RECOGNIZING COCAINE, COCAINE’S CHARACTERISTICS

Cocaine is a stimulant drug capable of producing euphoric excitement and rapid, intense, hallucinatory experiences. Due to the sensation of great muscular strength and mental clarity that it produces, cocaine can lead the user to overestimate his capabilities. This sensation of being “super powerful”, together with the auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations that can appear, may change the user into a person who is capable of committing serious anti-social acts.

Cocaine may be inhaled through the nose, smoked or injected. In order to counteract the excessive sensations of excitation that it produces, the alternate or simultaneous administration of cocaine and a depressant drug is widely practiced among users.

Another form of cocaine, more addictive and deadly, is known as “crack.”  It is an inexpensive and potent modality of the drug that presents itself in a crystalline form. Its appearance is much like a group of tiny rocks (it’s sometimes known as “rock”) that when smoked usually produces a rapid and intense effect that lasts for a few minutes and tends to leave the user in a state of desperate need to consume more. The use of “crack” is harmful for the brain, the heart, the lungs and the nervous system, and produces serious neurological effects.

The effects of cocaine dissipate rapidly after it is administered to the body. The desire to readminister the drug at shorter and shorter intervals can convert the life of the user into a constant and costly search for the drug. In fact, cocaine is considered to be the most pernicious of illegal drugs and its intense use tends to lead to paranoia, psychosis and violence until it ends the life of the user through overdosing.

Cocaine modifies the thought processes of the person who uses it in subtle but definite ways. The person with addiction denies that he is addicted. He may think for months or even years that he controls it when the exact opposite is the case.

It is important to take into account that cocaine changes the thought processes and creates a sensation of power which is only an illusion.

Immediate Consequences of Using Cocaine:
Increase in heart rate, irritability, trembling, anxiety, restlessness, alteration of perception and judgment, aggressiveness, tactile hallucinations, nausea, diarrhea, dilation of the pupils, a rise or lowering of blood pressure, thoracic pain, cardiac arrhythmia, copious sweating, agitation, loss of appetite.

Subsequent Consequences:
Feelings of uneasiness, irritability, anxiety and insomnia, weight loss, paranoia (sensation of being watched and followed), runny nose or obstruction of the nostrils, ulcers, and perforation of the nasal bone.