Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the South American coca bush, and has been used for centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air. In the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others, and until 1906, was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and a multitude of other elixirs and product concoctions. Cocaine was also used as an anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts to control cocaine in the early 1900s. The danger associated with cocaine was ignored in the 1970s and early 1980s, and it was proclaimed by many to be safe. With the accumulating medical evidence of the deleterious effects of cocaine addiction and abuse, and the introduction and widespread use of the drug, the public and government once again became alarmed about its growing use. Too many Americans, especially the health care and social workers who have to deal with cocaine abusers and their resulting cocaine addictions, have witnessed the personal and societal devastation it produces. Cocaine addiction is by far the most serious drug problem in the United States today.

There are four primary methods of administering cocaine:

1. "Snorting" - absorbing cocaine through the mucous membranes of the nose.
2. Injecting - users mix cocaine powder with water and use a syringe to inject the solution intravenously.
3. Freebasing - Cocaine hydrochloride is converted to a "freebase" which can then be smoked.
4. Crack Cocaine - Cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with ammonia or baking soda and other ingredients, which causes it to precipitate or solidify into pellets or "rocks". The crack is then smoked in glass pipes.

In 1997, there were approximately 1.5 million people partaking in cocaine abuse on a regular basis. One tenth of the population - over 22 million people - have tried cocaine. Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine abuse. Cocaine is a $35 billion illicit industry now exceeding Columbia's #1 legal export, coffee. One in ten workers say they know someone who uses cocaine on the job.

Currently the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the number of chronic cocaine abusers at 3.6 million. Adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction than those in any other age group. Overall, men have a higher rate of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction than do women.

Data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that cocaine-related emergency room visits, after increasing 78 percent between 1990 and 1994, remained level between 1994 and 1996, with 152,433 cocaine-related episodes reported in 1996

Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine addiction is one of society's greatest problems today. Individuals suffering the ills of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction will do almost anything to get the drug. It has penetrated all levels of our society, rich, poor, and everyone in between. Family members wanting loved ones to get cocaine addiction treatment often live in chaos and confusion, not understanding the underlying mechanics of cocaine addiction. At Eastcoastdrugrehab.com we do understand cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction. If you or someone you love has a cocaine addiction problem, we can help.

Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the South American coca bush, and has been used for centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air. In the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others, and until 1906, was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and a multitude of other elixirs and product concoctions. Cocaine was also used as an anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts to control cocaine in the early 1900s. The danger associated with cocaine was ignored in the 1970s and early 1980s, and it was proclaimed by many to be safe. With the accumulating medical evidence of the deleterious effects of cocaine addiction and abuse, and the introduction and widespread use of the drug, the public and government once again became alarmed about its growing use. Too many Americans, especially the health care and social workers who have to deal with cocaine abusers and their resulting cocaine addictions, have witnessed the personal and societal devastation it produces. Cocaine addiction is by far the most serious drug problem in the United States today.

Even though the public is often regaled with highly publicized accounts of deaths from cocaine, many still mistakenly believe the drug to be non-addictive and not as harmful as other illicit drugs. This is so far from the truth it is at times disturbing when you consider the number of people that actually ignore the mountain of evidence supporting the addictive nature of the drug.

The effects of cocaine are immediate, extremely pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine produces intense, short-lived euphoria and can make users feel more energetic. Like caffeine, cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects include feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with anxiety and restlessness. As the drug wears off, these temporary sensations of mastery are replaced by an intense depression, and the cocaine abuser will then "crash", becoming lethargic and typically sleeping for several days. The urge to administer more cocaine becomes overpowering, thus the vicious cycle continues until cocaine abuse becomes cocaine dependency, in other words cocaine addiction!

Physical effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
Cocaine's immediate physical effects include raised breathing rate, raised blood pressure and body temperature, and dilated pupils.

• Changes in blood pressure, heart rates, and breathing rate
• Nausea, vomiting and anxiety
• Convulsions and cold sweats
• Insomnia, restlessness and anxiety
• Loss of appetite leading to malnutrition and weight loss
• Swelling and bleeding of mucous membranes
• Damage to nasal cavities and/or lungs
• Possible heart attacks, strokes, or convulsions

Health effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
By causing the coronary arteries to constrict, blood pressure rises and the blood supply to the heart diminishes. This can cause heart attacks or convulsions within an hour after use. Chronic users and those with hypertension, epilepsy, and cardiovascular disease are at particular risk. Studies show that even those with no previous heart problems risk cardiac complications from cocaine. Increased use may sensitize the brain to the drug's effects so that less of the substance is needed to induce a seizure. Those who inject the drug are at high risk for AIDS and hepatitis when they share needles. Allergic reactions to cocaine or other substances mixed in with the drug may also occur.

Short term effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect.
Short-term effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
• Increased energy and mental alertness
• Decreased appetite and dilated pupils
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Constricted blood vessels and increased temperature

In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.

The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster drug is absorbed, the more intense the high and the shorter the duration. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking is instantaneous and may last 5 to 10 minutes.

Long term effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Once having tried cocaine, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the re-absorption or reuptake of dopamine by the nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the brain's reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug of abuse.
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Long-term effects of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
• Irritability
• Mood disturbances
• Restlessness
• Paranoia
• Auditory hallucinations

An appreciable tolerance to cocaine's high may develop, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant effects, without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.

Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations
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Medical complications of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction
• Cardiovascular effects and stroke
• Disturbances in heart rhythm heart attacks
• Respiratory effects chest pain and even respiratory failure
• Neurological effects and seizures
• Headaches and gastrointestinal effects
• Abdominal pain and nausea

Cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction has been linked to many types of heart disease. Cocaine has been found to trigger chaotic heart rhythms, called ventricular fibrillation, accelerate heartbeat and breathing, and increase blood pressure and body temperature. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma.

Different routes of cocaine administration can produce different adverse effects. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum, which can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow. And, persons who inject cocaine have puncture marks and "tracks," most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous cocaine abuse may also cause an allergic reaction, either to the drug, or to some additive in street cocaine, which can result in death. Because cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction has a tendency to decrease food intake, many people lose their appetites and can experience significant weight loss and malnourishment.

Research has revealed a potentially dangerous interaction between cocaine and alcohol. Taken in combination, the two drugs are converted by the body to coca ethylene. Coca ethylene has a longer duration of action in the brain and is more toxic than either drug alone. While more research needs to be done, it is noteworthy that the mixture of cocaine and alcohol is the most common two-drug combination that results in drug-related death.

How does cocaine produce its effects.
A great amount of research has been devoted to understanding the way cocaine produces its pleasurable effects, and the reasons it is so addictive. One mechanism is through its effects on structures deep in the brain. Scientists have discovered regions within the brain that, when stimulated, produce feelings of pleasure. One neural system that appears to be most affected by cocaine is located deep within the brain, called the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nerve cells originating in the VTA extend to the region of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens, one of the brain's key pleasure centers. In studies using animals, for example, all types of pleasurable stimuli, such as food, water, sex, and many drugs of abuse, cause increased activity in the nucleus accumbens.

In the normal communication process, dopamine is released by a neuron into the synapse, where it can bind with dopamine receptors on neighboring neurons. Normally dopamine is then recycled back into the transmitting neuron by a specialized protein called the dopamine transporter. If cocaine is present, it attaches to the dopamine transporter and blocks the normal recycling process, resulting in a build-up of dopamine in the synapse which contributes to the pleasurable effects of cocaine.
As cocaine abuse continues, tolerance often develops. This means that higher doses and more frequent use of cocaine are required for the brain to register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use. Recent studies have shown that, during periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine use, or mere exposure to cues associated with drug use, can trigger tremendous craving and relapse to drug use, even after long periods of abstinence.