COCAINE

HISTORY

• Made from the coca plant
• Spanish explorers-South Americans fought fatigue by chewing on coca leaves
• 1860-Albert Neiman- isolated cocaine from coca leaf and described the anesthetic action of the drug

MORE HISTORY

• 1884- Sigmund Freud- Prescribed cocaine for a variety of illnesses
• 1886- John Pemberton-Coca Cola-cocaine and caffeine
• Removed in 1906

ILLEGALITY

• 1914-Harrison Narcotic Act illegalized cocaine
• By 1985, crack cocaine was introduced

HOW CAN YOU TAKE IT?

• Chewing coca leaves
• Smoking
• Inhaling or "snorting"
• Injection

STREET NAMES

• Binge
• Blow
• Coke
• Snow
• Charlie

BEHAVIORAL/NEUROLOGICAL EFFECTS

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Hallucinations
• Excessive use-> Death
• Talkativeness/Energy

EFFECTS ON THE CNS

• Large increases of blood pressure-->bleeding in the brain
• Absence of the red(glucose), the energy source for neurons

COCAINE AND THE BRAIN

• Blocks the reuptake of neurotransmitters: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin
• Can cause the release of dopamine in the brain

ADDICTION

• Overdosing can cause breathing and heart problems ->death

REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE

• Len Bias-one of the greatest basketball players to not play professionally
• Died at 22, from cardiac arrhythmia, induced by a cocaine overdose

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

• Feeling of euphoria
• Excitement
• Reduced hunger
• Feeling of strength
• --> Depression

LONG TERM EFFECTS

• Loss of sense of smell
• Nasal damage and trouble swallowing
• Poor nutrition and weight loss

TREATMENT

• No legal FDA-approved medications
• Behavioral therapies: CBT, 12-step facilitation program, community reinforcement

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