“Cocaine and Crack became a daily habit…I lied, cheated and stole from clients, partners, family, and friends to fund my habit, until eventually I was a paranoid wreck sitting at home alone smoking crack, taking cocaine and dabbling with heroin…I realized that I did not have a life and had lost EVERYTHING that was important to me, relationships, material possessions, financial gains, jobs EVERYTHING I cared about including myself.”
- Linda, Cocaine Anonymous
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a stimulant drug currently responsible for 19% of drug overdose deaths in the United States. It comes in forms such as powdered cocaine, freebase cocaine, and crack cocaine. In the 20th century, cocaine was used for many purposes, including treating illnesses and being an anesthetic (painkiller). However, later research has proved that cocaine is severely addicting, which is why it is only acceptably used for anesthetic purposes today. Unfortunately, the drug, often combined with other substances, is sold and used illegally which can lead to a series of adverse (harmful) consequences for the user.
Stimulant Misuse Statistics Photo from SAMHSA.gov
Effects
Since cocaine is a stimulant drug, it impacts the body through excitatory effects rather than inhibitory ones. The short-term effects of cocaine occur merely minutes after usage and tend to wear off after a few minutes to an hour. To name a few:
- Euphoria (intense excitement)
- Hypersensitivity (to sight, touch, and sound)
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Paranoia
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- MORE
Cocaine usage can also trigger cardiological, neurological, or gastrointestinal medical issues such as heart attacks, seizures, strokes, coma and intense nausea. Cocaine-induced heart attacks and seizures can even lead to death. These can happen as a result of a cocaine overdose, which 19,447 people died from in 2020.
Effects of Cocaine Photo from NIDA
Long-term cocaine use takes a heavy toll on a user’s body. Those effects include:
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Greater risk for stroke and/or seizures
- Intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding inside the brain)
- Impaired cognitive function, resulting in disorders such as Parkinson’s disease
- MORE
How Cocaine is Addicting
Cocaine addiction occurs due to one factor: an oversupply of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, meaning a chemical that acts as a messenger by travelling to and from cells within our brain to help them deliver a signal (electrical) to each other. Cells need to communicate to with one another so that the body can function as a cohesive (united) whole. For instance, when we take on laborious tasks such as running a race or taking a test in school, more dopamine will be sent to the cells in control of our muscle and mind activity to encourage them to work harder.
Dopamine encourages activity within the body (ex. physical activity) Photo by MDPI
Dopamine arises from dopaminergic (dopamine-releasing) cells within the brain. “Dopamin” refers to dopamine while “ergic” means releasing. Dopamine is used by nerve cells, also known as neurons, to communicate with one other via a process where one neuron releases dopamine while another neuron’s receptors receive the chemical which subsequently leads to a physiological (functional) change within the receiving cell. To break this process down, when dopamine is received by a cell, it triggers another reaction within the cell which ultimately results in the cell carrying out the desired function (such as triggering muscle and mind cells to work harder as seen in the previous example). After dopamine fulfills its purpose of transmitting a signal across cells, it is recycled by a dopamine transporter, which is a protein that removes dopamine from the receiving cell, preventing it from stimulating any more activity.
Typical Process of Dopamine Transmission (Spreading) within Nerve Cells Photo by NIH
Control over the reward system is arguably the most important aspect of dopamine. The term reward system refers to a section of the brain called the mesolimbic dopamine pathway that is activated by dopamine whenever humans engage in a pleasurable activity (ex. eating or winning a soccer game).
The mesolimbic dopamine pathway originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brainstem, the part of the body connecting brain to spinal cord. The mesolimbic dopamine pathway connects the VTA with the ventral striatum, a section of the brain associated with rewarding feelings.
Diagram of the Mesocorticolimbic Dopamine Pathway
Photo by Neuroscientifically Challenged
Performing an enjoyable task triggers neurons in the VTA to release dopamine, which travels to areas along the mesolimbic dopamine pathway to the nucleus accumbens (NA), a bundle of neurons within the ventral striatum. The influx (arrival) of dopamine causes increased dopamine levels in the NA. Since this process only occurs as a result of pleasurable feelings, the brain is able to determine which activities are pleasurable (activities that cause this process to happen) and which are not (activities that do not produce any effect similar to this process).
Unfortunately, this concept forms the basis of cocaine addiction. Cocaine, once consumed, can quickly travel through the bloodstream and to the reward system within the brain. Inside the reward system, cocaine binds to the dopamine transporters, proteins that remove dopamine from the receiving nerve cell aka neuron. Consequently, dopamine transporters will fail to remove any dopamine from the synapse, a space between communicating nerve cells where dopamine is released by a sender cell and collected by a receiving cell. Dopamine will begin to accumulate within the synapse, leading to the overstimulation of the nucleus accumbens, indicating to the brain that an overly pleasurable activity was performed, in this case being the consumption of cocaine.
Impact of Cocaine Use on Dopamine Transmision (Spreading) within Nerve Cells
Photo by NIH
Habitual cocaine use can lead to alterations within the brain’s reward system. Dopamine deficiency (shortage) is a common effect of long-term cocaine use, where the body is trained to release less dopamine on its own since a lot of dopamine is produced within the brain as a result of cocaine usage. When cocaine is removed from the picture, however, problems will arise. The body will continue releasing small amounts of dopamine, expecting cocaine to do the rest of the work. When cocaine is absent, there will be a deficit in dopamine, causing a person to feel less excited and motivated in their everyday life.
When a cocaine user suddenly ends consumption of cocaine, they will also experience anxiety, irritability, fatigue and other symptoms of withdrawal. The body produces these negative feelings since it is not acclimated (familiarized) with this deficit in cocaine consumption. People experiencing these stressful withdrawal symptoms will often return to cocaine usage. However, they do so not for pleasure but rather to escape the discomfort of withdrawal. This is problematic, since now that person would need to continuously fuel their addiction, potentially ruining their entire lives, for the sake of not slipping into withdrawal.
Severe Anxiety, One of the Many Withdrawal Symptoms of Cocaine Photo by NIH
Long-term cocaine users are more at risk of developing chronic health conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine deficiency (shortage) arises as a result of long-term cocaine usage, which has been proven to be a main contributing factor to Parkinson’s Disease.
Adolescent Risk
Using cocaine as a teenager will set adult life up for disaster. Not only is teenage cocaine use illegal, resulting in jail time and fines, but will also lead to improper brain development. This will result in cognitive, behavioral, and physical problems during adulthood, such as a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, and increased irrational behavior.
Impact of Cocaine Addiction Among Adolescents
Kerry firsthand experienced the horror of drug addiction. At just 19 years old, she had not only spent $10,000 on cocaine, but also nearly got herself killed while purchasing it on the street. Please learn from Kerry’s mistakes and do not take or chase substances.
Read the full story HERE.
References
Stories – Cocaine Anonymous Scotland. 2022, www.cascotland.org.uk/resources/stories.
Mission Harbor Behavioral Health. “Cocaine Overdose: Symptoms and Treatment Options.” Mission Harbor Behavioral Health, sbtreatment.com/overdose/cocaine.
NIDA. "What is the scope of cocaine use in the United States? ." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 26 Jan. 2022, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-scope-cocaine-use-in-united-states.
NIDA. "What is Cocaine?." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2 May. 2022, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-cocaine.
NIDA. "How does cocaine produce its effects?." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 11 Jun. 2020, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/how-does-cocaine-produce-its-effects.
NIDA. "What are some ways that cocaine changes the brain? ." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 28 May. 2020, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-are-some-ways-cocaine-changes-brain.
NIDA. "What are the short-term effects of cocaine use?." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 13 Jun. 2021, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-are-short-term-effects-cocaine-use.
NIDA. "What are the long-term effects of cocaine use?." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 9 Jul. 2021, https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine/what-are-long-term-effects-cocaine-use.
“In Pursuit of Pleasure, Brain Learns to Hit the Repeat Button.” Columbia | Zuckerman Institute, 6 Mar. 2018, zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/pursuit-pleasure-brain-learns-hit-repeat-button.
“Teen Cocaine Use More Harmful Than Adult Use.” Vertava Health, vertavahealth.com/cocaine/teen-use.
Stamm, Melissa. “Cocaine’s Effects on the Teenage Brain.” Vanderbilt University, 24 June 2022, news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/06/24/cocaines-teenage-brain.
Nestler, Eric J. “The neurobiology of cocaine addiction.” Science & practice perspectives vol. 3,1 (2005): 4-10. doi:10.1151/spp05314
“Cocaine Withdrawal Symptoms, Timeline and Detox Treatment.” American Addiction Centers, 13 Sept. 2022, americanaddictioncenters.org/cocaine-treatment/withdrawal.
Cocores, J A et al. “Cocaine abuse and adult attention deficit disorder.” The Journal of clinical psychiatry vol. 48,9 (1987): 376-7.
Disclaimer: This information is intended for educational use only and should not be construed as professional advice. Email us at endtheloopnow@gmail.com regarding inquiries of any sort.