Cocaine: effects and facts

Aside from cannabis, cocaine is the most-used drug worldwide. It is commonly found in powder form, which is ideal for snorting, but it can also be inhaled as smoke or injected into the vein as a solution. The main reason why cocaine is so widely consumed, especially by people that are seeking something extreme, is that it can make you feel like you are on top of the world, very confident (overcoming feelings of anxiety), alert and awake. However, effects regularly go to the extreme, leading people to be over-confident, arrogant and aggressive. The effects of powder cocaine wear off quite quickly within about 20-30 minutes, but one can still be affected with a ‘come-down’ the day after using the substance. A urine test will usually stay positive for between 12 hours and 3 days after consumption.

Short term effects of cocaine intake:

- Feeling euphoric, energetic

- Mentally alert and talkative

- Self-confidence

- Alert

- Decreased appetite and sleep

Cocaine side effects:

- Powerful negative impact on the heart, brain and emotions

- Tremors and muscle twitches

- Paranoia

- Vertigo

- Significant weight loss

- Seizures and, in worst cases, cardiac arrest

- Increased anxiety after the drug starts to wear off

Facts about cocaine:

1. Ingesting both cocaine and alcohol causes more deaths than any other drug combination.

2. Sharing straws used to snort cocaine can spread blood diseases like Hepatitis C.

3. In the first hour after cocaine use, the user’s heart attack risk is almost 24 times greater.

4. Sadly, more than 100,000 babies are born addicted to cocaine. If a baby’s mother uses cocaine during the time of pregnancy the chances are high that the baby will be born physically addicted to the drug.

5. 1 in 40 people in Scotland use cocaine, the highest rate in the world.

6. The price of cocaine went down by 51% in Europe since 1990, making it more affordable.

7. Crack cocaine is considered the most addictive form of cocaine.

8. In the Netherlands, there are dozens of public facilities where you can bring recreational drugs including marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy to test if they are safe. Some festivals in Europe also offer this service.

9. Cocaine has a small number of accepted medical uses, such as numbing and decreasing bleeding during nasal surgery.

10. Between 14 and 21 million people use the drug each year worldwide.

All types of cocaine are addictive, but freebase and crack tend to have a much stronger effect, as they reach the brain more quickly than powder cocaine. Injecting any form of cocaine not only reaches the brain more quickly but has serious other additional risks, including damaging the veins and increasing the risk of getting infected with HIV or Hep C. Unfortunately, cocaine use takes place in our proximity and sometimes it happens closer to us than we think.

Cocaine addiction is preventable. If you suspect that a loved one is taking cocaine or any other drug, try to communicate with them and offer them your support. The option of performing a drug test is always available as well.





