Cocaine / Crack

Cocaine is an illicit drug with street names like coke, crack, white, sniff, snow, rocks and many more depending on the area people live in. It is commonly used for recreational purposes (Parties, clubbing, concerts, etc..) but can lead to more severe dependencies.

Cocaine can manipulate the user’s mind into feeling more alive, confident, happy and chattier by changing the way the brain releases Dopamine into a users’ system; Cocaine can also increase sexual desire but taking too much Cocaine can reduce your sex drive.

There are three types of Cocaine:

1. Cocaine which looks like a fine powder
2. Crack which looks like small rocks
3. Freebase, which looks like a crystallised powder.

It is generally snorted in its powder form but can also be injected and smoked in all its forms. It can take from a few minutes for its effects to start accumulating or instantly if injected or smoked causing the brain to develop intense feelings of pleasure.

Many users can spiral into a serious cycle of life-destroying misuse due to the drug’s short-lived high especially with Crack whose intense high may only last for 2 minutes, enticing the user in wanting and returning for more and more at much more frequent intervals as their cravings increase.

This can lead individuals into taking unnecessary risks while under the influence of Cocaine in all its forms. Many users can become overconfident and reckless which can cause them to engage in high-risk behaviour to the detriment of themselves and others around them.

Also, in the long term, behavioural changes are likely to occur; the users may find themselves committing a crime or lying to loved ones to maintain their misuse to Cocaine.

Some users can become so occupied with the drug that their whole lives get engulfed by it, inevitably risking their careers, reputations and relationships.

The risk of overdose is extremely high for cocaine addicts, especially with polydrug use or injecting.

The intense cravings they experience often lead them to escalate their usage within a short period.

Since cocaine is a stimulant, increased usage often leads to some of the bodily functions being overstimulated which can significantly increase the risk to the users health, some of these symptoms include raised body temperature, high blood pressure, breathing problems and other more severe symptoms that can eventually lead to cardiac arrest, organ failure or in some cases death

• Blood Borne Viruses BBV’s and Vein damage from IV use.
• Psychosis, Depression, anxiety, paranoia.
• Crack lung.
• Agitation.
• Nausea, weight loss due to loss of hunger.
• Risk of overdose with polydrug use or injecting.
• Breathing problems, Irregular heartbeat Cardiac arrest.
• Cartilage damage to your nose.
• In pregnant users can cause miscarriage, damage the baby, premature labour and low birth weight.
• Financial problems.