Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine is derived from an alkaloid found
present in the leaves of the coca plant, a plant indigenous to
the Americas. When taken, cocaine produces a euphoric high,
followed by a depressing low once the drug has worn off. The
intensity and duration of the euphoria produced when an
individual ingests cocaine varies depending on the method of
ingestion and the quantity of drug consumed, as well as the
frequency of administration of the drug. The greater the amount
of cocaine a person ingests and the faster that they deliver the
drug to the brain, the more intense the euphoria that they will
feel. Paradoxically, the greater the euphoria, the shorter the
duration of time the high will last and the deeper the low.
Incas and other indigenous peoples in South America ingested
cocaine in small amounts by chewing the leaves of the coca
plant. Coca, which has a small amount of cocaine occurring in
its leaves, produces only a mild increase in energy, but lasts a
longer time. In small amounts, cocaine, administered in this
fashion, can relieve fatigue, and dispel hunger, with relatively
few side affects.
In the 1800's cocaine was isolated from the leaves of the coca
plant. From this point on, cocaine was available in a much more
concentrated, potent form. It could now be snorted, inhaled,
into the nose in a powder form, and absorbed by the mucosa, or
injected, directly into the blood stream.
An easy way to understand the different forms of ingesting a
drug and how that relates to intensity of effect and duration of
effect, is to look at the path a drug will take to the brain.
This goes for any drug, not just cocaine. In order for a drug to
start to work it needs to get to the brain. The most direct path
that it can take is the quickest and potentially the most
addicting. Smoking crack, or freebase, cocaine is the most
direct path to get cocaine into the brain. Cocaine vapor is
inhaled into the lungs, goes to the heart, then to the brain.
Injecting cocaine is the next quickest. Snorting cocaine would
come in third. The cocaine is sniffed onto the mucosa, a
semi-permeable membrane in the nasal passage, where it is
absorbed into the blood stream. Crack cocaine, or freebase, is
then the quickest way to get the most amount of cocaine directly
to the brain. It is consequently the most addictive method of
use, and produces the worst lows after the drug has ran out.
No matter how an individual consumes cocaine, the potential for
abuse and for addiction is high. With prolonged cocaine use, the
user is forced to spend greater and greater amounts of money on
cocaine. What had perhaps been a casual party pastime has now
become a mental obsession coupled with a compulsion to use
despite the consequences. With cocaine addiction, there are
little or no physical withdrawal symptoms once the drug has
stopped being ingested. There are significant psychological
factors present, such as the craving for more, deep depression,
extreme exhaustion, hunger, despair, a sense of deep remorse,
etc. When a cocaine user continues to go on a run, for several
hours or days of continual cocaine use, they can experience what
is known as cocaine psychosis. This is a complete psychological
break from reality, where a person becomes completely
unpredictable and possibly violent. Consistent cocaine users
also develop a characteristic paranoia, a sense of mistrust of
the environment around them, including loved ones and family
members.
|
