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Description: This article is sponsored by Ocean Breeze Treatment Centers
Cocaine is only second to meth when it comes to creating the greatest psychological dependence. Because it stimulates key pleasure centers in the brain which causes increased euphoria, addicts are always craving that next high. Tolerance develops very quickly, so users have to use more and more to get an equivalent high as time goes on. The truth is that cocaine kills, destroys families and makes the addict feel as though there is no escape, no future.
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine, widely known as “coke,” snow or nose candy, is extracted from coca leaves and was originally developed as a pain killer. On the street, it’s usually mixed with corn starch, talcum powder, sugar, procaine or amphetamines. It can be sniffed or inhaled using a pipe, ingested or rubbed into the gums for a quick high. The risk of overdose increases if abusers inject the drug.
Dangers
Coke is one of the most dangerous drugs because it’s almost impossible to stop taking it once you become addicted physically and mentally. It stimulates the nerve endings within your brain (key receptors), quickly making users need more and higher doses to achieve the same effect. The intense high is followed by the inevitable crash. It can kill you by causing you to stop breathing, can can a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage or even a heart attack. Children whose mothers used coke while pregnant are born addicts, some with birth or breathing defects.
Symptoms of Abuse
While it’s not always easy to be sure, there are some warning signs. You may note changes in mood, behavior and the abuser’s ability to function. There may be rapid mood changes and ongoing depression. The person may be angry, especially when asked about their drug use. Their personality may alter, with a change in friends, theft and attempted manipulation. Their appearance and personal hygiene may also suffer. The user may have lost their drive for life: Low motivation, missed meetings or assignments and withdrawal from loved ones.
What are the Effects of Abuse?
Beside addiction, a loss of personal drive and relationships, and a decline in appearance, cocaine kills. The attempts to find that next high or the equivalent to the first high cause abusers to use more and more cocaine as time goes on. The crash and subsequent severe depression can lead to suicide. Your body may be compromised, your heart may weaken, membranes may get more sensitive, veins may collapse and you may well suffer from brain damage. It can heighten paranoid tendencies and psychosis, cause sleep deprivation and may even lead to ulcers and kidney failure. From 2001 to 2013 there was a 29% increase in the total number of deaths.
Cocaine Statistics:
Heroin and cocaine/crack are the most commonly cited drugs among primary drug treatment admissions in the District of Columbia, each separately counting as 32% of all treatment admissions in 2011. Other statistics include:
NY: Heroin, followed by marijuana then cocaine, is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in the state. 2.53% of arrests are for cocaine.
Chicago: In Illinois, 2.22% of all arrests were for the use of cocaine.
Boston: Heroin is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in the state, followed by opiates and cocaine (2.75% of all arrests).
Philadelphia/Pittsburgh: Throughout Pennsylvania, there were 51,302 clients in substance abuse treatment on March 31, 2010.
Atlanta: The data show that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in Georgia. 2.22% of all arrests are for cocaine,
Baltimore: 2.2% of Maryland arrests were for the use of cocaine.
Hartford: In Connecticut, there were 28,250 clients in substance abuse treatment on March 31, 2010.
Minneapolis: 2.75% of arrests were for cocaine use
Las Vegas: Stimulants, including methamphetamine, are the most commonly cited drugs among primary drug treatment admissions in Nevada. 1.96% of all arrests were for using cocaine.
Sharon Damon is a preschool specialist, avid reader, passionate writer and creative baker/ cook. She has been a cooking instructor at a local Rec Center in Henderson, NV since 2011, and has written for Examiner and other publications since 2010. She knows her way around the keyboard and the kitchen! Sharon moved from a small city in Canada to Las Vegas 6 years ago, to marry the love of her life, and has since been swept up in the whirlwind known as Sin City. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
Location: new file
Description: This article is sponsored by Ocean Breeze Treatment Centers
Cocaine is only second to meth when it comes to creating the greatest psychological dependence. Because it stimulates key pleasure centers in the brain which causes increased euphoria, addicts are always craving that next high. Tolerance develops very quickly, so users have to use more and more to get an equivalent high as time goes on. The truth is that cocaine kills, destroys families and makes the addict feel as though there is no escape, no future.
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine, widely known as “coke,” snow or nose candy, is extracted from coca leaves and was originally developed as a pain killer. On the street, it’s usually mixed with corn starch, talcum powder, sugar, procaine or amphetamines. It can be sniffed or inhaled using a pipe, ingested or rubbed into the gums for a quick high. The risk of overdose increases if abusers inject the drug.
Dangers
Coke is one of the most dangerous drugs because it’s almost impossible to stop taking it once you become addicted physically and mentally. It stimulates the nerve endings within your brain (key receptors), quickly making users need more and higher doses to achieve the same effect. The intense high is followed by the inevitable crash. It can kill you by causing you to stop breathing, can can a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage or even a heart attack. Children whose mothers used coke while pregnant are born addicts, some with birth or breathing defects.
Symptoms of Abuse
While it’s not always easy to be sure, there are some warning signs. You may note changes in mood, behavior and the abuser’s ability to function. There may be rapid mood changes and ongoing depression. The person may be angry, especially when asked about their drug use. Their personality may alter, with a change in friends, theft and attempted manipulation. Their appearance and personal hygiene may also suffer. The user may have lost their drive for life: Low motivation, missed meetings or assignments and withdrawal from loved ones.
What are the Effects of Abuse?
Beside addiction, a loss of personal drive and relationships, and a decline in appearance, cocaine kills. The attempts to find that next high or the equivalent to the first high cause abusers to use more and more cocaine as time goes on. The crash and subsequent severe depression can lead to suicide. Your body may be compromised, your heart may weaken, membranes may get more sensitive, veins may collapse and you may well suffer from brain damage. It can heighten paranoid tendencies and psychosis, cause sleep deprivation and may even lead to ulcers and kidney failure. From 2001 to 2013 there was a 29% increase in the total number of deaths.
Cocaine Statistics:
Heroin and cocaine/crack are the most commonly cited drugs among primary drug treatment admissions in the District of Columbia, each separately counting as 32% of all treatment admissions in 2011. Other statistics include:
NY: Heroin, followed by marijuana then cocaine, is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in the state. 2.53% of arrests are for cocaine.
Chicago: In Illinois, 2.22% of all arrests were for the use of cocaine.
Boston: Heroin is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in the state, followed by opiates and cocaine (2.75% of all arrests).
Philadelphia/Pittsburgh: Throughout Pennsylvania, there were 51,302 clients in substance abuse treatment on March 31, 2010.
Atlanta: The data show that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in Georgia. 2.22% of all arrests are for cocaine,
Baltimore: 2.2% of Maryland arrests were for the use of cocaine.
Hartford: In Connecticut, there were 28,250 clients in substance abuse treatment on March 31, 2010.
Minneapolis: 2.75% of arrests were for cocaine use
Las Vegas: Stimulants, including methamphetamine, are the most commonly cited drugs among primary drug treatment admissions in Nevada. 1.96% of all arrests were for using cocaine.
Sharon Damon is a preschool specialist, avid reader, passionate writer and creative baker/ cook. She has been a cooking instructor at a local Rec Center in Henderson, NV since 2011, and has written for Examiner and other publications since 2010. She knows her way around the keyboard and the kitchen! Sharon moved from a small city in Canada to Las Vegas 6 years ago, to marry the love of her life, and has since been swept up in the whirlwind known as Sin City. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.