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How Addictive Is Cocaine Research Paper

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How Addictive Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that causes changes in a person’s brain immediately after taking it. There are many ways to ingest cocaine, including snorting the powdered form through the nose, mixing the powder with liquid and injecting it, rubbing the powder on the gums, and smoking it either by itself or mixed with other substances like marijuana or tobacco. All forms of cocaine use are dangerous due to the risk of overdose and addiction.

Most people have heard that cocaine is a very addictive drug, but what does “very addictive” actually mean? Some individuals may think that they can try cocaine “just once” to see what a high from the drug is like, but it is difficult to try cocaine just one time and leave …show more content…

Despite the dangers, people start using cocaine every day. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), there were 1.5 million cocaine users in the United States in 2013 who were 12 years old or older. This is a startling statistic that hints at how addictive cocaine actually is.

How Addictive Is Cocaine?

Again, cocaine is a highly addictive substance that can cause someone to become addicted to it after just one use. Addiction to any drug involves dependency and tolerance. Dependency means that a person needs to keep taking the drug to avoid the onset of unpleasant and sometimes painful withdrawal symptoms, while tolerance means that the person needs to take more of the drug over time to achieve the same effect. Not all drugs can cause someone to become addicted after just one use, but cocaine is different.

When a person uses cocaine for the first time, the drug causes multiple changes in their body and brain. Almost immediately after using the drug, the person will experience the following symptoms:

• Euphoria and Pleasure
• Feelings of Mental …show more content…

However, there are some factors that influence the intensity and duration of the effects of cocaine use, including the dosage, purity, route of administration, co-current drug use, and level of cocaine tolerance.

Since taking cocaine for the first time is a new experience for a person’s brain, the sensations that associated with a cocaine high tend to be the most intense when the person first uses the drug. Many people find that they experience decreased levels of euphoria the next time they use cocaine, because tolerance appears almost immediately after taking the drug for the first time.

While a person’s first experience with cocaine is often described as euphoric, not everyone has such a positive experience. Some people have adverse reactions to the drug. Some people may experience anxiety, paranoia, erratic or violent behavior, rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure. In some rare cases, first-time cocaine use can even cause heart attacks, seizures, or even death. The risk of having a bad reaction is higher for people who take larger doses of the drug or who have preexisting health conditions.

How Does Cocaine Impact the

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