Drugs and Society

2. What is it?
0 Cocaine s a stimulant!
0 It is made form the leaves of coca plant found in South America.
0 Cocaine is illegal!
0 Cocaine typically takes form as a fine, crystal white powder.
0 Nicknames include: blow, coke, crack, rock, snow.
0 How do people ingest cocaine?
0 Snorted nasally
0 Dissolved and injected into bloodstream
0 Rubbed into gums
0 Smoked
“Cocaine is the most powerful CNS stimulant found in nature”
-FactRetriever

3. Effects on the Brain
0 Cocaine increases dopamine levels which controls feelings
of pleasure. This is a natural chemical messenger in the
brain associated with the reward response.
0 Dopamine is typically taken back up and recycled in the
brain. Cocaine prevents this from happening, so there is an
increased buildup of this pleasurable chemical.
0 Short term effects include: happiness and energy,
heightened alertness, hypersensitivity- especially to sound,
touch and sight, and paranoia.
0 These short term effects last from 5-30 minutes depending
on how the substance is ingested and processed.

4. More Effects
0 It is common to also experience: constricted blood vessels,
dilated pupils, nausea, heightened body temperature and
BP, fast heartbeat, tremors/muscle twitched, restlessness.
0 Long-Term Effects largely depend on the method of
ingestion:
0 Snorted- loss of smell, nosebleeds, runny nose, swallowing
issues
0 Orally- bowel decay, reduced blood flow
0 Needle Injection- heightened risk of HIV/AIDS
0 Other effects include: malnourishment, movement disorders,
auditory hallucinaitons

5. Overdose
0 YOU CAN OVERDOSE ON COCAINE.
0 Can be intentional or unintentional.
0 How can you treat overdose from cocaine?
0 Restoring blood flow to the heart, restoring oxygen rich
blood to the brain, end seizure.
0 QUESTION!!~Have you ever heard of ways to treat
cocaine overdose? We hear about heroine overdoses
often, but what about cocaine? Do you think people do
not take cocaine use seriously enough?

6. Addiction
0 People count on the reward system created by
cocaine. The high becomes harder to reach and it is
greater than real life.
0 Withdrawal symptoms include: depression, fatigue,
increased appetite, nightmares, insomnia, delayed
thinking.
0 Treatment includes: Cognitive-behavioral therapy,
management using incentives, therapeutic
communities, some medications are being tested.

7. Cited.
0 Lehnardt, K. (2017, April). 50 Interesting Facts about
Cocaine. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from
https://www.factretriever.com/cocaine-facts
0 NIDA. (2016, June 6). Cocaine. Retrieved from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/
cocaine on 2017, October 29