To begin, cocaine, also known benzoylmethylecgonine, is a strong stimulant extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, Erythroxylon coca (Medical-Dictionary). For two thousand years, Ancient Incas in the Andes chewed cocaine leaves to get their hearts racing and to speed their breathing to counter the effects of living in thin mountain air. This drug grows naturally in the forests that surround the Andes Mountains in South America (Drug Free World). In addition, cocaine causes a short-lived, intense high that is immediately followed by the opposite-intense depression, edginess and a craving for more of the drug (Drug Free World). “Street names” for cocaine include coke, flake, snow, blow, white, toot, base, basa, cola, and powder (Drug Free World). …show more content…
According to Narconon, signs that can tell if someone is high on cocaine are loss loss appetite, excited sexually, talkative, dilated pupils, nosebleeds and burned lips or fingers. According to the video “Drug Abuse on the Brain,” cocaine acts by blocking the removal of dopamine from the synapse and results in an accumulation of dopamine which causes euphoria (Drug Abuse on the Brain). Other side-effects include euphoria, overconfidence, aggressiveness, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, unusual excitement, and poor judgement (Narconon). To add, long term effects from cocaine include sudden depression, agitation, nervousness, tiredness, distressed and drug craving