Cocaine Essay

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Cocaine
Cocaine extracted from coca bush from South America. The extract is then treated to make cocaine freebase, hydrochloride and crack. The most common form is cocaine hydrochloride. It comes a white crystal-like powder. This can also be treated even further to create freebase and crack. Freebase is a white powder, a bit like hydrochloride. Crack normally comes in the form of crystals that come in colours that range from cream, white or transparent with a pink or yellow hue.

Structure and function:
The structure of cocaine contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. It also contains a circle of carbons with an aromatic ring inside, changing the position of the double bonds.

Cocaine can be snorted, smoked, injected or even chewed; it can be consumed in any way as long as it ends up in the blood stream. It is a stimulant drug, meaning the messages travelling between the brain and body speed up. Cocaine affects the production, uptake and breaking down of three chemicals that naturally take place in the brain. These are: Dopamine, Serotonin and Norepinephrine. ...

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