names include: coke, yay, blow, snow, lines, nose candy, ski slopes
Cocaine is extracted from the Coca plant. It is both a stimulant and an anesthetic and is still used in certain surgical procedures, though more often synthetic substitutes are employed (such as Novicaine).
Cocaine is usually snorted, but it can also be smoked, ingested, or absorbed into the bloodstream through any part of the body where surface capillaries are present (such as the gums).
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Cocaine is extremely habit-forming for some people. While physical addiction to Cocaine is not considered life-threatening, it is unpleasant enough to warrant the title.
Withdrawal symptoms include: intense cravings, irritability, depression, paranoia, and difficulty sleeping.
The chronic user chooses to do more Cocaine rather than deal with these withdrawal symptoms, which of course causes far more problems in the long run.
Cocaine overdose is a very real threat to heavy users or those with pre-existing conditions such as heart defects, high blood pressure, or thyroid problems. Combining Cocaine with other drugs (especially other stimulants) increases the risk of overdose. Overdose death occurs from cardiac arrest.
Acute withdrawal is another very real problem for Cocaine users. When a coke user crashes, he/she often becomes demanding or confrontational; often, he/she remedies this situation by using more Cocaine, which is exactly the wrong thing to do, as it makes the next crash an hour later even worse.
If snorted, Cocaine will cause damage to the nasal passages, and if smoked, it will cause damage to the lungs.
As with many stimulants, Cocaine can incite acute paranoia in users. This is particularly an issue with coke, given the added dimensions of aggressivity and megalomania that can result from the use of the drug.
Do not use compulsively. Do not compensate for crashing by simply using more.
The effects of Cocaine do NOT balance out the effects of alcohol. Anybody who says otherwise is simply expressing an uneducated (and dangerous) assertion. The effects of combining drugs are always multiplicative. Cocaine's side-effects of self-assurance and confidence often make people think they are "OK" when they are actually far more incapacitated than they realize. In reality, Cocaine only sustains the effects of alcohol, making it take longer for the user to get tired and pass out, thus enabling him/her to continue partying (and increasing the risk of alcohol poisoning).
