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Addiction AND disease
Drug abuse impact on society
Drug abuse in society
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Cocaine Take Over
Cocaine is the second most popular illegal substance in the United States and continues to be no matter how severe the damages to people can be. People let drugs take over them, cocaine ruins them not only mentally but also physically. They let this drug ruin their lives only for temporary pleasure and don't realize how much it can hurt them in the long run. Those who do realize how it hurts their future, still let this illegal substance control their lives.
Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of a coca plant and is one of the most used and addictive drugs. Pure cocaine grows from the coca bush Erythroxylon which grows mostly in South America, in Bolivia, and Peru (What is Cocaine?). All over the world, people use this illegal substance keeping in mind the risk they are putting their bodies in, and don't even worry about it.
This widely known drug doesn't come in only one form, but the two most popular would be Hydrochloride Salt and Freebase form, and Crack. Hydrochloride Salt is the powdered form of cocaine. It is a white crystalline substance like shown in movies and shows. People can either snort this through their nose or inject it into their veins as it dissolves into water. Street names for this from of cocaine are blow, coke, flake, C and snow. Freebase cocaine is the type people smoke, it is chosen over Hydrochloride Salt because it takes effect in 10 seconds. Crack cocaine is considered to be the most potent and addictive form. The most famous form of cocaine would be crack. It is processed from powdered to freebase. Cocaine can only be detected in blood or urine only several hours after it's use, meaning if they were to be tested after those hours they would seem drug free.
Cocaine is cons...
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... and anger. Addiction inflicts on its victims and their families every day, millions of people destroy their lives for cocaine only for the temporary pleasure. But most will tell you that until you go through it, or watch a loved one go through it, there is no way to fully view the true effects of cocaine addiction.
Cocaine addiction within a person may also have an impact on society. Drugs like cocaine are diseases in the brain, causing you to act in a way you cannot control. Aggressive and irresponsible behavior is usually what follows the addiction of cocaine. Coke causes people to make bad choices because the drug is controlling their brain. They wouldn't be able to control this, causing them to have destructible behavior. When a person can't take over their brain, more than a few small things can go wrong. Behavioral changes occur with repeated use of cocaine.
Cocaine is a classified ‘Schedule II’ drug, also known as “crack”, and “coke” it is a powerful drug, and addictive stimulant well known as a psychoactive substance. That comes from a plant called coca leaf that has been around since the mid-1800s and throughout the 20th century. “In the mid-1980s, addiction to the drug was seen as exaggerated or dismissed as psychological and not addiction” (Miller, Gold, Smith, 1997, p.62). In the past, cocaine’s original use was for medical purposes as local anesthetic for surgeries. Now its usage is illegal and this drug is immersed into the body through various ways. However,...
Porrino, L.J., Smith, H.R. Nader, M.A., Beveridge, T.J.R. (2007). The effects of cocaine: A shifting target over the course of addiction. Prog Nueropsychopharmocol Biol Psychiatry, 31(8), 1593-1600. (Porrine et al., 2007).
There are three different stages to addiction, the first being the adaptive stage. In this stage, the user is on top of his/her game. They feel as if they can function better while on the drug and are able to handle larger amounts. This is the person that can smoke crack before they go to work and will probably be more productive then most. “Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continu...
David, A.G (2013). Cocaine use disorder in adults: Epidemiology, pharmacology, clinical manifestations, medical consequences, and diagnosis. ©2014 UpToDate, Inc.
One of the most obvious reasons why drugs are still around is because it is such a profitable business. In our society, marijuana, cocaine, xanax, and ecstasy are convenient and readily available to purchase almost anywhere you go. Those who sell drugs can make anywhere from five hundred to three thousand dollars a day. This income is tax-free and requires little to no labor efforts whatsoever. Those involved in this lucrative trade are taking somewhat of a risk, but because dealing drugs is so common in our society the chances of getting caught aren’t as high as expected. Drug trafficking alone serves for about 40 percent of all organized crime activity with this number increasing everyday as drugs become more and more popular. With the economy being so bad most find it easy to turn to selling drugs as an acceptable mean of income.
When a person takes cocaine, it causes a rush. There is between one or two minutes of intense pleasure. This is followed by five to 8 minutes of euphoria, then as the high comes down, an overwhelming urge for more, which may last for a day. (3) When a user is between cocaine doses or halts usage, the opposite effects occur. The user is depressed and tired (2).
Cocaine itself is derived from the coca plant commonly found in South America. For centuries, the native people of South America have used the coca plant, its leaves in particular, as a stimulant for long work hours as well as for medical purposes. It was not until 1859 that modern cocaine was developed as a drug in Germany (Crack Cocaine History, n.d.). By the late 1800’s, the medical knowledge of cocaine had spread world-wide and many American doctors began to prescribe the use of cocaine as a medical drug to cure different illnesses and ease common pain. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s, however, that the negative side effects of cocaine became apparent; these side effects included addiction and death. With such detrimental side effects, cocaine was declared a threat to the nation and in 1914, cocaine became what’s known as a controlled substance that could only be obtained by a prescription from a doctor for medical reasons only (much like today’s ‘medical marijuana’). However, by controlling access and usage of cocaine, America inadvertently gave way to an entirely new drug cartel that they weren’t prepared to deal with. In the beginning of cocaine being a controlled substance, it became less popular and one of the lesser drugs to be abused in the United States. It wasn’t until the 1960’s and 70’s that the use of cocaine became popular again. This widespread ‘cocaine boom’ affected all
The war on drugs is greatly concentrated on cocaine and even more so on crack cocaine.
The consequences that follow the use of any drug are unfavorable. Although many individuals may see drug addiction as a mere lifestyle choice, it is a problem that many individuals suffer from and inevitably a growing issue that leaves major social and economic impacts.
Cocaine is an addictive drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a strong stimulant mostly used as a recreational drug. Cocaine is commonly snorted, inhaled, or injected into the veins. It is one of the most widespread drugs in the United States. It is readily absorbed through the body’s mucous membranes. The onset of the action depends on the route of administration, which can take between three seconds to five minutes. Peak effects also depend on the route of administration which can take between one to twenty minutes or five to ninety minutes. Cocaine has a half-life of thirty to sixty minutes. Approximately 25-30 million Americans use cocaine
The use of cocaine in the United States has declined over the last twenty years while the use of crack has increased. Many people avoided the use of crack because of the harmful chemicals used in creating the drug. One of the reasons why crack became popular is because of not needing to inject the drug hence less risks of being infected by the AIDS virus. Carroll (2000) states cocaine is the most powerful stimulant of natural origin. Most users snort or inject the drug to enable a quicker “high.” Cocaine use brings on many health problems. Fatal complications occur from regular use, for example, liver damage, seizures, elevated blood pressure causing stroke, heart failure, or heart attack.
Drugs come from a wide variety of different places. Many are from plants but some, like heroin have to be chemically modified from morphine. Places that drugs come from can be very common. Caffeine, some people may not know but is considered a drug, comes from cocoa beans, while nicotine comes from tobacco. Mostly, these drugs have to be grown in their natural habitat, however they can be grown in an artificial setting. Many times because dealing drugs is illegal dealers will set up this setting in the basement of their house or some other discreet place (Vicc Drug Guide).
2. Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the cocoa plant and is then further processed to produce the common street drug.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go