Stop Cocaine Addiction

Many people make unknowledgeable decisions in life. The person may be a very intelligent person but their decisions will show people otherwise. Students have to complete many research assignments in class. They are very aware of how to research information. Therefore, students can research a drug that they are interested in trying. This is very simple for anyone to do without having to feel embarrassed asking other people. Research will inform them on the definition of the drug, the history and why it is so addicting.

Cocaine addiction is a problem that affects millions of Americans each year. A website called Stop Cocaine Addiction has an article entitled “What is Cocaine”. This article states that adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five

Cocaine first appeared in American society in the 1880 's as a surgical anesthetic, and soon became a common household drug, as well as an ingredient in Coca-Cola and in several types of wines. Snorting cocaine was slowly becoming popular in the early 1900 's until the drug was banned in 1914 as a result of the Harrison Act. Abuse began rising again in the 1960 's, causing Congress to classify it as a Schedule II drug in 1970. Later, in the mid-1980 's, crack cocaine, which is derived from powder cocaine, became an enormously popular drug of abuse. Today, synthetic forms of cocaine such as Novocain are still used as local anesthetics for surgical purposes; however, medical use has become more sporadic with the introduction of safer and more improved pharmaceuticals. Illicit, recreational use of cocaine remains popular today (“Cocaine”,

The effects of cocaine on society can be traced far back in time. Cocaine and crack cocaine are toxic, addictive, psychoactive drugs that have significant physiological and psychological consequences for users. The effects of cocaine on society can be seen in the user’s families, communities, and workplaces. Domestic violence and random acts of violence are often fueled by cocaine or crack cocaine use. Children are often the victims of cocaine or crack cocaine using parents. Children born to cocaine users suffer from the harmful pre-natal exposure to the drug and are often times subjected to parental abuse by their addicted parents (“Effects of Cocaine in Society”, 2006).

In the workplace, cocaine is costly in terms of lost work time and inefficiency. Cocaine users are more likely than nonusers to have occupational accidents which endangering themselves and those around them. The effects of cocaine on society can be seen in drug-related crime statistics. Cocaine use can disrupt neighborhoods with violence among drug dealers, threats to residents, and the crimes of the addicts themselves. In some neighborhoods, younger children are recruited as lookouts for the police and helpers because of the lighter sentences given to juvenile