The Küsnacht Practice

Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs.

Cocaine is distributed on the street in two main forms: cocaine hydrochloride is a white crystalline powder and "crack" is cocaine hydrochloride that has been processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water into a freebase cocaine usually called crack - chips, chunks, or rocks.

Cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack can be smoked.

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Short-term effects of cocaine/crack include: constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; insomnia; loss of appetite; and feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. Duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include energy, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depends on how it is used. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. However, the faster the absorption, the shorter the high lasts. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking crack cocaine may last 5 to 10 minutes. Cocaine's effects are short lived, and once the drug leaves the brain, the user experiences a "coke crash" that includes depression, irritability, and fatigue.

High doses of cocaine and/or prolonged use can lead to paranoid psychosis. Smoking crack cocaine can produce a particularly aggressive paranoid behavior in users. When addicted individuals stop using cocaine, they often become depressed. Too much cocaine can lead to a serious increase in blood pressure. Bleeding in the brain leading to a stroke. Other complications include seizures, heart attack, brain hemorrhages, and kidney failure.