Cocaine.
Cocaine is usually sold on the street as a fine white powder and is generally either sniffed into the nose or injected by needle into a vein, with the latter being the type of administration that becomes the most common with prolonged cocaine addiction. Everyone using this drug is looking for the euphoric rush that comes from the drugs ability to stimulate certain receptor sites in the brain.
When cocaine is boiled or cooked with sodium bicarbonate, it is converted into a freebase form called crack cocaine and is more addictive than in its original form. It is less expensive, per dose, but in short order becomes devastatingly costly in terms of human suffering. Crack cocaine is not injected into the veins or snorted in the nose but is heated and burnt. The smoke is inhaled, which causes a brief, intense high that last a few minutes and then the user falls quickly into a feeling of emptiness and depression. This cycle continually motivates the user to repeat this process over and over again until external circumstances interrupt this cycle, such as, running out of crack and/or money. The user is then left in a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. Choosing to start this process, knowing that the end result will always be some level of depression, is ample evidence of the insanity of addiction and speaks to the amount of discomfort a person must feel before they can willfully allow themselves to walk down that path.
The effects of cocaine are similar to those of crack, but less intense. The smoke and vapors of the burning cocaine rock (crack) pass quickly into the blood stream and then to the brain and cause an increase in dopamine by blocking the normal recycling/uptake processes of these neurohormones. The high levels of dopamine stimulate the nerve cells and cause the intense feeling of euphoria. After these receptors sites have been overly stimulated, they are temporarily no longer able to produce the natural effects of feeling well without the drug. Instead, the person feels depressed and even suicidal. This compelling crack addiction is so strong that sometimes it causes people to take their first hit and never return home to their normal lives for days, if ever.
Dependency develops in after the first few uses of the drug and cocaine addiction can develop from that point forward. Tolerance develops quickly, meaning that it takes more and more of the drug to come close to the same desired outcome, which causes the user to seek and use larger amounts of the drug. This can lead to secondary physical problems that are life threatening, ie. Heart attacks, convulsions, etc.
In the short-term, with a normal dose, one feels energetic, restless talkative, euphoric, with an increase in pulse rate, temperature, blood pressure, mental alertness, followed by a temporary decrease in appetite.
In large doses one will feel bizarre and perhaps violent and/or paranoid, muscle tremors, dizziness and a sense that the room is spinning. Cocaine use may also cause hallucinations and a dehumanizing feeling that leads to problems in all personal and work relationships. Weight loss is also associated with cocaine addiction in the same manner that it is with amphetamines.
As a person become accustomed to being high on cocaine, he/she loses his/her established ideas about reality and will take risks that he would never dream of doing before his drug use. These risks lead to irresponsibly spending money and violating ones ethical codes so that when they come down they feel as thought they can't confront their situation. They become frightened of the situation they have created and this causes the desire for more drugs to escape the mess that is their lives.
Physical decline is most pronounced due to the lack of good nutrition and sleep. One can also experience abnormal heart conditions, breathing problems, heart attacks, problems with the nasal septum or passages, an increased risk for infections, thinking problems, seizures and strokes.
When cocaine is boiled or cooked with sodium bicarbonate, it is converted into a freebase form called crack cocaine and is more addictive than in its original form. It is less expensive, per dose, but in short order becomes devastatingly costly in terms of human suffering. Crack cocaine is not injected into the veins or snorted in the nose but is heated and burnt. The smoke is inhaled, which causes a brief, intense high that last a few minutes and then the user falls quickly into a feeling of emptiness and depression. This cycle continually motivates the user to repeat this process over and over again until external circumstances interrupt this cycle, such as, running out of crack and/or money. The user is then left in a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. Choosing to start this process, knowing that the end result will always be some level of depression, is ample evidence of the insanity of addiction and speaks to the amount of discomfort a person must feel before they can willfully allow themselves to walk down that path.
The effects of cocaine are similar to those of crack, but less intense. The smoke and vapors of the burning cocaine rock (crack) pass quickly into the blood stream and then to the brain and cause an increase in dopamine by blocking the normal recycling/uptake processes of these neurohormones. The high levels of dopamine stimulate the nerve cells and cause the intense feeling of euphoria. After these receptors sites have been overly stimulated, they are temporarily no longer able to produce the natural effects of feeling well without the drug. Instead, the person feels depressed and even suicidal. This compelling crack addiction is so strong that sometimes it causes people to take their first hit and never return home to their normal lives for days, if ever.
Dependency develops in after the first few uses of the drug and cocaine addiction can develop from that point forward. Tolerance develops quickly, meaning that it takes more and more of the drug to come close to the same desired outcome, which causes the user to seek and use larger amounts of the drug. This can lead to secondary physical problems that are life threatening, ie. Heart attacks, convulsions, etc.
In the short-term, with a normal dose, one feels energetic, restless talkative, euphoric, with an increase in pulse rate, temperature, blood pressure, mental alertness, followed by a temporary decrease in appetite.
In large doses one will feel bizarre and perhaps violent and/or paranoid, muscle tremors, dizziness and a sense that the room is spinning. Cocaine use may also cause hallucinations and a dehumanizing feeling that leads to problems in all personal and work relationships. Weight loss is also associated with cocaine addiction in the same manner that it is with amphetamines.
As a person become accustomed to being high on cocaine, he/she loses his/her established ideas about reality and will take risks that he would never dream of doing before his drug use. These risks lead to irresponsibly spending money and violating ones ethical codes so that when they come down they feel as thought they can't confront their situation. They become frightened of the situation they have created and this causes the desire for more drugs to escape the mess that is their lives.
Physical decline is most pronounced due to the lack of good nutrition and sleep. One can also experience abnormal heart conditions, breathing problems, heart attacks, problems with the nasal septum or passages, an increased risk for infections, thinking problems, seizures and strokes.