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Cocaine is a powerful central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that heightens alertness, inhibits appetite and the need for sleep, and provides intense feelings of pleasure. It is prepared from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia.
The effects of cocaine are immediate, extremely pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine and crack cocaine both produce intense but short-lived euphoria and can make users feel more energetic. Like caffeine, cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects include feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with anxiety and restlessness. As the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the drug abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days.
Cocaine addiction can occur very quickly and be very difficult to break. Animal studies have shown that animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine limited in order not to take toxic or even lethal doses. People addicted to cocaine behave similarly. They will go to great lengths to get cocaine and continue to take it even when it hurts their school or job performance and their relationships with loved ones.
Incidence
Cocaine abuse and addiction continues to be a problem that plagues many countries. In 1997, for example, an estimated 1.5 million Americans age 12 and older were chronic cocaine users. Although this is an improvement over the 1985 estimate of 5.7 million users, there is still a lot to be done.
The initial resurgence of cocaine use in the 1960s was largely confined to the affluent, for it was at that time quite expensive. Part of the drug's mystique was its association with celebrities in the music, sports, and show business worlds. Today, people from all walks of life use cocaine.Young single people are the most frequent users, with male users outnumbering female users two to one. There are no clear connections between cocaine use and education, occupation, or socioeconomic status.
Prognosis
Attempts to stop using the drugs can fail simply because the resulting depression can be overwhelming, causing the addict to use more cocaine in an attempt to overcome his depression. This overpowering addiction can cause the the addict to do anything to get cocaine.
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Cocaine Addiction: | | | | | Symptoms - Respiratory |  Significant/severe chest pain | Cocaine induces a feeling of well-being by raising dopamine levels in the brain, but also increases blood pressure and causes blood vessels to contract. Sometimes the arteries feeding the heart go into spasm, causing the severe chest pains that make users go to hospital. If the spasms are particularly severe the patients may need drugs such as nitrates to force their vessels open and prevent a heart attack. |
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Conditions that suggest Cocaine Addiction:
Cocaine Addiction can lead to:
Recommendations and treatments for Cocaine Addiction: | | | | | Diet |  Therapeutic Fasting| | Fasting makes it easier to overcome bad habits and addictions. Many people have overcome tobacco and alcohol addictions, and even drug addictions, by fasting. Fasting rapidly dissipates the craving for drugs. |
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Mineral |
 Magnesium| | Magnesium has been substituted for cocaine and can result in reduced cocaine intake. |
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Oriental Medicine |
Acupuncture| | Researchers say that acupuncture is a promising treatment for cocaine addiction. A team from Yale University successfully used the alternative therapy to treat an addiction for which there are few effective treatments. Volunteers received a form of the therapy called auricular acupuncture in which needles are inserted into specific parts of the outer ear. Tests on urine samples showed that these volunteers were less likely to have taken cocaine during the study than others who were not offered the therapy.
Results showed that 54.8% of participants tested free of cocaine during the last week of treatment, compared to 23.5% and 9.1% in the two control groups. Those who completed acupuncture treatment also had longer periods of sustained abstinence compared to participants in the control groups. |
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KEY | | Weak or unproven link |  | | Strong or generally accepted link | | | May do some good | | | Likely to help |
GLOSSARY
Anxiety
Apprehension of danger, or dread, accompanied by nervous restlessness, tension, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath unrelated to a clearly identifiable stimulus.
Arterial (Arteries, Artery)
Blood that leaves the heart. When it leaves the right ventricle, it is venous blood; and when it leaves the left ventricle, through the aorta, it is fresh and oxygenated. After it has passed out to the capillaries and started to return, it is venous blood.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
A collective term for the brain, spinal cord, their nerves, and the sensory end organs. More broadly, this can even include the
neurotransmitting hormones instigated by the CNS that control the chemical nervous system, the endocrine glands.
Chronic (Chronicity)
Usually referring to chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Crave (Craving, Cravings)
To have a strong desire for; to feel the need for.
Dopamine
A neurohormone; precursor to norepinephrine which acts as a stimulant to the nervous system. Carries signals between neurons and controls feelings of satisfaction, arousal, reward and mood.
Magnesium
An essential mineral. The chief function of magnesium is to activate certain enzymes, especially those related to carbohydrate metabolism. Another role is to maintain the electrical potential across nerve and muscle membranes. It is essential for proper heartbeat and nerve transmission. Magnesium controls many cellular functions. It is involved in protein formation, DNA production and function and in the storage and release of energy in ATP. Magnesium is closely related to calcium and phosphorus in body function. The average adult body contains approximately one ounce of magnesium. It is the fifth mineral in abundance within the body--behind calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Although about 70 percent of the body's magnesium is contained in the teeth and bones, its most important functions are carried out by the remainder which is present in the cells of the soft tissues and in the fluid surrounding those cells.
Parkinson's Disease (Parkinson's)
A chronic, slowly-progressing disease of the nervous system characterized clinically by the combination of tremor, rigidity, extreme slowness of movement, and stooped posture. It is characterized pathologically by loss of dopamine in the substantia nigra.
Spasm
Involuntary contraction of one or more muscle groups.
Last updated: May 11, 2008
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