CocaineBY ANTONE WILSON

What is it?

•Powerfully Addictive Stimulant made from leaves of the coca plant

•Coca plant’s are most commonly found in South America

•Purest form is a white pearly product

•In a powder form it looks identical to salt

Way’s it is used•Smoked

•Drank in water

•Injected

•Snorted

Crack CocaineCrack cocaine is cocaine in a freebase form

Is mixed with baking soda and cooked

Smoked out of a pipe

the most addictive form of cocaine

The effects are amplified hurts lungs, and prevents oxygen and blood from circulating.

Hit the streets hard and was epidemic in the 80’s carrying on to the 90’s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBmK5UAc584

Crack Cocaine

Who Uses itApproximately 24 million people in the U.S have used Cocaine at least once

2nd most used illicit drug in the world

Is the most frequent cause of drug related deaths in the U.S

Known as the “rich mans” drugs due to high costs

Club drug

Big in college frats

Girls with the hopes of losing weight

Who Uses It

Instant EffectsShort term feeling of euphoria

High energy and talkativeness

Rapid heart rate and raising blood pressure.

Constricted blood vassals, pupils become dilated, and body temperature increases

Decrease of appetite occurs therefore a person can become malnourished.

These effects last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

Side Effects & long Term Repercussions

Restlessness and anxiety along with severe paranoia, you may lose touch with reality experiencing auditory hallucinations

Increased doses will intensify and prolong ones high but can cause serious physical and psychological problems.

With repeated use cocaine can cause long term change in the brains reward system as well as other brain systems which may lead to addiction.

Regular snorting can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, and a chronic runny nose.

With repeated use tolerance to cocaine often develops therefore many cocaine abusers report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as their first time using the drug.

Using cocaine can also put one at risk of HIV of STD because it can affect judgment and lead to risky sexual behavior.

Other Perspectives of Cocaine

http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2008/12/03/college-addiction-cocaine/

This article discusses a student at the University Of Miami’s experience with cocaine.

“It’s so addictive that your life revolves around coke,” she said. “I was failing school, and I wasn’t going to class because you don’t really have the desire for anything [while] on coke.”

“Marie said loss in appetite is another side effect of the drug, a factor that has attracted some people to it. After they’ve done it for a while and realize it helps them lose weight, they get attached to it for that reason,” she said. “I’ve even used it that way.”

“There’s this idea that if you can afford coke, you’re living the high life,” she said. “I have never been in a club in Miami where I haven’t seen at least one person blow a line.”

“It’s destructive – I feel brought down when I’m around a group of people doing cocaine,” said junior Roxanne Back. “People reach the point where all they want is more cocaine and they forget about everything else.”

My thoughtsAfter conducting research on cocaine and discovering it’s side effects, the role it plays on a person not only physically but psychologically this article justifies what I learned as is this girl is the epitome of when a college student gets caught up in this drug and goes down the wrong path.

Cocaine can ruin a persons life and it can even kill you.

What stood out to me is how the girl said she has never gone to the club and not seen at least one person use it.

I find it very scary how common the drug is becoming and its not like alcohol or marijuana because doing too much can kill you on the spot.

People who use cocaine can suffer heart attacks or strokes which may cause sudden death.

Cocaine related deaths are often a result of the heart stopping.

My Thoughts Famous Musician Rick James was quoted for saying “cocaine is a hell of a drug” and I certainly agree with him, although that seems funny the high from cocaine is an all time high but the low is in fact so low it can deteriorate your life and kill you.

What stands out to me is how common this drug is used and it come to no surprise because I’m aware of what it does to you but the negatives do not seem to out weigh the positives.

Famous people such as Tim Allen, Whitney Houston, Thomas Edison, Chris Farley, Len Bias and the list goes on all had deaths relating to cocaine use.

Cocaine use is also more common and how its portrayed in movies, to music, and how frequently you see celebrities busted with it I feel it is becoming almost socially acceptable and this is a problem.

Prices Cocaine is a very expensive drug the list below shows in fact how much money abusers of the drug are spending to fulfill their cravings.

20-60$ = 1 gram

1,000-1,400$ = 1 ounce

120-150$ =1/8 AKA 8ball

250-350$ = 1/4

IS IT WORTH IT? After learning about this drug and seeing what it can do to a persons you walk away asking yourself a few questions.

From the long nights of staying up partying till the sun comes up

The state of happiness and energy

The ability to no stop talking

The potential to lose weight fast

All these things are reasons one may use to cocaine. Now while they may seem cool after knowing what comes after this high and the addiction and destruction it can have on your life there is one thing you need to ask yourself

IS IT WORTH IT?

SourcesShepherd, L. (2008, December 3). College Addiction: Cocaine | The Miami Hurricane. Retrieved

from http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2008/12/03/college-addiction-cocaine/

Short- & Long-Term Side Effects of Cocaine - Brain Damage - Drug-Free World. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/effects-of-cocaine.html

DrugFacts: Cocaine | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2013, April). Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine

Cocaine: MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cocaine.html