Definition of cocaine
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Cocaine is an alkaloid derived from the bush of Erythroxylon coca, native to Bolivia and Peru. Two methods of cocaine use are currently known. The first is inhaling the drug. The second is to smoke the base of cocaine. When smoking cocaine, the active ingredient enters the blood almost as quickly as with intravenous injection, so the effects of the drug are stronger than when inhaled through the nose. Intravenous administration is especially dangerous because of the high risk of overdose. Cocaine causes a strong euphoria. Psychological dependence on cocaine can appear after the first dose. The duration of cocaine is usually 30 minutes to 1 hour after intravenous or intranasal administration (due to a short half-life of 2-5 hours), so to achieve euphoric experiences, addicts can repeat the introduction repeatedly throughout the day and night. The clinical manifestations of the withdrawal symptoms reach a maximum on the 2nd-4th day after discontinuation of the drug.
Cocaine overdoses usually lead to death (arrhythmias, respiratory depression or convulsions). The condition of the survivors is fully restored within 3 hours.
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