en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine#The_Coca_Leaf
The stereotypical powder cocaine user is a frequenter of bars and clubs i n his or her 20s or 30s, often employed in an office or professional env ironment. Average users of "crack" cocaine are 30 years or older inner-c ity residents of a lower income bracket. Exceptions to both rules exist in large numbers due to the immense popularity of the drug.
The estimated US cocaine market exceeded $35 billion in street value fo r the year 2003, exceeding revenues by corporate giants such as Microsof t and General Motors.
tribes, but there is no evidence that its habitual use ever led to any of the negative co nsequences generally associated with habitual cocaine use today. It was an important source of nutrition and energy in a region that was lacking in other food sources and oxygen; the vitamins and protein present in t he leaves, as much as the cocaine alkaloid, helped provide the energy an d strength necessary for steep walks in this mountainous area.
ethanol in the wine acted as a solven t and extracted the cocaine from the coca leaves, altering the drink's e ffect. It contained 6 mg cocaine per ounce of wine, but Vin Mariani whic h was to be exported contained 72 mg per ounce in order to compete with the higher cocaine content of similar drinks in the United States.
sold cocaine in various forms, including cigarettes, powder, and even a cocaine mixtu re that could be injected directly into the user's veins with the includ ed needle. The company promised that its cocaine products would "supply the place of food, make the coward brave, the silent eloquent and ...
By the turn of the twentieth century, the addictive properties of cocaine had become clear to many, and the problem of cocaine abuse began to cap ture public attention in the United States.
American Journal of Pharmacy stressed that most cocaine abusers were "bohemians, gamblers , high- and low- class prostitutes, night porters, bell boys, burglars, racketeers, pimps, and casual laborers."
Pennsylvania's State Pharmacy Board made the racial innu endo explicit, testifying that "Most of the attacks upon the white women of the South are the direct result of a cocaine-crazed Negro brain."
Cocaine in its purest form is an off-white or pink chunky product. Cocain e appearing in powder is a salt, typically cocaine hydrochloride. Cocain e is frequently adulterated or "cut" with various powdery fillers to inc rease its volume;
Adulterated cocaine is often a white or off-white powder. The colour of "crack" cocaine depends upon several factors including the origin of the cocaine used, the method of preparation with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate, and the presence of impurities, but will generally r ange from a light brown to a pale brown. Its texture will also depend on the factors which affect color, but will range from a crumbly texture, which is usually the lighter variety, to hard, almost crystalline nature , which is usually the darker variety.
The rush is much more intense than sni ffing the same amount of cocaine nasally, but the effects do not last as long. The peak of the freebase rush is over almost as soon as the user exhales the vapor, but the high typically lasts 510 minutes afterwards. What makes freebase a particularly dangerous drug is that users typical ly don't wait that long for their next hit and will continue to smoke fr eebase until none is left.
intravenous drug use (although there are other serious risks associated with smoking freebase). Freebase cocaine is produced by first dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in water.
edit Crack cocaine Because of the dangers of using ether to produce pure freebase cocaine, c ocaine producers began to omit the step of removing the freebase cocaine precipitate from the ammonia mixture.
Cl), remains in the freebase cocaine aft er the mixture is evaporated. The "rock" which is thus formed also conta ins a small amount of water. When the rock is heated this water boils, m aking a crackling sound (hence the name "crack"). Baking soda is now mos t often used as a base rather than ammonia for reasons of lowered stench and toxicity, however any base can be used to make crack cocaine.
The quantit y provided by such a purchase varies depending upon many factors, such a s local availability, which is affected by geographic location. A twenty may yield a quarter gram or half gram on average, yielding 30 minutes t o an hour of effect if hits are taken every few minutes. After the 20 or 40 dollar mark, crack and powder cocaine are sold in grams or fractions of ounces. Many inner-city addicts with a regular dealer will "work a c orner," taking money from anyone who wants crack, making a buy from the dealer, then delivering part of the product while keeping some for thems elves.
edit Intravenous The intravenous route of administration provides the highest blood levels of drug in the shortest time. Injection of cocaine produces an exhilara ting rush, although the euphoria passes quickly as the liver rapidly met abolizes the drug.
emboli from the insoluble substances that may be used to cut the drug. Obviously, there is also a risk of serious infe ction associated with the use of contaminated needles.
edit Inhaled through smoking Smoking freebase or crack cocaine is most often accomplished using a pipe made from a small glass tube about one-quarter inch in diameter and up to several inches long. They will someti mes contain a small paper flower and are promoted as a romantic gift.
"chore", from the scouring pads of the same name is placed into one end of the tube after having the bad-smelling coating burned o ff the metal. It then serves as a crude filter in which the "rock" can m elt and boil to vapor. The "rock" is placed at the end of the pipe closest to the filter and the other end of the pipe is placed in the mouth. A flame from a cigarette lighter or handheld torch is then held under the rock. As the rock is he ated, it melts and burns away to vapor which the user inhales as smoke. The effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, and do not last long usually five to fifteen minutes. Most users will want more after this time, especially if a frequent user. "Crack houses" depend on these cravings by providing users a place to smoke, and a rea dy supply of small bags for sale. Crack users will purchase a quantity a nd smoke it at the house, often buying and smoking more and more until t hey are out of money. A heavily used crack-pipe tends to break at the ends as the user "pushes" the pipe. "Pushing" is a technique used to partially recover crack whic h hardens on the inside wall of the pipe as the pipe cools. The user pus hes the metal wool filter through the pipe from one end to the other to collect the build-up inside the pipe. The ends of the pipe can be broken by the object used to push the filter, frequently a small screwdriver o r stiff piece of wire. The user will often remove the most jagged edges and continue using the pipe until it becomes so short that it burns the lips and fingers. The tell-tale signs of a used crack pipe are a glass tube with burn marks at one or both ends and a clump of metal wool inside.
Los Angele s Crack smokers who are being drug tested may also make their "primo" w ith cigarette tobacco instead of cannabis, since a crack smoker can test clean within 2 to 3 days of use.
Normally, after dopamine is released in the synaptic cleft, it bi nds to the dopamine receptors; reuptake sites (protein transported struc tures) will utilize the rest of the neurotransmitter (dopamine). In the presence of cocaine the normal process of reuptaking is breached. Cocain e binds to the uptake sites, which leaves a higher concentration of dopa mine in the synaptic cleft. The higher activation of dopamine receptors in the post-synaptic cell causes various intracellular changes, which ul timately lead to changes in firing patterns.
metabolite of cocaine, an d is also excreted in lesser amounts as ecgonine methyl ester and ecgoni ne. Cocaine metabolites are detectable in urine for up to two days after coca ine is used. Benzoylecgonine can be detected in urine within four hours after cocaine inhalation and remains de...
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