Facts about Cocaine

Cocaine, often referred to as snow, flake, coke, and blow.

For over a thousand years South American indigenous peoples have chewed the leaves of Erythroxylon coca, a plant that contains vital nutrients as well as numerous alkaloids, including cocaine. The coca leaf was, and still is, chewed almost universally by some indigenous communities.

Cocaine was historically useful as a topical anesthetic in eye and nasal surgery, although it is now predominantly used for nasal and lacrimal duct. It has since been largely replaced in Western medicine by synthetic local anesthetics, but it remains available for use if specified.

The drug increases alertness, feelings of well-being and euphoria, energy and motor activity, feelings of competence and sexuality. Athletic performance may be enhanced in sports where sustained attention and endurance is required.

Coca leaves under the form of filtration bags to be used as "coca tea" has been actively promoted by the governments of Peru and Bolivia for many years as a drink having medicinal powers. Visitors to the city of Cuzco in Peru, and La Paz in Bolivia are offered a tea of coca leaf infusions (prepared in tea pots with whole coca leaves, to help the newly arrived traveler overcome the malaise of high altitude sickness. The effects of drinking coca tea are a mild stimulation and mood lift. It does not produce any significant numbing of the mouth nor does it give a rush like snorting cocaine.

Coca leaves are often chewed into a wad that is retained in the mouth between gum and cheek (much in the same way as chewing tobacco. They are typically mixed with an alkaline substance such as for example lime, as Cocaine is not readily absorbed when ingested alone.
Street market cocaine is frequently adulterated or “cut” with various powdery fillers to increase its weight; the substances most commonly used in this process are baking soda, varius sugars and, local anesthetics, such as lidocaine or benzocaine, of which the latter mimic or add to cocaine's numbing effect on mucous membranes. Cocaine may also be "cut" with other stimulants such as methamphetamine.

An injected mixture of cocaine and heroin, known as “speedball” is a particularly dangerous combination, as the converse effects of the drugs actually complement each other, but may also mask the symptoms of an overdose.

Many users rub the powder along the gum line, or onto a cigarette filter which is then smoked, which numbs the gums and teeth, hence the street names of "numbies", "gummers" or "cocoa puffs".
Another oral method is to wrap up some cocaine in rolling paper and swallow, "parachute" it. This is sometimes called a "snow bomb."

There is also a method called "plugging", which means that the Cocaine is dissolved in water and withdrawn into an oral syringe which may then be lubricated and inserted into the anus or vagina before the plunger is pushed. its effects is not often discussed however, due to social taboos in many cultures.

Crack is a lower purity form of free-base cocaine and contains sodium bicarbonate as impurity. Freebase and crack are often administered by smoking. It is instantly adictive and, dirt cheep.
Physical side effects from chronic smoking include: chest pain, lung trauma, sore throat, asthma, hoarse voice, shortness of breath, fever and, an aching, flu-like syndrome.

Contrary to popular belief, both ingestion and insufflation result in approximately the same proportion of the drug being absorbed, though the faster absorption of insufflated cocaine results in quicker attainment of maximum drug effects and, Drug injection provides the highest blood levels of drug in the shortest amount of time. .

Anxiety, paranoia and restlessness are frequent sideeffects. With excessive dosage, tremors, convulsions and increased body temperature are observed.

Cocaine does often cause involuntary tooth grinding, known as bruxism, which can deteriorate tooth enamel and lead to inflammation in the gum tissue. Chronic intranasal usage can degrade the cartilage separating the nostrils causing the nose to collapse and, just like shared needles, the sharing of straws and other "tooters" used to "snort" cocaine can spread blood diseases such as Hepatitis C.

Cocaine abuse doubles both the risks of hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, can cause a wide array of kidney diseases and renal failure and, greatly increases the risk of developing rare autoimmune or connective tissue diseases.

Cocaine addiction is psychological dependency on the regular use of cocaine. It may result in physiological damage, lethargy, psychosis, depression, akathisia (restlessness that manifests itself with an inability to sit still or remain motionless ), and fatal overdose.

cocaine withdrawal is characterized by a dysphoric mood, fatigue, unpleasant dreams, insomnia, erectile dysfunction, increased appetite, psychomotor retardation or agitation, and anxiety, but Physical withdrawal is not dangerous.