Cocaine

In short

Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of the plant Erythroxylon coca through organic dissolvers. It has the form of white, crystal-like powder. There are many different kinds of Erythroxylon coca, which are easy to cultivate.

What is cocaine, how does it look like, manners of use

Many different names are used for cocaine, but the most popular is simply ‘coke.’ The ways of use are: sniffing, smoking (crack), injection or swallowing. ‘Regular’ coke is primarily sniffed. The injection use and the swallowing are rarer. Smoking is very frequent. The smoking of crack or freebase coke is called ‘freebasing’. It is in fact an inhalation of the vapours that erase from the heating of the substance. The temperature necessary to make cocaine a liquid is about 200 degrees, but when it is chemically manipulated it can become a liquid at 100 degrees. This manipulation is actually the making of freebase or crack. Crack could be smoked by special water pipe or by heating the substance on tin foil.

Addictive? Cocaine is addictive both psychologically and physically, but the psychological addiction is stronger than the physical. The feelings of fatigue, irritability and the sleep disorders could last for weeks after the stopping of the drug.
Increasingly more needed for the same effect? Yes. Cocaine use is quickly leading to tolerance.
Short-term effects: Stimulant, increases the activity, suppresses tiredness and hunger.
Long-term effects: Weight loss, insomnia, anxiety, hallucinations, irritability, paranoia, aggressiveness, depression after intensive use, total exhaustion.
Important: Smokable form of cocaine is called crack, freebase or boiled coke.

What is it?

Cocaine is a drug which takes the form of a white, crystal-like powder. It is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, which grows in South America. The Latin name for the plant is Erythroxylon Coca.

On the street, many other names are used for cocaine. The most popular is simply ‘coke.’ The concentration of the active compound in coca leaves varies from 0.5% to 1%. The cocaine can be extracted from the coca leaves in a fairly simple manner to obtain almost pure cocaine powder.

Where does it come from?

The coca plant comes originally from high in the Andes Mountains. The leaves have been chewed since human memory on account of their stimulating effects and the relief of respiratory problems due to living at such extreme heights.

The Incas used the leaves for only religious purposes. After the Spaniards conquered South America, their use spread further.

In the nineteenth century, the active compound in the leaves was discovered. Cocaine then became popular as a stimulant and as a local anaesthetic.

At the end of the nineteenth century, negative reports about the effects of cocaine began to emerge. After the First World War cocaine was banned as substances which could replace cocaine as a local anaesthetic had been developed in the meantime.

How is it used?

The way cocaine is used depends on the form it is used, could be snorted, smoked or injected. A „Coke joint” is called a mixture of cocaine and tobacco for smoking. This way of usage has a very weak effect and costs expensive because a big amount of the coke burns before reaching the lungs. The effect from sniffing the coke longs between 5 and 30 minutes. The longitude of the effect varies depending the alternative ways of using.

Who uses it?

The contemporary use of cocaine began in the 1960s in trendy circles of people who could afford such an expensive drug: advertising, fashion and jet set crowds. In Bulgaria the cocaine is used mostly by the young generation. Recently there is a small increase in the number of cocaine users. The official data report that 2,7 % of the population at the age of 18 to 34 has at least one cocaine use in their lives. Much more users are man than women (2,9 % of the man in Bulgaria under 30 years).

What does the user feel?

Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system, accelerates the heartbeat and raises the blood pressure. Exactly what the user feels depends upon, among other things, the dosage and the manner of use. The user’s physical condition, body weight and expectations also play a role. The effects are roughly as follows.

Endurance is enhanced; feelings of hunger or tiredness disappear. Pain is felt less quickly. The user feels bright and cheery, more energetic and believes that he or she can take the whole world on. These effects occur primarily when the user only occasionally uses cocaine and then not too much at once. The effects wear off within about 30 minutes. To feel the same again, the user has to use again.

Heavy users often become restless and irritable. Self-confidence can become overconfidence, and the heavy user can find him/herself in a dream world — a world in which all contact with others is superficial, there is much ado about nothing and what seemed to be intimate feelings at the time later appear to be not so intimate.

Moderate cocaine use can have a sexually stimulating effect. In cases of increased use, this effect diminishes and the sexual drive can disappear altogether.

Cocaine use can become a problem when it is used to ‘transform’ the user into a different person. Someone with more confidence, for instance. Or someone whom everyone looks up to. The person who is sensitive to such transformations can quickly, after just one use, be seduced into using again. And then again.

Can you get addicted to cocaine?

A distinction can be made between physical and psychological dependence.

We speak of physical dependence when the body protests to stopped usage of a substance (withdrawal symptoms occur). The cocaine use leads to addiction. The symptoms are slight tremor, sweating, tachycardia, raised blood pressure and temperature.

We speak of psychological dependence when the user increasingly craves the substance and really does not feel good without it. Cocaine use can lead to psychological dependence. If someone uses frequently or starts using more, this may be for the pleasant effects of the drug on one’s mood but also for self-confidence. The user can use cocaine to boost his or her confidence in stressful situations, for example.

Such circumstances can lead the way to increased use. That is, the threshold for confronting new or uncertain situations but with the help of cocaine gets lower and lower. Unfortunately, feelings of uncertainty simply increase as cocaine use becomes more frequent. The user can thus get caught in a very vicious circle. Most users recognize this danger, but simply think that it will never happen to them. They delude themselves into thinking that they can stop at any point.

Cocaine problems are caused by, among other things, the user having a low self-opinion or the user thinking that he or she cannot handle things as they are. Cocaine provides a feeling of having everything under control, which appears to be a nice solution but is not. Cocaine-induced feelings of control are only a facade, only appearances. But the user does not realize this.

The risk of psychological dependence is present in every form of cocaine use. The cocaine causes an addiction on neurophysiologic level and leads to symptoms of anxiety, depression, intensive hunger and insomnia.

What are the risks?

In addition to psychological dependence, cocaine brings the following risks with its use.

The person who uses a lot of cocaine on a regular basis loses his or her appetite, loses weight and damages his or her physical condition. Resistance to infection is weakened, trembling can occur, motor disturbances can occur and the heart rhythm can be disturbed.
Cocaine wipes out feelings of fatigue. The user therefore calls upon energy reserves and goes beyond natural limits which are simply not felt. Together with insomnia, such circumstances can lead to exhaustion, which gives at least some users a reason to start using again.
The risk of exhaustion is even greater when a combination of cocaine and alcohol is used. While the alcohol numbs and makes one drunk, the cocaine stimulates and peps one up. This might appear to be a welcome combination for a night out on the town, but healthy is a different story: the combination of cocaine and alcohol puts an extra burden the heart and liver. You do not feel as you normally would how much alcohol you have consumed and may therefore continue drinking. That could lead to alcohol poisoning. After that there are secondary undesired reactions.
Heavy cocaine use can lead to hallucinations which can lead, in turn, to feelings of anxiety and panic. The user can also become paranoid and feel threatened and this, in turn, can change into aggression.
The person who frequently uses can feel like there are bugs on, in, or under the skin and scratch until the skin starts to bleed.
The snorting of cocaine causes the blood vessels in the nose to contract. In cases of frequent use, the nasal mucous membranes can be damaged. And when some of the cocaine being snorted ends up in the sinus cavity, this can cause blockage and headache.
The use of non-sterile needles to inject cocaine can cause skin abscesses.
Freebasing brings extra physical risks with it including damage to the lungs.
People with a weak heart, weak veins, high blood pressure, diabetes or epilepsy are particularly at risk.
Finally, cocaine is often mixed with other substances before it reaches the user. These substances are usually not dangerous, but the user is certainly not getting what he or she paid for.

Can you see if someone uses?

Cocaine use cannot really be seen. Use can bring certain symptoms, which are described elsewhere in this website, but the symptoms can also be the results of something else. Cocaine use is more apparent when more symptoms are present simultaneously. Only an open talk, however, can really establish whether someone is using or not.

Handling of users

Prohibition or trying to prevent cocaine use are of little use. Panic and threats can actually backfire and produce exactly the results which one wants to avoid. An open exchange of thoughts on the basis of sufficient knowledge and no prejudices can help. In an open conversation, the amount of use and reasons for use can be raised for discussion. Regular use can point to underlying problems which can often be tackled by the user him/herself with the help, if necessary, of others and possibly professionals.

For both the problematic user and his or her environment, the following holds: Do not be afraid to ask for advice and seek help.