Cocaine

While reading this paper, you will fully understand the history, crime rate and health conditions of cocaine. You will be able to see why cocaine is such a dangerous drug and why so many people decide to be dependent on it. Not only will you read about the drug itself, but also why people become violent while on the drug.

Cocaine is a white powder that comes from the coca plant, which is grown in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Coca plants were initially reserved for use by Inca royalty. The rest of the population in these countries eventually used the coca leaves for religious and medical purposes. They used its stimulant to ward off hunger, enhance endurance and to promote a sense of well-being. "South America is the Primary source of the drug. It is derived from the coca bush, whose leaves resembles tea leaves and are chewed by the natives (Siragusa, Pg. 186)."

Thousands of physicians recommended its use for the treatment of depression and other psychiatric conditions. Sigmund Freud became so enamored by the effects of cocaine that he praised cocaine's potential to cure depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction. Dr. Freud eventually died while severely addicted to the dangerous substance. "The drug was also found to be a potent anesthetic, blocking conduction of pain impulses. It was often used as a local anesthetic in minor surgery's, including eye operations (Dictionary Pg. 673)."

In its purest form, it is a white, crystalline powder. Cocaine is commonly used by sharply inhaling, or snorting the powder into the nose, from which is absorbed through the nasal membranes into the blood. Smoking more volatile cocaine is called freebasing, or a relatively inexpensive pellet form known as crack, are also common modes of use. High levels of cocaine in the brain are achieved in seconds, stimulating the pleasure centers. This powerful rush rapidly dissipates, resulting in a compulsion to smoke more.

Crack can be smoked in: tin cans, plastic pens, copper tubing, wrench sockets, window springs, and pill bottles. The most common way to smoke crack is by using metal or glass tubes. Some people say that metal is better because it gives off less heat, but others say that glass is better because the resin builds up on the glass, and it could be scrapped off and smoked later.

While looking at statistics, Cocaine is used by younger people (18-25), than older people (26+). But while also looking at the chart, through the years, the use of cocaine has decreased. Maybe it's because of the cost, or because it's not as big as it was back than.

"In 1998, 32.9 percent of individual's age 15 and above who were arrested for non-drug violent and property offenses and screened for illegal drug use as part of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program tested positive for cocaine (DeSimone Pg. 2)." Intoxication from cocaine in either of its two most popular forms, powder and crack, increases aggression and sexual arousal and reduces self control. Chronic use can produce anxiety, irritability, insomnia, mood swings, confusion, irrationality, and paranoia.

When people start to sniff or smoke cocaine, they tend to become real aggressive. They know what they are doing, but it is like they can not control their behavior. Of course they have a feeling of being happy, but when someone upsets them, they flip. All it takes is for someone to push that one little button.

"Participants in the cocaine market cannot rely on legal institutions for protection or dispute resolutions, and therefore may turn to violence to punish thieves, informants, or debtors, or to settle disagreements over dealing territory, prices, or quality (Desimone Pg. 2)." If you look at how these people handle there drugs, money and territory so seriously, you may think that they were apart of a gang, such as the Bloods or the Crips. The bad thing about these people is that not only do they sell the drug, but they also use the drug. So, when someone messes with there money or with them period, the stimulant from the cocaine, makes their aggression and rage come out.

Something that these people say is that cocaine does not cause the violence, but rather those engaging in crack-related violence were already violent before crack appeared. Me personally, I do not understand how a people can think that a person was violent before they started using the drug. Sure some users have a history of violence, but that is just like someone who drinks alcohol. When they get that liquor into their system, they are ready for anything. The way something affects a person really depends on the individual. "The sale of crack is strongly associated with violent crime, and levels of sales and violence are positively related. Although the authors conclude that violence is systemic rather than related to intoxication, they also report that among women, assaulted and property crimes increase with the frequency of use (DeSimone Pg. 5)."

Here I would like to share a small story about a white, middle class, pregnant woman.

"Cindy, a White middle-class housewife, was the first

"Cocaine mother" who appeared on network news. Cindy has not sought out the drug; rather, she, like others, had been introduced to cocaine by the men in their lives. Women used cocaine to "pump up [their] low self-esteem," to feel better or to gain a competitive edge. When Cindy discovered she was pregnant, she also discovered that she could not stop using cocaine (Humphries Pg. 3-4)."

This story shows you that middle class women are one of the types of people that get addicted to cocaine. This also shows you some reasons why people use cocaine and that it is not that easy to over ride the addiction. Not only poor, single, black people use cocaine. These users can be of any race, age, culture, etc. But some people like to label others as being the problem.

Whites are more the type that shares their instruments with other and they frequently have unprotected sex. African American's are more likely to be heavy drug users. They do not have any injuries because they tend to use glass stems. Although men and women do not differ in extent of lip injuries, men are at greater theoretical risk of infection from sharing stems and women from exposure to semen through injured lips.

HIV has been the number one sexually transmitted disease passed around because of cocaine. There has also been an increase in syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid. There has been an overlap between smoking cocaine and injecting drugs. "This overlap creates methodological problems