Cocaine facts prove that this drug causes more deaths than any other illegal drug. Coke, dust, toot, line, nose candy, snow, sneeze, powder, girl, white tony, flake, C., The Lady, Cain, Neurocain, Rock, Crack! Do these names sound familiar? Are they words familiar to a friend, a family member, or your own child?
Statistical Use of Cocaine Every Day
Cocaine Facts
About 2.1 million Americans ages fifteen and over currently use cocaine every day according to current statistics. Over 39.5 million Americans ages twelve and over have tried cocaine at least once.
Cocaine is made from the leaves of the South American coca plant. Cocaine is a white crystalline powder that is mixed with sugar, cornstarch, vitamins, and flour. It can be injected, smoked, sniffed, or snorted and an overdose can cause death. Crack cocaine looks like a small rock and is off-white or pink in color.
The Incas first used cocaine by chewing and ingesting it. Pure coke was first marketed in a fortified French wine in 1863. In the 1880s William Stewart Halsted used it in surgery, and later became an addict himself. A cocaine fact is that Coca Cola, prior to 1903, had nine milligrams of cocaine leaf per serving.
The Feeling of Cocaine Use
If you have ever wondered about how it feels to use this drug, there is a strong sense of exhilaration followed by agitation, deep depression, anxiety, paranoia, and decreased appetite. These feelings run their course in about two hours. If injected, the euphoria lasts from 15 to 30 minutes.
There are many hazards to taking cocaine such as:
- insomnia
- constricted blood vessels
- sweating
- no appetite
- dilated pupils
- violent behavior
- blurred vision
- nasal infections
- twitching
- vomiting
- nosebleeds
- hallucinations
- high anxiety
- rapid breathing
- chest pain
Cocaine is highly addictive and causes you to have an overwhelming desire for it. It interferes with the re-absorption of dopamine, a brain chemical associated with pleasure and movement. Once tried, you cannot predict or control what you are doing and will continue to use the drug until it ultimately kills you.
After reading about these cocaine facts, you must have realized that this is not the path you would want yourself, your child or a friend to follow. The effects of this drug are overwhelming and destructive.