How Cocaine Affects The Human Body
Chris Channing
The coca plant native to South America has been cultivated for centuries and then refined into a substance called cocaine. A powerful central nervous system stimulant and a mild topical anesthetic, cocaine is a popular recreational drug. Although methods of consuming cocaine vary, the most popular is to insufflate it in a powder form. It can also be injected intravenously into the bloodstream. Yet another method of consuming cocaine is to smoke crack, or freebase cocaine. This allows for a far more intense high that only lasts a short while.
Effects of Cocaine in the Short Term
As a powerful central nervous system stimulant, cocaine has a profound effect on the way the brain functions. Often used as a party drug, cocaine causes sensations of joy and euphoria. Adding to its party drug persona is cocaine's ability to eliminate fatigue and keep people awake, allowing them to stay up longer and dance longer. Not unlike amphetamines, a select few use cocaine while working to help them stay up, concentrate longer, and get more accomplished in the same amount of time.
After consuming a high dose of cocaine, marked differences in behavior often take place. Many cocaine users feel irritable while on the drug, and this, together with drug induced confusion and hyperactivity, can lead to irrational or violent behavior. Cocaine can cause hallucinations, usually auditory. Cocaine users often become paranoid and antisocial when using larger amounts of the drug, furthering their delusions and increasing their risk of injury. In addition to these mind altering psychological effects, cocaine introduces a variety of problems to the human body which can also be dangerous. Upon using cocaine, blood pressure and body temperature are raised. Perspiration and heart rate are increased, and these factors when in combination with the strenuous physical activity stemming from cocaine abuse can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. The risks of these type of health problems are especially increased in people who already have a heart condition or are at risk of seizure.
When compared to opiates, withdrawal from cocaine abuse is a walk in the park. Although cocaine abuse does not affect the body so much as the mind, the mental toll cocaine withdrawal can take is more than enough to convince an addict to use cocaine. When withdrawing, users may experience thoughts of suicide, lack of sex drive, apathy, and severe paranoia. Withdrawals can be kept in check only by using more cocaine, leading to habituation and addiction.
Long-Term Effects of Regular Cocaine Usage
When using cocaine regularly over an extended period of time, more serious psychological changes occur within the brain. Cocaine's stimulating qualities combined with its propensity to induce paranoia can lead to further violent act and mood swings. Insomnia is normal among cocaine addicts, and combined with cocaine's tendency to suppress a user's appetite can lead to unhealthy weight loss. As with any insufflated substance, damage to the inside of the nose cartilage can take place, and will eventually tear a hole in the septum with repeated use.
All in all, cocaine is a dangerous drug, the risks of which are downplayed by its reputation as a feel-good party drug. In reality, cocaine can not only cause death after one usage, but the psychological effects it imposes on addicts can lead to a violent lifestyle full of paranoid delusions.
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