COCAINE
Composition:
- Pure cocaine is a white powder refined from the leaves of the coca bush. Coca paste is a smokable intermediary product in the refining process of cocaine.
- Cocaine sold on the street is cut usually with lactose, procaine or lignocaine.
- Cocaine can be turned into "free coca base" or "crack"; both are white powders, often produced in the form of porous lumps. Crack is a form of cocaine that has been chemically altered using baking soda and ammonia. It draws the name from the cracking sound it makes when being heated. It is very addictive.
- Cocaine is snorted through the nose, dissolved in alcohol or water and drunk as a "cocktail", or injected. It is also smoked (freebased).
Intoxicating Effects:
- Euphoria, feeling of well-being, and sexual arousal.
- After high doses: delusional reactions with anxiety, paranoia and violent tendencies.
- Intoxication lasts 30 - 45 minutes when snorting, or, when smoking, only a few minutes at the highest levels of intoxication.
Damaging Effects:
Did you know Cocaine use can damage your baby? |
-
Anxiety and delusional reactions (cocaine psychosis)
- Impotence
- Fetal damages
- Fatal overdoses due to respiratory failure and/or heart failure
- Stroke
- A serious development of tolerance
- The "crash" experienced in withdrawal often results in suicide due to severe depression.
Other effects include:
- Exhaustion
- Unpleasant skin sensations, e.g.: "cocaine bugs", which is a sensation of imaginary insects crawling over the skin.
- Excessive eating
- Insomnia
- Restlessness
- Weight loss
- Visual disturbances
- Reduction in hunger and thirst.
- Cocaine is one of the few drugs which both humans and animals, upon easy availability, will continue to self-administer until they die. Superhuman feelings of great energy and alertness occur.
- Prolonged snorting results in the nose collapsing and severe bleeding due to damage caused to the membranes and linings of the nose.
- The price has dropped considerably, due to bumper crops and easy availability. It is now a very popular drug with ecstasy users.
Note:
As cocaine / crack is from the stimulant group of drugs,
methadone (which is an opiate) is not an appropriate treatment
for cocaine / crack addiction.
