Cocaine is a highly potent and addictive drug. Even so, cocaine hydrochloride is still listed as a controlled substance under schedule II. Due to its beneficial effects as a vasoconstrictor and pain reliever, cocaine serves a legal therapeutic purpose in certain medical procedures. In most cases, it is a controlled substance, but it is abused for its pleasant stimulant properties.
Cocaine comes in many forms, from a powder to a paste, and even as a hardened rock-like substance commonly known as “crack cocaine.” As a highly stimulating drug, cocaine can do the following:
- Give a quick and pleasurable high feeling.
- Through effects on the nervous system, accelerate many physiological processes.
- Long-termly and short-termly affect mental health.
What Are the Effects of Cocaine?
Hydrochloride, crack, and cocaine freebase are the 3 forms of cocaine. In addition to inhalation and snorting, powdered hydrochloride can also be rubbed on the gums, swallowed, melted, dissolved in liquid, and injected straight into the vein. Crack cocaine and cocaine freebase are commonly smoked.
Short-Term Effects of Abusing Cocaine
The effects of cocaine depend on how it is administered. Dopamine is released in the brain when cocaine is consumed. Via dopamine, the brain registers happy emotions and rewards behaviors that led to those emotions. Cocaine’s subjective “high” and addictive characteristics result from the increase in dopamine in the body.
As a result of use, the high sensation is accompanied by several desirable effects, including:
- Euphoria-like feelings.
- A sense of vitality.
- Arrogance
- An improvement in mood.
The substance may be used to improve performance or reach other goals. Cocaine temporarily reduces the need for sleep, making it helpful in staying alert, studying, or finishing a difficult task. Moreover, its appetite-inhibiting properties make it an effective weight-loss aid. In both of these situations, people may become tragically addicted due to their desperate search for short-term pleasures.
As with other abused substances, misuse of this substance is associated with unfavorable short-term effects such as:
- Restlessness
- Irritability and anger
- Anxiety
- Paranoia
Long Term Health Effects of Cocaine
Short-term use can cause new and exacerbated unfavorable long-term consequences. This list demonstrates how cocaine abusers’ physical health is severely harmed over an extended period.
Health consequences of long-term use include:
- Chronic, severe fatigue.
- Chronic migraines.
- Abdominal pain
- Nosebleeds
- Substantial loss of weight.
- HIV and hepatitis as among the infections caused by injections.
- Stroke
- Seizures
- Sudden death due to respiratory arrest.
- Sudden death due to respiratory arrest
What Is the Most Effective Cocaine Addiction Treatment?
The physical treatment begins with detoxification (often called “detox”), which is the process of removing cocaine’s harmful effects from the body. Medical detoxification is recommended for treating cocaine withdrawal symptoms effectively. It takes between a few days and several months to withdraw from cocaine. While the body tries to rebalance, the risk of resuming use increases during this time.
Seek Help From The Best Health Experts
Individuals, families, and communities afflicted by cocaine addiction can find healing and hope through Mallard Lake Detox Center. Get the best treatment from qualified addiction experts if you or a loved one is battling cocaine addiction. Please talk to our online team today for more information and to begin an examination.
