Xavier Mahoney
Health p.9

Cocaine

Cocaine the master of all drugs. The terror of all humanity. The destruction of humans mind, body and spirit. One of the biggest health problems in the United States. Killing millions harming millions and completely destroying the human anatomy and brain.
Cocaine has became a big health problem in the united states since 1970. Around the time when it first came out it was looked at as something harmless. “during the period it emerged from relative obscurity, described by experts as a harmless recreational drug with minimal toxicity. By the mid-1980s, cocaine use had increased and its ability to lead to drug taking atlevels that caused severe medical and psychological problems was obivious.” (addictive behavior, p.1) Cocaine isn’t taking lightly most users would say. Its powerful addictiveness leves users wanting more after one hit. “it is generally taken in binge cycles, with periods of hours to days in which users take a drug repeatedly, alternating with periods of days to weeks when no cocaine is used.” (addictive behavior, p.1) cocaine is from the the plant erythroxylon coca. This plant is a shrub found most of the time in the Andean highlands and the northwestern parts of the amazon in south America. “The history of coca plant use goes back more than a thousand years, with evidence of use found archeologically in their burial sites.” (addictive behavior, p.1) the Inca tribe was a civilization that used cocaine for many reasons. The inca called the planta gift of god and believed that the leaf had supernatural powers. “ the conquistadors soon discovered, however, that their Indian slaves worked harder and required less food if they were allowed to chew coca. (Addictive behavior, p.1) cocaine become more popular after the german chemist albert niemann isolated cocaine from leaves.
Cocaine is apart of the stimulants drug class. Cocaine is a stimulate that causes a sense of energy, alertness, talkativness, and gives users a feeling of pleasure. “ at the same time the usar experiences signs of symphatic nervous system stimulation, including increased heart rate and blood pressure and dilation of the bronchioles(breathing tubes) in the lungs. When injected or smoked, these drugs cause an intense feeling of euphoria.” (buzzed, p.1) there are 3 kinds of dangers with stimulants. One is high doses which can bring death . high doses are the most important dangers. High doses of cocaine can cause seizures, strokes, cardiac death or failure of breathing. The second danger is psychiatric. “ with repeated use of high doses of stimulants over days to weeks , a psychotic state of hostility and paranoia can emerge that cannot be distinguished from paranoid schizophrenia.” (addictive behavior, p.2) the 3rd danger is addiction. Addiction of cocaine can kill you or destroy you in many ways. Addiction can lead to a user to go to any extent to get his high. Some times what addiction brings you to might not be safe or right at all.
Cocaine alone is harmful already but mixing it with other drugs, I tell you, is the worse. Cocaine being a stimulant can be very dangerous when taken with cold medicines that contain decongestants. “ the effects of the two can combine to raise blood pressure to a dangerous level. (addictive behavior, p.2)