 |
Cocaine is one of the oldest drugs on the market today.check out the Drugs and Alcohol swicki at eurekster.com
Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of a natural origin; it is a very addictive drug that directly affects the brain. It is not a new drug; in fact it is one of the oldest known drugs. It is manufactured from a plant called Coca Leaf. It is generally sold on the street as a fine, white, crystalline powder, known as coke, C, snow, flake, or blow. Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with other stimulants such as amphetamines. This drug is used by snorting the powder through the nose. This can cause major damage to the sinus passages. This also causes teeth to decay from inside the mouth making a hollow tooth. Injection is another way to release the drug into the blood stream. Many users mix other drugs together to get a better high. When mixed with heroin it gives the user that euphoric feeling and becomes addicting the first time it is used. In the drug culture this is called a speed ball. Another way that it is used is by smoking it; this form is done by rocking the powdered cocaine in the process known as cooking it. The drug user uses baking soda and water with a hot flame to cook the drug down into chunks or rocks. Then the user takes these rocks and breaks them into pieces that can be smoked in a glass pipe. This is also very addicting and the duration of its effects are immediate the user receives a euphoric feeling that is indescribable in words. The effect of the drug depends upon the route by which it is administered. Crack is the street name given to one form of freebase cocaine that comes in the form of small lumps or shavings. The term crack refers to the crackling sound made when the mixture is smoked (heated). Smoking crack is very dangerous since it produces the same debilitating effects as freebasing, or smoking, cocaine. Crack has become a major problem in many American cities because it is inexpensive and easily transportable -- sold in small vials, folding paper, or tinfoil. 
Depending on how this drug is taken can produce different effects. Regularly snorting the drug, for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum, which can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow. Persons who inject cocaine have puncture marks and tracks, most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous cocaine users may also experience an allergic reaction, either to the drug, or to some additive in street cocaine, which can result, in severe cases, in death.The effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), it usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect. Users often report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety, and it can trigger paranoia. Users also report being depressed when they are not using the drug and often resume use to alleviate further depression. In addition, users frequently find that they need more and more of the drug more often to generate the same level of stimulation. Therefore, any use can lead to addiction.
In addition to these signs, it appears that compulsive use may develop into addiction even more rapidly if the substance is injected and smoked. Some of the things you can do if your child is addicted to this drug are: be there for them and encourage them to get help.
Find some professional treatment centers, and get information on cocaine and the effects it has on other people so that you can gauge what kind of help will best suit your child and your family.
Many behavioral treatments have been found to be effective for cocaine addiction, including both residential and outpatient approaches. A behavioral therapy component that is showing positive results in many drug-addicted populations, is contingency management. Contingency management uses a voucher-based system to give positive rewards for staying in treatment and remaining drug-free. Based on drug-free urine tests, the patients earn points, which can be exchanged for items that encourage healthy living, such as joining a gym, or going to a movie and dinner. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is another approach. Cognitive-behavioral coping skills treatment, for example, is a short-term, focused approach to helping cocaine-addicted individuals become abstinent from cocaine and other substances. Through education about abuse and addiction, self-awareness, and self-help, individuals learn to take personal responsibility to recognize the situations in which they are most likely to use cocaine, avoid these situations when appropriate, and cope more effectively with a range of problems and problematic behaviors associated with drug abuse. Therapeutic communities, or residential programs with planned lengths of stay of 8 to 12 months or more, offer an alternative to those in need of treatment for cocaine addiction. Therapeutic communities are often comprehensive, in that they focus on the re-socialization of the individual to society, and can include on-site vocational rehabilitation and other supportive services. Therapeutic communities typically are used to treat patients with more severe problems, such as co-occurring mental health problems (e.g., depression), behavioral problems, or criminal involvement. To Return to Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Click Here
Copyright© 2007 My Parenting Portal ABOUT US - PRIVACY POLICY - DISCLAIMER - CONTACT US
|
