What Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is a kind of drug extracted from the cocoa plant. It is severely addictive and quickly affects the brain immediately after using it. Cocaine is one of oldest drug and it was misused for more than 100 years and later it was labeled as an illegal drug in the mid of 1980’s. The natural cocaine was first extracted from erythroxylon cocoa leaf. It is mixed with some of the medicines to cure the illness. It is the second type of drug which is misused all over the world but it is legally used by the doctors for eye, ear and throat surgery. It stimulates the entire nervous system as soon as it is used. Cocaine is also used as an anesthesia for children and it can be purchased only with the prescription of a doctor.

It is a plant which is cultivated illegally all over the world. Even though it is used for medication yet the government have not sanctioned for growing it legally. There are two chemicals formed from the cocaine plant-freebase and hydrochloride salt. The hydrochloride salt can be used by mixing up with water and if it is misused it can be extracted through the vein. The use of cocaine remains wide spread in much social and cultural work. Usually cocaine is sold in the American streets with the name of white-powder, snow and blow. It is a white powder which increases the feeling of relaxation when it is ingested. It can be injected or snorted because the chemical extracted from cocaine is a type of salt so it can be only injected by diluting.

History of Cocaine

Cocaine is one of the oldest drugs and it was cultivated by the South Americans before thousand years and the people of Peru and Bolivia grows this plant illegally in the 19th century. The cocaine hydrochloride was the first drug extracted from the cocaine plant and this develops the interest of growing cocaine plant and this yields more money for the people. The cocaine cultivation was first introduced in the year 1900 and it was banned in the year of 1914 by the Harrison act. The formula of cocaine also involves in the manufacture of cocoa-cola. In 1960 again the growth of cocaine was started and later in the year 1980 it was became a national problem.

Effects of Cocaine in Health

Mostly cocaine affects the nervous system of the body. It stays in the body from 20 minutes to several hours depending on the dosage of cocaine used. The initial symptom of cocaine addiction is increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and restlessness. If the use of drugs becomes excessive then it will lead to itching, paranoid delusion and hallucination. This can also cause coronary artery spasm for some of the users.

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