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Licensed Marriage
and Family Therapist |
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Cocaine Use
By: Susan Adams, M. Ed. l0/23/09
Objective: The objective of this article is
to explain what cocaine is, its use, and its
effects.
Summary: Cocaine is a stimulant drug used
medically as a local anesthetic. It can cause
irritation of the tissues with which it comes in
contact, and has serious emotional and physical side
effects. This article seeks to describe how cocaine
is used and the effects on emotional and physical
well-being that it can have.
What is cocaine? It is a stimulant drug
extracted from the leaves of the cocoa plant,.
Medically cocaine is a local anesthetic. It has the
properties to reduce bleeding so it is sometimes
used in nose and throat surgery.
How is cocaine used? It is usually a
crystalline powder that is snuffed into the
nostrils. Some heavy users inject the drug into the
blood with a needle. This produces a stronger
effect. There is also a form called "free-base" in
which street cocaine is chemically converted so that
it can be smoked. Smoking "free-base" cocaine gives
a faster effect than snorting. Buying a conversion
kit is extremely expensive.
The effects of cocaine: Sniffing cocaine
produces a feeling of pleasure. The high starts
within a few minutes and lasts up to an hour. In
smoking or injecting, the drug reaches a high level
in the blood immediately, and the euphoric effect is
greater than with sniffing. The euphoria also fades
more quickly, within a few minutes, and is usually
followed by depression. This causes the user to
increase the activity. One reason many people give
for using cocaine is that the drug supposedly
increases sexual ability and pleasure as well as
enhancing other creative impulses. This has not
been proved. Rather, it is probably true only as a
psychological benefit for those who believe it,
while they are also propelled into cocaine use by
the great stimulation and exuberance that they feel
during a high.
The dangers: Continuous sniffing of cocaine
can cause damage to the nostrils, including
irritation, inflammation, and even ulcers. Smoking,
when continued and prolonged, may result in extreme
depression, paranoia, agitation, and dangerous
increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
Instances of psychosis requiring hospitalization
have been reported.
There have also been reports of deaths as a
result of convulsions that were followed by
respiratory arrest and coma or heart arrest. This
happens rarely in the case of snorting but more
frequently with smoking or injecting. Hepatitis and
other infections have resulted from the use of
unsterile needles when injecting. The drug does not
cause physical addiction. However, there exists a
powerful compulsion to reuse cocaine--especially
when smoked--and this creates a great psychological
dependence.
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