My report will hopefully educate you on the effects on both mental and social health from using cocaine, and I hope to caution you away from ever trying cocaine in any form or any drug of that matter.
People take cocaine for various reasons, with some believing that cocaine is a recreational drug that is non –addictive. However, nothing could be more wrong. Cocaine is a highly addictive drug and a leading cause in crime, health problems and accidents. A cocaine addiction can lead to poor mental health and your friends and family can be lost. When you are on cocaine you can get aggressive and more hyper after you take it & this can lead to causing fights with loved ones. Physically it’ll be easy for everyone to see your addicted. Cocaine that is snorted will eat away the tissue of your nose and nasal cavity. It will weaken your teeth, making them break and rot away. You will also lose weight with long term cocaine addicts looking nothing more than skin and bone.
A study carried out at the university of Cambridge, and published in Molecular Psychiatry, looked at changes in grey matter content in the brains of cocaine users and compared them to a group of people under a controlled environment, the cocaine users had a rate of up to 40% increase in dying brain cells. Its biggest impact is on the prefrontal and temporal cortex, which are associated with attention decision making and self-regulation. When cocaine is taken your brain can experience extreme brain swelling, subdural hematoma and retinal hemorrhage. Snorting cocaine is the most common way of absorption for cocaine users, a small amount can reach your lungs depending on how you snort. The majority will be absorbed into your blood stream by the soft lining in the upper area of your nose (Nasal Polyps). The rest will enter through the throat and stomach if the mucus infused cocaine from your nose is swallowed, and will travel down to your stomach. Smoking it is another way to take cocaine but not as common with the much higher lung damage it does on top of the damage its already doing to your body and mind.
Cocaine is a class A drug that comes as a white powder or crystals with a numbing taste. Cocaine hydrochloride is a further processed form which is known as the cocaine base. This comes in two forms, a powder and crystalized crack rock. Cocaine’s formula is C17H21NO4 giving it 17-part carbon,21-part Hydrogen and 4-part nitrogen and oxygen. Cocaine comes in different forms and types although all kinds are derived from the coca leaf. The most common is the powdered form of cocaine that is snorted or injected but there is also crack cocaine which comes in solid form or crystals varying in color from white to yellow or pale rose. Crack is heated and smoked, it is so named because of the cracking noise that is made when heating. Smoking cocaine allows it to reach the brain much more quickly and making the high more immediate and intense, but shorter lasting only around 15 minutes. A user will find that they can become addicted after their first time trying crack.
In the manufacturing process cocaine goes through many different steps to get it from leaf to pure form
Cocaine is produced from the leaves of the Coca plant (Erythoxylon coca) which are almost exclusively found in western and northern South America. Colombia is the main producer of illegal cocaine with Peru, Bolivia, and Chile providing significant amounts of the drug. The coca plant grows best in the mountain and jungle areas of these countries.
Laboratories are scattered throughout the coca growing areas of south America. The cocaine is distributed mostly in easy to handle brick containing about 50% cocaine. The bricks are sent to collection points where they are shipped to markets around the world. In these remote areas, processing laboratories are set to extract the coca from leaves and then have the coca converted into cocaine. There are two types of processing labs: Pozo pit labs that will use acidic solutions, and the more common lab that will use metal drums and gasoline, the reason this is more common is because it’s cheaper and takes less time than the acidic solutions.
Drug cartels in Columbia control almost all cocaine trafficking. They will process coca from Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia. Various cocaine trafficking organizations then ship it to all corners of the world.
1. Gasoline containing the cocaine alkaloid is drained from metal drums and filtered using diluted acid. The gasoline is removed from the acid layer and sodium bicarbonate or ammonia is then added to make cocaine base.
2. The cocaine base is filtered through a fabric cloth.
3. The cocaine is then dried to make a purer form of cocaine base.
4. The cocaine base is dissolved in solvent such as ethyl acetate, acetone or ether and then heated in hot water.
5. Another solvent such as methyl ethyl ketone is added to the boiling liquid as well with concentrated hydrochloric acid which will result in the crystallization of cocaine hydrochloride.
6. Excess solvents are then removed, first it has to be by hand and then by hydraulic press
7. Solvents are then taken out by using a microwave oven to make the basis for the cocaine powder
8. Cocaine base, commonly called ‘’crack’’, is then made by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in a mixture of baking soda and water. The solution is heated up to boiling point until the substance forms an oily substance that drops out of the solution and settles at the bottom of the container.
9. Excess water, sodium chloride, and other impurities can be removed after cooling the oil to a rock-like substance. The resulting product at the end is crack cocaine.
Cocaine will have you sweating bullets, this is because cocaine raises your body temperature which triples if you do physical activity while on cocaine. Cocaine is also a lead straight to heart attacks and heart disease, cocaine builds up a lot of cholesterol on the arteries and puts stress on the blood vessels and this is a path straight into major heart attacks and any other heart related problems.
Thank you for reading my journal on how cocaine affects a person’s mental and social health I hope I have changed your mind and steered you away from the hyped up drug from movies to television.
Please choose not to ever take drugs of any kind.
Background
Cocaine, or coke as it is commonly known, is a stimulant based drug and has the same effects as amphetamines speed and ice, it produces a much more intense but not as long lasting high. Cocaine not only affects the pleasure centers of the brain, it also stimulates other systems in the body that control survival, mood, appetite, arousal and sleep. The cocaine user feels dramatic energy increases and elevated self-worth, and usually thinks they are the life of the party. Unfortunately, as well as these intense pleasurable feelings, a user can also feel some other uncomfortable or disturbing sensations such as confusion, nervousness, restlessness, paranoia, delirium, hallucinations, violence, homicide and suicidal thoughts.People take cocaine for various reasons, with some believing that cocaine is a recreational drug that is non –addictive. However, nothing could be more wrong. Cocaine is a highly addictive drug and a leading cause in crime, health problems and accidents. A cocaine addiction can lead to poor mental health and your friends and family can be lost. When you are on cocaine you can get aggressive and more hyper after you take it & this can lead to causing fights with loved ones. Physically it’ll be easy for everyone to see your addicted. Cocaine that is snorted will eat away the tissue of your nose and nasal cavity. It will weaken your teeth, making them break and rot away. You will also lose weight with long term cocaine addicts looking nothing more than skin and bone.
A study carried out at the university of Cambridge, and published in Molecular Psychiatry, looked at changes in grey matter content in the brains of cocaine users and compared them to a group of people under a controlled environment, the cocaine users had a rate of up to 40% increase in dying brain cells. Its biggest impact is on the prefrontal and temporal cortex, which are associated with attention decision making and self-regulation. When cocaine is taken your brain can experience extreme brain swelling, subdural hematoma and retinal hemorrhage. Snorting cocaine is the most common way of absorption for cocaine users, a small amount can reach your lungs depending on how you snort. The majority will be absorbed into your blood stream by the soft lining in the upper area of your nose (Nasal Polyps). The rest will enter through the throat and stomach if the mucus infused cocaine from your nose is swallowed, and will travel down to your stomach. Smoking it is another way to take cocaine but not as common with the much higher lung damage it does on top of the damage its already doing to your body and mind.
Cocaine is a class A drug that comes as a white powder or crystals with a numbing taste. Cocaine hydrochloride is a further processed form which is known as the cocaine base. This comes in two forms, a powder and crystalized crack rock. Cocaine’s formula is C17H21NO4 giving it 17-part carbon,21-part Hydrogen and 4-part nitrogen and oxygen. Cocaine comes in different forms and types although all kinds are derived from the coca leaf. The most common is the powdered form of cocaine that is snorted or injected but there is also crack cocaine which comes in solid form or crystals varying in color from white to yellow or pale rose. Crack is heated and smoked, it is so named because of the cracking noise that is made when heating. Smoking cocaine allows it to reach the brain much more quickly and making the high more immediate and intense, but shorter lasting only around 15 minutes. A user will find that they can become addicted after their first time trying crack.
In the manufacturing process cocaine goes through many different steps to get it from leaf to pure form
Cocaine is produced from the leaves of the Coca plant (Erythoxylon coca) which are almost exclusively found in western and northern South America. Colombia is the main producer of illegal cocaine with Peru, Bolivia, and Chile providing significant amounts of the drug. The coca plant grows best in the mountain and jungle areas of these countries.
Laboratories are scattered throughout the coca growing areas of south America. The cocaine is distributed mostly in easy to handle brick containing about 50% cocaine. The bricks are sent to collection points where they are shipped to markets around the world. In these remote areas, processing laboratories are set to extract the coca from leaves and then have the coca converted into cocaine. There are two types of processing labs: Pozo pit labs that will use acidic solutions, and the more common lab that will use metal drums and gasoline, the reason this is more common is because it’s cheaper and takes less time than the acidic solutions.
Drug cartels in Columbia control almost all cocaine trafficking. They will process coca from Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia. Various cocaine trafficking organizations then ship it to all corners of the world.
1. Gasoline containing the cocaine alkaloid is drained from metal drums and filtered using diluted acid. The gasoline is removed from the acid layer and sodium bicarbonate or ammonia is then added to make cocaine base.
2. The cocaine base is filtered through a fabric cloth.
3. The cocaine is then dried to make a purer form of cocaine base.
4. The cocaine base is dissolved in solvent such as ethyl acetate, acetone or ether and then heated in hot water.
5. Another solvent such as methyl ethyl ketone is added to the boiling liquid as well with concentrated hydrochloric acid which will result in the crystallization of cocaine hydrochloride.
6. Excess solvents are then removed, first it has to be by hand and then by hydraulic press
7. Solvents are then taken out by using a microwave oven to make the basis for the cocaine powder
8. Cocaine base, commonly called ‘’crack’’, is then made by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in a mixture of baking soda and water. The solution is heated up to boiling point until the substance forms an oily substance that drops out of the solution and settles at the bottom of the container.
9. Excess water, sodium chloride, and other impurities can be removed after cooling the oil to a rock-like substance. The resulting product at the end is crack cocaine.
Discussion
When a person takes cocaine it interrupts the reabsorption of dopamine blocking the path dopamine goes through. When cocaine enters the blood stream from being inhaled it interrupts the reabsorption of dopamine in the synapse, causing you to need more and more cocaine to reach the same high as the first time high the person had. Slowly the drug takes over and stops any dopamine intake and after some time nothing else will be on your mind other than to eat, breath, take cocaine. It will consume your life until you’ve lost your friends and family and there is nothing you can do to numb the pain but spend every last drop of your money on cocaine and soon you’ll borrow money but never be able to pay anyone back because you’ll be so hooked as soon as you get hands on money you’ll waste it away on more cocaine and you’ll either end up in prison or in the street begging for money so you can satisfy your ever growing need for cocaine.Cocaine will have you sweating bullets, this is because cocaine raises your body temperature which triples if you do physical activity while on cocaine. Cocaine is also a lead straight to heart attacks and heart disease, cocaine builds up a lot of cholesterol on the arteries and puts stress on the blood vessels and this is a path straight into major heart attacks and any other heart related problems.
Conclusion
Cocaine is shown to be a highly addictive drug and can ruin a person’s life and their body. When a user takes in cocaine they may think they are on top of the world, but really they will lose their health because cocaine takes over the dopamine rein intake causing the addiction. The more cocaine a person takes the more their health deteriorates. Cocaine is manufactured in filthy drug labs and is cut with all sorts of other products to increase its volume and provide more product for the dealers to sell. No one can know exactly what has gone into the drug, so you never know what you are putting into your body.Thank you for reading my journal on how cocaine affects a person’s mental and social health I hope I have changed your mind and steered you away from the hyped up drug from movies to television.
Please choose not to ever take drugs of any kind.
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