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What
is it?
Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a
potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs.
What
does it look like?
Cocaine is distributed on the street in two main forms: cocaine hydrochloride
is a white crystalline powder and "crack" is cocaine hydrochloride
that has been processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
and water into a freebase cocaine - chips, chunks, or rocks.
What
are the street names/slang terms for it?
Cocaine: Coke, snow, nose candy, flake, blow, big C, lady, white, snowbirds.
Crack: rock, freebase.
How
is it used?
Cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack can be
smoked.
What
are its short-term effects?
Short-term effects of cocaine include constricted peripheral blood vessels,
dilated pupils, increased temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, insomnia,
loss of appetite, feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety.
Duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include energy,
reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depends on how it is used. The faster
the absorption, the more intense the high. However, the faster the absorption,
the shorter the high lasts. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes,
while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Cocaine's effects are
short lived, and once the drug leaves the brain, the user experiences
a "coke crash" that includes depression, irritability, and fatigue.
What
are its long-term effects?
High doses of cocaine and/or prolonged use can trigger paranoia. Smoking
crack cocaine can produce a particularly aggressive paranoid behavior
in users. When addicted individuals stop using cocaine, they often become
depressed. Prolonged cocaine snorting can result in ulceration of the
mucous membrane of the nose and can damage the nasal septum enough to
cause it to collapse. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac
arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.
What
is its federal classification?
Cocaine is a Schedule II drug.