Cocaine(Coc) Test Card

What is Cocaine?

• Cocaine is a purified extract from the leaves of coca bush. This plant is found in the Andes mountain region of South Africa.
•  It is a very high priced drug usually popular in high societies, glamour world like fashion and films.
• It is the most abused major stimulant drug around the world.
• The physical appearance of cocaine is like a common white salt or crystalline white powder and is soluble in water.
• Its melting point is very high.

What is the Impact of Cocaine on our Brain and Central Nervous system?

• Central Nervous system:- Initially the users experience high degree of euphoria , increased energy , excitement , less hunger and fatigue , Feeling of increased physical and mental strength and decreased sense of pain. A false sense of power, competence and grandeur popularly known as cocainomania.
• After the High effect subsides and the abusers experience restlessness , irritability , tremor , twitching of small muscles , hallucination , psychosis , schizophrenia etc
• Brain :- Short  supply of blood to the brain is the reason for   anxiety , dizziness , headaches , nausea , psychosis , seizure, strokes , auditory hallucination ,etc .

What is the impact of Cocaine on our lungs and Respiratory System?

• The immediate effects of smoking cocaine are complications in breathing and it may even cause the lungs to collapse.
• Smoking cocaine can cause chronic bronchitis, coughing, and coughing up black phlegm.
• Shortness of breath and chest pain.
• Loss of smell, runny nose, frequent sneezing, nose bleeding, inflamed nasal passage, damaged sinus, nasal perforation, nasal seizure, etc.
• It can lead pulmonary edema causing shortness of breath, respiratory failure and even death.

What is the impact of Cocaine on our Immunity System?

• Since cocaine effects every organ system of the body, the immunity of the body to fight diseases is impaired.
• Abusers often complain of Jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, vulnerability to common diseases increases.
• Since the body immunity becomes low, Chances of catching contagious viruses such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV (sharing IV needles) and AIDS (unprotected sex) increases many folds.

What is the impact of Cocaine on Heart?

The abuse of cocaine has the following cardiovascular complications-

• Increased heart rate
• Narrowing of the blood vessels
• Dangerous increase in B.P
• Acute chances of chest pain, angina, and heart attack.
• It can also lead to abnormal heart rhythm or rapid heart rate (cardiomyopathy).
• Chronic use of cocaine results in hardening and narrowing of the coronary arteries can lead to heart attack, angina, and cardiac death even in very young users without any medical history of heart disease.

What is the Impact of Cocaine abuse on women and their babies?

• The use of cocaine during pregnancy can increase sever complication and it can directly effect the unborn child.
• The chances of still birth, missed abortion, miscarriage and placenta abruption increase.
• Abuse of cocaine can also cause many birth defects, chances of malformation and low birth rate in the new born.
• Abnormalities in behavior such as hyperactivity, depression, mood swings, low IQ, low attention span etc.

What is the Impact of Cocaine on Teenagers and Young Adults?

• Teen cocaine abuse does exist, but it is not one of the more widely abused drugs by teens.
• A teenager can experience elevated heart rate ,  intense feelings of euphoria and high energy , distorted sensory perception followed by  Intense depressed feeling lethargy , blood shot eyes , body pain ,  sadness , suicidal tendencies , running nose  etc .
• This causes a drop in performance at school, work and in extracurricular activities. Social and longer term problems can result in difficulty in getting and maintaining a job, getting into college and mixing with the society.
• In the long term health effects in high doses, the following health effects are seen :- Seizures , Stroke , Respiratory problems , Heart attack, Brain damage, Violent behaviour , sudden death .
• Because of the dangers inherent in using cocaine, it is important to be on the look out for teen drug use of cocaine. If you know a teenager, who is showing the symptoms listed above, it is a good idea to seek help for him or her by simply using a cocaine testing strip.

What are the street names and nick names of Cocaine?

• Cocaine is a high profile drug used by affluent people in high societies like glamour world and fashion.
• Some of the street names are:
• Liquid lady, Yuppie drug , Cadillac of Drugs , Speed ball ,  flake , Champagne of Drugs ,Crack ,  Snow , Status stimulant , Freebase , snow flake , caviar of recreational drugs , Rock , toot , Coke , Blow ,Lady flake , Gold Dust , She , Her , Nose Candy

How is cocaine used in Medical Field?

• One of the major plus points of cocaine is that it has great medical benefits and can help in curing headache , abdominal pain , menstrual cramp , depression , addiction and lethargy.
• In surgery it is used as an anesthetic drug and is also used as a brain tonic. Earlier it was also used in eye surgery.
• The natives of many South African countries like Peru and Bolivia ate cocoa leaves to protect themselves from cold hunger and fatigue.

How cocaine is used?

• Cocaine is commonly consumed by sniffing and snorting.
• It is available in 2 forms Hydrochloric salt and Freebase.
• Sudden death occurs if swallowed directly.
• It may also be mixed with other drugs like LSD, HASHISH, CODEINE, HEROIN etc…
• In the form of Hydrochloric salt it can be dissolved in water or alcohol and also be intravenously injected.
• As it has a high melting point, smoking it is ruled out. Many common addictives are added in cocaine and then methods such as crack or free basing are done to make it heat resistant so that it can be smoked.