cocaine

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The lifestyle drug cocaine, which was fatal to celebrities like Konstantin Wecker and Christoph Daum, was already a popular stimulant in Sigmund Freud's time. The psychoanalyst himself was also a cocaine user and described the effects and side effects relatively uncritically. The conquerors of the New World learned the habit of chewing coca from the Indian tribes of Peru and Colombia living in the Andes. As a result, cocaine quickly spread across Europe.

Like heroin, cocaine is an illegal addictive substance and falls under the Narcotics Act. This means: The possession and trafficking of cocaine are prohibited and will be prosecuted. Depending on how it is processed, cocaine is also known as snow, coke, coke, crack and rocks.

Cocaine - Obtaining and Using

Cocaine is an alkaloid from the leaves of the South American coca bush (Erythroxylon coca). These contain around one percent cocaine, which is first chemically processed into coca paste, from which the soluble cocaine salt (kaocaine hydrochloride) is then extracted: the typical white, crystalline powder that is 20 to 80 percent pure when sniffed. The procedure is known from many films: Draw the powder in a line on a smooth surface and suck it into the upper nasal cavity with the help of a small suction tube (e.g. rolled up banknotes). Cocaine can also be injected, but you have to dissolve it beforehand.

"Crack", cocaine boiled with baking powder, is mostly smoked. It is even more dangerous than cocaine because it can be addictive the first time it is used.

Cocaine - the effect

Cocaine stimulates the psyche very strongly, has a local anesthetic effect and constricts the blood vessels. After around six hours, the substance is largely broken down in the body. After a few days, consumption is no longer detectable in the body - except in the hair! It is different with chronic consumption: Here residues of the illegal drug can be seen in the body for up to three weeks.

Cocaine increases self-esteem and creates feelings of happiness. Cocaine causes various interactions in the brain. Above all, it boosts dopamine production: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for the feeling of high that arises. In addition, the body releases the messenger substances norepinephrine and serotonin, which stimulate the central nervous system massively.

If the intoxicating effects subside, anxiety and aggression can develop. In addition, there are often acoustic or visual hallucinations. The end of the cocaine intoxication is heralded by depression, tiredness and exhaustion. Feelings of guilt, self-blame and thoughts of suicide are also possible.

Cocaine - the consequences

Acute risks when consuming cocaine are increased body temperature, palpitations, high blood pressure, seizures, increased aggressiveness, paranoid delusions and hallucinations, confusion and impaired consciousness (up to coma), paralysis of the respiratory center, heart attack.

Sometimes it comes to "cocaine shock": Usually cocaine narrows the blood vessels in the body. If someone is hypersensitive to the drug, the opposite effect can also occur - the vessels suddenly widen, which causes the blood pressure to drop suddenly. This manifests itself in shock symptoms such as pale skin, cold sweat and shortness of breath. There is danger to life!

Medium and long-term consequences of regular use of cocaine through the nose (sniffing) are sinus infections, frequent nosebleeds, decreased sense of smell and taste, damage to the nasal mucosa and even a hole in the nasal septum (perforation of the nasal septum). The microscopic injuries in the nose can also cause more germs to get into the bloodstream, which often leads to severe brain abscesses.

Cocaine smokers are also prone to respiratory problems.

Occasional as well as regular use of cocaine is addictive - primarily on a psychological level. With high doses of cocaine and crack smoking, this can happen within a few weeks. Those affected then increasingly increase the drug dose because the mood-enhancing (euphoric) effect quickly wears off as they get used to it.

If cocaine is stopped, withdrawal symptoms such as tiredness, exhaustion, lack of energy, depression, sexual aversion and a strong need for sleep occur. These symptoms can last for weeks. The craving for cocaine persists much longer.

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