Thursday, January 13, 2011

“Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back; Cocaine”- Eric Clapton

The drug cocaine was first extracted from the leaves of the plant known as Erythroxylon Coca. The bush grows abundantly in Indonesia, West Indies and parts of South America. Cocaine is known to possess an intense and powerful effect and stimulation which targets the brain and central nervous system directly. The majority of people who are drug abusers take cocaine more than any other drug they take. The drug induces a state of mind in which one feels extraordinarily alert and hyperactive mixed with a feeling of euphoria and recklessness. These effects are the main contributors to cocaine being so wildly popular.


Cocaine was primarily used as a medicine by Europeans in the early 15th century. The 18th century saw a rise in the availability of cocaine in more concentrated forms and soon new medicinal uses of the drug were discovered. Cocaine was mainly used for the treatment of depression (due to its affect on the brain) and also used as an anesthetic. Cocaine was thereafter used regularly in elixirs and tonics and soon found its way into the popular soft drink ‘Coca Cola’.


In modern day medicine, cocaine has been categorized as a Schedule-II drug. It has a potential for abuse and thus only a qualified and experienced doctor may administer it legitimately. Medicinal uses of cocaine involve its vaso-constrictive properties to be used as a topical anesthesia or in the treatment of the eye. The use however is slowly being restricted as better and more effective medicines have been researched. Cocaine is known to have a wide variety of physical and psychological effects. Some effects manifest themselves after just a few moments of the first dosage—and staying there for a couple of minutes/hours.

Physical effects include dilated pupils, constriction of blood vessels, increase in blood pressure and heart rate. These effects lead to a sense of decreased tiredness, which means that the subject feels extremely hyperactive. During the ‘high’ the auditory, olfactory and visual senses are over-amplified leading to hallucinations. Over use of cocaine causes a development of tolerance in the body which leads to the addict taking an even higher dose. Cocaine addicts suffer from paranoid behavioral patterns, vertigo, shivers, hyperactivity, muscle twitches and hallucinations.

People get so addicted to cocaine that they forget everything else-everything about a normal life. The majority of drug treatment programs aim at cocaine abusers. These treatment programs are specifically designed to meet individual needs so as to get rid of the addiction without going into relapse.

No comments:

Post a Comment