Download Cocaine and Amphetamines

Cocaine and
Amphetamines
Elysia Lopez and Lucy Kaluzhskaya
Cocaine and Amphetamines
Substance
Can produce
dependence
Can produce
intoxication
Associated
Withdrawal
Can Produce
Dementia
COCAINE
YES
YES
YES
NO
AMPHETAMINES
YES
YES
YES
NO
Cocaine
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Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug that is snorted, sniffed, injected,
or smoked.
 Crack is cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride
to a free base for smoking.
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca
bush
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grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia
In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the
tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses.
Cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric and energetic.
Common health effects include:
 heart attacks
 respiratory failure
 strokes
 seizures.
Large amounts can cause bizarre and violent behavior.
In rare cases, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or
unexpectedly thereafter.
Street names include: Coke, snow, flake, blow, etc.
The powdered, hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or
dissolved in water and injected.
Crack
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Crack is cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to
make the hydrochloride salt.
This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that can be heated
and its vapors smoked.
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Regardless of how cocaine is used or how frequently, a user can
experience acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular
emergencies, such as a heart attack or stroke, which could
result in sudden death.
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The term "crack" refers to the crackling
sound heard when it is heated.
Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or
seizure followed by respiratory arrest.
Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that
interferes with the reabsorption process of dopamine – which is
connected with the euphoria.
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Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and
anxiety.
A tolerance to the "high" may occur.
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Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and
at increasingly high doses, may lead to a state of increasing irritability,
restlessness, and paranoia.
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This can result in a period of full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the
user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.
Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease appetite, many chronic users can
become malnourished.
Regularly snorting cocaine can lead to:
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Some users will increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric
effects.
loss of the sense of smell,
nosebleeds,
problems with swallowing,
hoarseness,
and a chronically runny nose.
Ingesting cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene due to reduced blood
flow.
People who inject cocaine can experience severe allergic reactions and, as
with all injecting drug users, are at increased risk for contracting HIV
and other blood-borne diseases.
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Physical effects of cocaine use include:
 constricted blood vessels,
 dilated pupils,
 increased temperature,
 heart rate,
 and blood pressure.
The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include
hyperstimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental alertness, depends on how the
cocaine is injected.
 The faster the absorption, the more intense the high.
The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking
may last 5 to 10 minutes.
Increased use can reduce the period of time a user feels high and increases the
risk of addiction.
1.5 million Americans could be classified as dependent on or abusing cocaine in
the past 12 months
Amphetamines
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An addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain
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Releases high levels of dopamine, which stimulates mood and body
movement, similar to cocaine.
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Affects the central nervous system
It has a neurotoxic effect, as it damages brain cells.
Chronic users have reduced levels of dopamine, which can lead to diseases
like Parkinson’s.
Increased levels of HIV and Hepatitis B/C are the consequences of all
amphetamine users, not just those who inject.
Intoxicating affects include:
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Altered judgement,
Inhibition
Risky sexual behaviors
Side effects and symptoms
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Increased wakefulness
Increased physical activity
Decreased appetite
Increased respiration
Hyperthermia
Euphoria
Irritability
Insomnia
Confusion
Tremors
Convulsions
Anxiety
Paranoia’
Aggressiveness
Psychotic symptoms
Can lead to death!
Methamphetamines
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Similar to amphetamines, but has a much stronger and
longer lasting affect on the CNS.
Also called: Speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, glass.
It can be snorted, swallowed, injected, or smoked, and
it is frequently taken in combination with other drugs.
Causes Euphoric feelings.
The large increases in dopamine produced by
methamphetamine can trigger psychosis, that in some
instances, persists months after drug use has stopped.
Treatment
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There are currently no safe and effective pharmacological
treatments.
Antidepressant medications are somewhat helpful in combating
the depressing symptoms usually seen in (meth)amphetamine
users who have recently stopped using.
Anticonvulsant drugs may be administered to overdose patients.
Neuroleptics have been proven successful for users suffering
from psychosis.
Amphetamine induced disorders include: intoxication,
withdrawal, delirium, psychotic disorder, mood disorder, anxiety
disorder, sexual disfunction, and sleep disorder.