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Cocaine Addiction and Effects
Cocaine may not be a problem in itself but its overdose and consistent abuse leads to numerous behavioral and psychological changes, which are often undesirable. Cocaine alters chemical processes in the brain giving the person an illusion of happiness and well-being. This is dangerous since a person needs to maintain a proper perspective on things in his life but cocaine can hide the pain, keeping the person in a state of elation. However this effect doesn't last very long and there comes a stage when cocaine stops producing this effect on brain but by then it is impossible to quit since one becomes addicted to it. National Institute on Drug Abuse states:
"As cocaine abuse continues, tolerance often develops. This means that higher doses and more frequent use of cocaine are required for the brain to register the same level of pleasure experienced during...
Recent studies have shown that, during periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous craving ... "
In short, while it may relax people and help them unwind due to its psychoactive properties. People may experience initial elation that results in mental alertness and more outgoing behavior but as the use continues, the same effects turn into irritability, restlessness and even psychosis. A drug addict may find cocaine less of a stimulant and more of a necessity. There is no way one can control the usage since the drug is addictive and people cannot predict when they will quit using it. Cocaine addiction often makes people do strange things which are uncharacteristic of them. Prolonged abuse of cocaine can result in hallucinations. "Use of cocaine…
REFERENCES
1) Cocaine Abuse and Addiction Retrieved online 17th Dec 2004: http://www.focusas.com/Cocaine.html
2) National Institute on drug Abuse: Research report: Retrieved online 17th Dec 2004: http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Cocaine/Cocaine.html
Cocaine Botanical Origins Cocaine is synthesized from the leaves of the coca plant. These plants grow in Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Africa, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Formosa. The leaf contains between 0.5% and 1.5% cocaine and the processing methods extract pure cocaine from the leaves. In the late 15th century, the Incan people thought coca leaves were direct gifts from the gods in order to help them through the brutal physical abuse of working long
There is no valuable sustenance in crack or cocaine, and is used mainly as a recreational drug by many. This, in some ways, leaves the inner cities and crime and moves to the wealthier middle and upper middle classes who use the cocaine and not the crack version for recreation. This is the society of Jay McInerney's seminal 1980s fictional tale of New York 20-something lives, "Bright Lights, Big
The good news for those keeping an eye on the health of students in secondary school is that there has been a "…significant decline in the 30-day prevalence of powder cocaine use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from its peak use in the late 1990s" (nida). Sexual Addiction Author Paul Earley writes in the Cocaine Recovery Book that cocaine stimulates the part of the brain that stirs a sexual feeling
According to a 2002 survey conducted under the auspices of NIH, ecstasy abuse among college and university students in general is a widespread trend that impedes academic performance (Bar-on, 2002). The NIH survey targeted 66 4-year American universities and colleges alike. The projected findings indicated a diminishing trend in undergraduate academic performance amongst students who indulge in binge drinking and abuse ecstasy in the process. Elsewhere, a Harvard College
History Of Addiction Addiction is an age old phenomena which has existed and has been persistent over the centuries, only difference has been it being acknowledged. People have been and will always be physically dependent on a number of external stimulants that provide them with satisfaction, gratification and enjoyment but when an individual's dependency on certain activities or some of these substances becomes obsessive in a gratuitous way then it is
Part of the reason for cocaine's rise in popularity was due to the fact that early on, many people didn't understand that the drug could have harmful side effects for those who use it. It wasn't until the early 1970's that the drug was made illegal and by that time there was already millions of Americans who were using cocaine. This allowed drug dealers such as those in Colombia