Authors

Physiological Psychology

Student Research on

Date

Christine Karanas

Murissa Miller

Lee Lagda

Erin Wheatley

James Salamanca

Gerardo Orozco

Cocaine

04/27/04

· 1863------------------- Angelo Mariani patents a wine called Vin Mariani with cocaine being an active ingredient.

· 1870------------------- Vin Mariani, Containing 6 mg of cocaine per ounce, is distributed in France, but Vin Mariani exported to America has 7.2 mg, a higher concentration, because of the higher cocaine content of American competitors.

· 1883------------------- Theodor Aschenbrandt, a German physician, administered cocaine to the Bavarian army to enhance their endurance.

· 1886------------------- Coca-Cola is introduced containing cocaine as an active ingredient.

· 1901------------------- Cocaine is removed from Coca-Cola.

· 1915------------------- The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act is passed. It regulates cocaine and other drugs.

· 1970------------------- The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act placed Cocaine in schedule II.

Cocaine is an illegal drug and very addictive.

Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant.

Cocaine will speed up a person's body especially the heart and the brain.

Cocaine is among the top five most popular drugs in the United States of America.

Cocaine comes from the coca plant. These plants grow wild in the vast lands of South America and are processed in different ways to make different types of cocaine. In many countries including South America the cocaine leaves are processed using ordinary motor vehicle petrol rather than alcohol, resulting in neurological and brain damage with long term use.

Some signs of cocaine use and stereotypic behaviors include but aren't limited to the following: alertness, restlessness, talkativeness, and excessive watchfulness.

Cocaine is most often snorted through a person's nose. Cocaine is a very fine powder which enters through the bloodstream and travels through the small veins throughout the nose. Another way of becoming intoxicated is by injecting cocaine with a syringe. Many people also smoke it, this form becomes known as crack. The effects of cocaine are dangerous and can even lead to death. When a person gets high on cocaine he gets a lot of energy and is wide awake. The person under the influence of cocaine feels as if he could "tackle the world". The high increases feelings of pride and strength. The user feels as though he is on top of the world. These feelings are temporary, hours later the user is left with feelings of despair, depression, stomach aches, and sleepiness. In turn, the user will get high once again to cure or stop these unbearable feelings.

The penalty for the first offense for cocaine ( pondered: 500 - 4,999 gr mixture, crack: 5 - 49 gr mixture ) is no less than 5 years and no more than 40 years.

The penalty for the second offense for cocaine ( powdered : 500 - 4,999 gr mixture, crack: 5 - 49 gr mixture ) is no less than 10 years and it isn't longer than life.

Both using and selling cocaine is illegal.

There is a more harsh sentence for people carrying/selling crack cocaine than for people carrying/selling powdered cocaine.

-Cocaine addicts need the drug and in order to get the money to buy it they turn to stealing.

-Cocaine found in the US usually comes from South America. The cocaine comes from suppliers, many of them are in South America. From the supplier's it is given to local dealers who sells it to the users.

Although cocaine reaches all areas of the brain, the green dots in this drawing show the region of the brain that is most affected by the drug. This area is part of what is called the "reward pathway" in the brain. Behaviors that are necessary to survival-eating, drinking, and nurturing-create pleasurable feelings in the brain to "reward" humans and ensure that they repeat them. Addictive drugs also activate this pathway, so the addicted person continues to use the drug despite severe negative consequences.

Normally, after neurotransmitters such as dopamine (shown in blue) are released, they attach themselves to special receptor sites (purple) on the neuron. Drugs such as cocaine (yellow) attach to the same receptor sites and block the absorption of dopamine. As a result, dopamine builds up in the synapse and produces a brief feeling of euphoria or a high.

Some possible effects of cocaine on the body

· blisters, sore, and cuts on the lips (from using crack cocaine)

· Eye damage (associated with crack usage)

· Heart damage and heart attacks

· Lung damage (from smoking crack or freebase cocaine)

· Nasal damage (from snorting cocaine)

· Seizures

· Strokes

Alcohol and driving is not the only bad combination. In the recent fatal study of crashes, researches found that 8% of fatal crashes were caused by the illegal use of cocaine before driving. Incredibly cocaine does not only harm the user physically but it can effect family, friends, neighborhood, and community of the user. For teenagers, cocaine does not only cause physical harm, but leads to life changing events, such as dropping out of school, leads to pregnancies, increase rate of contracting an STD, and juvenile imprisonment, but more importantly cocaine kills. The dangers that cocaine brings to users is abnormal heart rate which can lead to a heart attack and death.

Famous deaths:

John Belushi: comic/actor

Len Bias: basketball player for the Boston Celtics

Chris Farley: actor and comedian

Margaux Hemingway: actress/model (granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway)

River Phoenix: actor

Carroll, Marilyn. Cocaine and Crack. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Karch, Steven B. A Brief History of Cocaine. Grand Rapids, Mich.: CRC Publications, 1997.