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| My name is Derry and I wanted to share a little information I learned about cocaine a little too late… D.H. My name is Derry and I wanted to share a little information I learned about cocaine a little too late. I have been clean for 4 years and have totally rebuilt my life. I do however want to share as much quality information as possible about drugs, especially cocaine with as many people as I can so that hopefully some won't have to put themselves through what I went through. Cocaine is a stimulant that heightens alertness, inhibits appetite and the need for sleep, and provides intense feelings for users. Today, people from all walks of life use cocaine. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) reported that, in 1999, 3.7 million Americans used cocaine - that's 1.7 percent of the household population aged 12 and over. Adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other age group. Overall, men have a higher rate of current cocaine use than women. A survey done by Monitoring the Future in 1998 reports that lifetime and past-year use of crack-cocaine increased among eighth graders to its highest levels since 1991. 4.7 percent of eighth graders students reported using of powder cocaine in their lifetime in 1999. Between 1992 and 1999 lifetime use of cocaine went from 3.3 percent to 7.7 percent among tenth-graders and from 6.1 percent to 9.8 percent among twelfth-graders. Cocaine is generally sold on the street as fine, white powder. It is known as "coke," "C," "snow," "flake," or "blow." Cocaine can be diluted with substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic) or with such other stimulants as amphetamines. I started snorting cocaine initially and told many people that I thought injecting the drug was gross and that I'd never do that. Then only 2 years latter I'm injecting the drug all day every day with no regard for disease, overdose or anything. The major routes of administration of cocaine are snorting, injecting, and smoking it. This includes freebase and crack cocaine. Snorting is inhaling cocaine powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. The injecting cocaine user is at risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other injection equipment are shared. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream as quickly as when it is injected. Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect. Beyond the euphoric effects produced by cocaine, the high especially with crack was miserable. Constantly feeling guilty, constantly looking for more of the drug and paranoia like I had never experienced before. The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and sometimes violent behavior. These users may experience tremors or muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest. Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the re-absorption of dopamine by nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the brain's reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug of abuse. I for one did not know that the drug stores in the fatty tissues and stays there for weeks or years. This produced severe cravings for me by these drug stores being released into my blood stream and triggering intense cravings. A tolerance to cocaine's high may develop as well, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's convulsant and anesthetic effects, without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine. Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations. Young single people are the most frequent users. There are no clear connections between cocaine use and education, occupation, or socioeconomic status. I had friends from every walk of life who were severely addicted to cocaine and whom had the same symptoms and problems I had with the drug. Life is way too short and definitely worth getting clean for. D.H. - Narconon Graduate |
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