Cocaine Facts

Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant that conflicts with the re-absorption of dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and movement. The buildup of dopamine causes the stimulation of "receiving" neurons, which is associated with the euphoria that is experienced by cocaine abusers.

Effects of Cocaine

Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include hyper-stimulation and mental clarity, depends on how the drug is administered:

• Faster absorption causes a more intense high, but decreases the duration of the high.
• The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while the high from smoking may last five to 10 minutes.
• Increasing the amount of cocaine a person takes can also increase the risk of addiction.

Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. A tolerance to the "high" may develop -- and many addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure.

Cocaine Risks

Some users will increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant effects without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some of the deaths that have occurred after apparently low doses of cocaine.

Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, may lead to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This can result in a period of full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.

Crack Cocaine

Crack is the street name given to a freebase form of cocaine that has been processed from the powdered cocaine hydrochloride form to a smokable substance. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked. Crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water, and is heated to remove the hydrochloride.