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Cocaine was first isolated (extracted from coca leaves) in 1859 by German chemist Albert Niemann. It was not until the 1880s that it started to be popularized in the medical community.

Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who used the drug himself, was the first to broadly promote cocaine as a tonic to cure depression and sexual impotence.

In 1884, he published an article entitled “Über Coca” (About Coke) which promoted the “benefits” of cocaine, calling it a “magical” substance.

Freud, however, was not an objective observer. He used cocaine regularly, prescribed it to his girlfriend and his best friend and recommended it for general use.

While noting that cocaine had led to “physical and moral decadence,” Freud kept promoting cocaine to his close friends, one of whom ended up suffering from paranoid hallucinations with “white snakes creeping over his skin.”

He also believed that “For humans the toxic dose (of cocaine) is very high, and there seems to be no lethal dose.” Contrary to this belief, one of Freud’s patients died from a high dosage he prescribed.

Grinspoon, Lester, and James B. Bakalar. Cocaine: A Drug and Its Social Evolution. Revised ed., Basic Books, 1985. Questia School, www.questiaschool.com/read/99911342/cocaine-a-drug-and-its-social-evolution. Accessed Nov. 2018.

“Watch Truth About Drugs Documentary Video & Learn About Substance Addiction. Get The Facts About Painkillers, Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth & Other Illegal Drugs.” Foundation for a Drug-Free World, www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/a-short-history.html. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

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Cocaine is extracted from the coca plant, which grows in Central and South America. The substance is processed into many forms for use as an illegal drug of abuse. Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug made from leaves of the coca plant native to South America. Although health care providers can use it for valid medical purposes, such as local anesthesia for some surgeries, cocaine is an illegal drug. As a street drug, cocaine looks like a fine, white, crystal powder. Street dealers often mix it with things like cornstarch, talcum powder, or flour to increase profits. They may also mix it with other drugs such as the stimulant amphetamine.

NIDA. "Cocaine." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6 Jun. 2016, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.

Hobbs, Susan, et al. "Cocaine and related disorders." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 5th ed., Gale, 2015. Health & Wellness Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/ZGXSSY816298489/HWRC?u=lom_inac&sid=HWRC&xid=31b57607. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

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Cocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits controlling pleasure and movement.

Other health effects of cocaine use include:

constricted blood vessels

dilated pupils

nausea

raised body temperature and blood pressure

faster heartbeat

tremors and muscle twitches

restlessness

NIDA. "Cocaine." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6 Jun. 2016, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.

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Cocaine is the second most trafficked illegal drug in the world

In the United States, the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that 35.3 million Americans aged 12 and older reported having used cocaine. Also that 8.6 million Americans aged 12 and older reported having used crack. Among those 18 to 25, 6.9% of those surveyed said they had used cocaine (including crack) within the last year. Among high-school students, 8.5% of twelfth graders had used cocaine at some point in their young lives, according to the 2006 Monitoring the Future Study by the National Institute for Drug Abuse.

In the United States alone, tens of thousands of cocaine-exposed babies are born in a year. Those not addicted often suffer from a variety of physical problems which can include premature birth, low birthweight, stunted growth, birth defects and damage to the brain and nervous system.

Low-birthweight babies are twenty times more likely to die in their first month of life than normal-weight babies, and they face an increased risk of lifelong disabilities such as mental retardation and brain damage.

“The Truth About Cocaine.” Drug-Free World, Drug-Free World, 2018, www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/international-statistics.html.

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Coke.

Flake.

Snow.

Blow.

White.

Toot.

Base.

Basa.

Powder.

Dust.

Big Rush.

Pearl.

Candy.

Cola.

C.

Big flakes.

Nose candy.

Baseball.

Bump.

Line.

Rail.

Stash.

Yeyo.

“Street Names and Nicknames for Cocaine.” Luxury.Rehabs.com, luxury.rehabs.com/cocaine-addiction/street-names-and-nicknames/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

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In 2014 there were an estimated 1.5 million cocaine users in a month.

In 2015 the use of cocaine in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders had decreased to 1.1 percent of 12th graders and only 0.8 percent of 10th and half a percent of 8th graders reported using cocaine in the past month.

Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “What Is the Scope of Cocaine Use in the United States?” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-scope-cocaine-use-in-united-states. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

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Short term effects ("desired effects")

Extreme sensitivity to touch, sound, and sight

Intense happiness

Anger/irritability

Paranoid feeling

Decreased appetite

Long Term effects

Chronic, extreme fatigue.

Unrelenting headaches.

Abdominal pain.

Nosebleeds.

Significant weight loss.

Bloodborne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis from unsafe injection use.

Heart arrhythmias and heart attack.

Cardiac arrest.

Widespread ischemic vascular disease.

Stroke.

Seizures.

Respiratory arrest.

Death.

Patterson, Eric. “The Effects of Cocaine Use.” DrugAbuse.com, 25 Oct. 2017, drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-cocaine-use/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

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Federal government has classified cocaine as a Schedule 2 drug. That means it has high degree of abuse, a high risk for dependency and addiction, but has medical uses.

Cocaine is listed as a narcotic, even though it actually is not. The American Journal of Law and Medicine called it "an illogical anachronism," writing:

Although cocaine is pharmacologically not a narcotic, federal and state drug control laws have classified it as one from 1922 through the present. In many states and under federal law, the classification is part of a statutory scheme that imposes substantially more severe penalties for offenses involving cocaine than for offenses involving other nonnarcotic drugs.

“Classification of Cocaine.” Addiction Info, Addiction Info, 2 Aug. 2011, www.addictioninfo.org/articles/drug-addiction/classification-of-cocaine.