What is cocaine ?
Cocaine is a chemical compound that is part of the alkaloids and is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine was originally used as a medicine but is now seen as a highly addictive hard drug.
Cocaine belongs to the chemical group of tropane alkaloids. It stimulates the central nervous system and suppress appetite.
Pharmacy
Cocaine in its purest form is a pearl product. Cocaine in powder form is a salt, often cocaine hydrochloride. Cocaine for recreational use is usually blended with powders as well as baking powder, milk powder and sugars such as lactose, glucose, inositol and mannitol; sometimes it is mixed with local anesthetics such as lidocaine or benzocaine. Cocaine is extracted from the coca plant by means of a chemical process. In a sheet is on average 0.1% to 0.9% raw material for cocaine; The highest rates are extracted from plants that grow tall.
Medical use of cocaine
Pure cocaine is used in medicine as a local anesthetic, particularly in ENT surgery. For example, it is applied as a 10% solution on the nasal mucosa. The mucosa is completely numb after about 10 minutes, so that among these local anesthetic can be operated in the nose. For example, the septum can be put right or nasal polyps are removed. Additional advantages are that the blood vessels of the nasal mucosa under the influence of cocaine constrict so the procedure is less bloody, and the lining shrinks creating more space.
Recreational use of cocaine
In pure form, cocaine has a strong stimulating effect. Cocaine is in the entertainment circuit usually inhaled through the nose. Cocaine is also used by people who need to deliver a great performance and is a fairly expensive drug.
Cocaine Health Effects
Effects on the lungs
The use of crack can in rare cases give rise to the emergence of a "crack lung" ("crack lung"). Symptoms that occur here are coughing up blood, lack of oxygen and collapsed lung. In the case of lung failure artificial respiration is necessary.
Effects on the heart
Cocaine accelerates the heart rate and increases the blood pressure in dose-dependent manner. It also ensures that the heart contracts more powerful. These three factors, mean that the heart is taxed more heavily. In the United States reported in 2005 180.000 people in the emergency ward of a hospital with chest pain after cocaine use. Some 0.7 to 6% of these people had a heart attack. Striking is the low age of this group of people with myocardial infarction: an average of 38 years. Cardiac symptoms can occur after just one minute but after 4 days still occur. It should be take into account the fact that heart attacks can be so small that there is a "silent heart attack" may occur where the user completely unaware. So if there are no symptoms does not mean that the use had no negative effect on the heart. The first hour after cocaine use they have a 24 times higher risk of getting a heart attack, compared with the average population.
Effects of coca cultivation on society and nature
60% of the cocaine in the market is taken from Colombia. The cocaine proceeds financed include the fighters of the FARC and the paramilitaries. This is one of the causes of the persistence of domestic conflict. Moreover, the coca cultivation and reprocessing in the Colombian rainforests considerable damage to nature.