite common among both addicts and first time users. If cocaine has been tampered with or counterfeited, the associated risk increases. What Is Fake or Counterfeit Cocaine? Counterfeit cocaine is a white or tan powder-like substance that is disguised as cocaine and is usually marketed as bath salts to be sold in convenient stores,...

Can Cocaine Use Be Safe?

Cocaine is an illegal drug for a reason. It affects the brain and how it works, and it negatively impacts a user’s body. Short-Term Effects of Cocaine Use The symptoms of cocaine use may not be felt after one or two uses, but effects will escalate quickly and may include the following: Nose bleed Headaches Decrease in appetite Constriction of the blood vessels leading to raised blood pressure and heart rate A spike in body temperature Dilated pupils and light sensitivity Sudden heart attacks...

Rediscovering Life without Cocaine

Cocaine is a powerful illicit substance that acts as a central nervous system stimulant, appetite suppressant and anesthetic. Cocaine affects the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain to produce energizing effects upon an individual. Depending upon the method of use the effects of cocaine can last from fifteen minutes up to an hour. Cocaine is highly addictive, and an overdose can produce permanent physical and psychological side effects. Get Your Life Back from Cocaine...

How Long Does It Take to Get Addicted to Cocaine?

Cocaine is derived from the coca plant found in the South American Andes, and it is the most powerful natural stimulant in the world. The drug typically comes as a white powder that individuals snort, though it can also be injected or hardened into a “rock” that is smoked. Cocaine causes a short yet powerful euphoric rush that triggers the pleasure center in the brain. It also makes users feel more alert and powerful, although the effects of cocaine are followed by a depression that...

Cocaine Cut with Levamisole

Levamisole is a veterinary drug used to de-worm farm animals like sheep, cattle and pigs. It is incredibly toxic to humans and it can rot your flesh. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that up to 82% of the current cocaine supply in the United States has been contaminated with Levamisole. If cocaine is a problem in your life, take action now before it is too late. Levamisole is showing up in cocaine, as drug dealers try to stretch their supply and increase the effects of...

Cocaine Addiction and Mental Health Issues

Cocaine is one of the most powerful substances abused today. Its intense mental and physical effects can make it difficult to properly diagnosis a person who may have a co-occurring mental health issue. Co-occurring cocaine addiction and mental health issues are common, and both are considered diseases and will need focused attention and treatment. Cocaine may cause mental health issues or may exacerbate existing conditions, but, either way, integrated treatment will be necessary for a full...

History of the Coca Plant

Albert Niemann was the first scientist to take active notice in the potency of the coca leaf back in the 1800s. He attempted to extract pure cocaine powder from coca leaves, thus establishing the turning point for the plant in Europe in 1860. American physicians learned of the pharmacological possibilities of coca and cocaine in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Articles in medical journals recommended cocaine as an all-purpose stimulant, a cure for depression, a specific for hay fever and asthma...

Hollywood and Cocaine

Addiction and drug overdoses have long plagued the high style and highly public lives of Hollywood. It’s hard to say if the fast paced, high style life lead to the abuse of drugs or if it’s the idea that as an actor or singer that one could be indispensable while using. Either way, it is not something new. Perhaps one may think that because those in Hollywood tend to have a wealth of money they are able to buy drugs more easily than others. Of course, no matter who you are, the...

Cocaine Trafficking and Distribution

With the discovery of the Coca leaf’s effect on the body to the use of medical cocaine and then research that lead to it’s ban – cocaine trafficking and abuse continues to haunt and threaten the health and safety of American citizens. With the 1914 Harrison Narcotic Act initializing the illegal usage of cocaine, criminal activity and violence has increased as a result. However, this violence associated with cocaine trafficking does not compare to the rampant violence of the...

Cocaine Medical Usage

Cocaine is derived from the coca plant that has been used by inhabitants of villages throughout Peru and Bolivia for many years. They would chew on coca leaves as it was found to be the standard remedy for symptoms of hunger and cold and for two folk illnesses: el soka, a condition of weakness, fatigue, and general malaise; and el fiero, a chronic wasting illness. Albert Neimann first isolated and synthesized cocaine powder in 1860 in a pure form from the leaves of coca plants. Soon...

Cocaine Abuse in America

Cocaine abuse has created a huge industry in America. In fact, the U.S. cocaine market was estimated to be worth $70 billion in 2005, which is more than the total revenues of large corporations such as Starbucks. The profitability from cocaine sold in the United States holds large dividends for the illegal drug market. The United States is one of the most profitable illegal drug markets in the world. The U.S./Mexico border is the primary entry point for cocaine shipments smuggled into the...