Drugs - Cocaine and Crack Essay

The long term effects of cocaine are very extreme. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty controlling the urge to use the drug and the perspective might change leaving the consumption of the drug as primordial. Cocaine’s stimulant and addictive effects are due primarily as a result of its ability to stop the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve

Cocaine is a naturally occurring substance deriving from the Erythroxylum coca plant. The coca plant is autogenous to Indonesia, South America, Mexico and the West Indies. Historically, many cultures have utilized coca leaves for religious and ceremonial applications. Cocaine itself remains prevalent in literary and artist works of many cultures and continues to be represented in archeological finds around the world. In South America the leaves were often chewed to help the indigenous tribes overcome hunger. To many other civilizations it was considered a sacred gift from the gods. Cocaine was often used as local anesthetic for a plethora of ailments.

The third method is intraperitoneal which is in the stomach. Lastly, there is intravenous which is into the veins. Intravenous injection results in intense affects within 30 seconds of the injection (Volkow, 2013). This method is thought to be most common when thinking of heavy drug users because of the fast results. The next route of administration for cocaine is intranasal. This is where cocaine is snorted or sniffed up the nose. This is the most common way that cocaine is administered. Intranasal routes require ten to fifteen minutes for the desired effect of cocaine to begin. The last method is inhalation. This is where cocaine is smoked. The effect of inhaling cocaine is felt almost immediately; however, the effects do not last more than five to fifteen minutes (Volkow, 2013). This method is less likely with cocaine since it is the only way for crack to be administered. Cocaine is readily absorbed after oral and intranasal administration, but the onset of drug action is slower and the peak effect is takes longer period of time to be reached than with other routes of administration. Cocaine is processed rapidly with most of its effects vanishing twenty to eighty minutes after administration (Volkow, 2013). Cocaine and crack cocaine is eliminated through the urine and is detectible up to two to three days after administration. The route of administration is chosen by the user, and is addictive from whichever route is chosen. They become

Pretty soon they’ll find themselves having to use crack just to feel “normal” again. This is the physical dependency stage. It occurs when the user has built up such a high tolerance from frequent usage, that their body basically forgets what is normal so they have to maintain a continuum of the drug to ward of the withdraw effects. As a result of usage, anxiety and depression can last for weeks. Attempts to stop using the drugs can fail simply because the resulting depression can be overwhelming, causing the addict to use more cocaine in an attempt to overcome his depression. This is the point in which you get the more stereotypical crack addict. They begin to steal from their family and friends, miss work/school, prostitute, and do just about anything they can to get the money to support their habit. They begin to short or try to get over on the person who is selling them drugs, which can result in violence. Some even become drug dealers themselves so that they can pay for the drugs that they use.

Cocaine usage is not as popular today as it was back in the 1900s but it continues to be abused as it was then. The drug has become addictive to those that used the drug intravenously, and free base (smoking crack). It has been said that individuals who try cocaine by inhaling, injecting, snorting would become addicted by using it for the first time. The individuals try to capture the pleasure or that high he/she first got when using the drug, the psychological effects of cocaine, addiction and dependence reports “only about 10 to 15% of those who initially try cocaine intranasally become abusers” (Gawin, 1991, p.1584).

Crack has an effect on the part of the brain that is known as the rewards center. It is the part that makes us happy. Normally how this works is the brain will release dopamine, a feel good chemical neurotransmitter, in response to potential rewards that are coming its way. It will then be recycled back into the same cell that released it. The signal between nerve cells shuts off, then the cycle is then repeated. When someone puts crack cocaine into their body, the cocaine gets sent up to the brain through the bloodstream. It then will attach itself to the dopamine, preventing the dopamine from recycling. This causes it all to build up between the nerve cells and be released all at once, resulting in the powerful rushed high feeling people get. This lasts anywhere between 5 minutes to a half hour. After using it one time, people can become addicted. However, with each use the pleasurable feelings fade away, making people want a bigger dosage, which could lead to a negative

Cocaine that has been processed with ammonia or soda and is transformed into a smokable form is often referred to as crack. Habitual crack abuse can have devastating effects on a person, and the signs are often obvious. Below is a list of some of the possible crack abuse signs:

Crack and powder cocaine is a controversial topic. There have been racial disparities in drug enforcement between Crack and powder cocaine. Cocaine is derived from the opium gather naturally from the poppy plant while crack is the result of a chemical reaction been cocaine, water and a strong base. Under the controlled substances act both are classified as schedule II meaning they both have a high potential for abuse which can cause a use to be dependent both physically and psychologically.

This is supported by the fact that all cocaine enters the United States in powder form (Cocaine.org, 2014). The addition of baking soda or ammonia to turn cocaine into crack, in turn, actually makes crack not as strong of a drug. According to Bracy (2015), the effects of crack or cocaine are due to method of ingestion not a difference in substance. If both drugs are basically the same, why is possession of crack enforced differently? People on this side of the argument would say it is because of who uses crack. Being a modified version of powder cocaine, crack is cheaper and more prevalent in low income areas. Thus, the drug is commonly associated with minorities, particularly African

Cocaine also known as crack cocaine is a stimulant drug, a stimulant raises one’s heart rate, attention and awareness and breathing. Stimulants were used to treat respiratory issues but is now prescribed for individuals with ADHD. In the 1800’s is when cocaine began to be seen as an addicting substance due it’s mood-altering effects on one’s brain. Cocaine can be inhaled through a pipe, when in powder form it can be snorted, and some individuals inject the drug into their bloodstream through intermuscular or intravenously. Individuals that use cocaine repeatedly use the drug within a short time span between each time used so that the euphoric high stays longer. The effects that cocaine has on the central nervous system is so

Methamphetamine is known to be an odorless white crystal powder having a bitter taste. Meth can be snorted, injected, ingested through oral and anal orifices, or smoked. Crack stimulates the central nervous system by realizing the chemical dopamine which then leads to a high level of chemicals in the brain. The chemical dopamine is responsible for the pleasure functions of the brain that let one experience pleasure, motivation and motor

Crack cocaine can be consumed by smoking the as much as 90% pure rocks in a glass water pipe. Once the crack fumes hit the lungs, it will only take 8-10 short seconds to meet the brain. The high or “rush” will only last a few minutes ranging from 3-5 minutes and then the crash can last up to 40 minutes.

Cocaine is one of the most euphoric, exciting, fun substances in the world - and also the most dangerous. It creates the perfect feeling, the invincible high. It is so strong and has so many beneficial qualities that it was once called the miracle drug, but the miracle drug has its downsides too. The miracle drug is dangerous. The miracle drug is deadly. Cocaine is a highly addictive and dangerous drug that alters the mind and body of humans of all ages and consequently changes their entire thought process. It chemically alters the mind, increases the physical ability of people (while also destroying their bodies) and morphs their entire mental state into something great (while also turning them into paranoid schizophrenics).

Cocaine gets into the body easily through the lining of the nose. When crack is smoked, the drug goes much more quickly to the brain. And that's the main place where the drug acts. Crack can make blood pressure soar.

Cocaine is one the most destructive and addictive drugs on the market. Cocaine leads to be one of the results of why people go to jail, do it while they are pregnant, and even death. This is the story of Cocaine, or one of the forms known as Crack, and the bare minimums of it.