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Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine addiction is characterized by the compulsive use and seeking of cocaine, even when an individual knows that cocaine use is not in their best interest. The addiction is fed by uncontrollable cravings. Addiction to any drug, including cocaine, can be defined as chronically making the firm decision not to use the drug followed shortly thereafter by a relapse. The relapse is due to the user experiencing overwhelming, compulsive urges to use despite their earlier decision to abstain. This contradiction is a characteristic of cocaine addiction problems. Cocaine is a highly addictive drug. It works in the same way as heroin and nicotine by tapping into the brain's natural reward (dopamine) pathways. The user experiences pleasure every time they take it and a distinct lack of pleasure once it wears off. This reinforces the compulsion to take more.

Cocaine addiction is a problem that affects people from all walks of life. An addiction to cocaine is extremely serious to the user?s health and can even be fatal in some instances. When an individual is addicted to cocaine, they tend to focus all their thoughts on the drug. They wonder where to get it, when to get it, is there enough of it, is it good enough, and will I have the money for more? These are some of the most frequent thoughts that run through their minds. Another characteristic of cocaine addiction is the physical craving that comes when the individual?s body has adapted to the cocaine in their system and begins to develop a tolerance to it. Anyone who has taken cocaine for an extended period of time can tell that they must increase their intake to feel the same effect that just a fraction of the amount used to produce. The reason for this is not related to the quality of the cocaine but instead to the user?s body adapting itself to the drugs presence in their system.

Of all drugs currently abused today, cocaine possesses the greatest psychological addiction. It stimulates key pleasure centers within the user?s brain and causes extremely heightened euphoria. The effects of cocaine are immediate, enormously pleasurable, and brief. Cocaine is a captivating drug that makes you feel confident, talkative, and alert. This is quite a draw for those who find it difficult to feel that way normally. But, as the drug wears off, these feelings are quickly replaced with feelings of depression, anxiety, and irritability. This is why cocaine addiction takes place rapidly in some individuals.

Cocaine addiction causes negative effects such as anxiety and restlessness. Other side effects of cocaine addiction include sweats, tremors, twitching, a racing heart, weight loss, psychosis, and other extremely dangerous symptoms. There are enormous medical complications associated with cocaine addiction. Some of the most frequent complications are cardiovascular effects, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks. It can also cause respiratory effects like chest pain and respiratory failure. Neurological effects of cocaine can include strokes, seizure, and headaches. The gastrointestinal complications of cocaine addiction include abdominal pain and nausea. In addition to these negative side effects of cocaine addiction, most addicts will also have to fight against secondary addictions that developed during the cocaine addiction (ie. the drugs they used to chase the high). When people mix cocaine and alcohol consumption, they are compounding the danger that each drug poses. They are unknowingly forming a complex chemical experiment within their bodies. NIDA-funded researchers conducted a cocaine addiction study and found that the human liver combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third substance, cocaethylene. This substance intensifies cocaine's euphoric effects while possibly increasing the risk of sudden death.

Cocaine Addiction Facts

In 1997, there were approximately 1.5 million regular cocaine abusers.
1-tenth of the population (over 22 million people) have experimented with cocaine.
Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine.
Cocaine is a 35 billion dollar, illicit industry which now exceeds Columbia's #1 export, coffee.
1 in 10 workers say they know someone who uses cocaine on the job.
Of college students 1 to 4 years beyond high school, in 1995, 3.6 percent had used cocaine within the past year and 0.7 percent had used cocaine in the past month.
Adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher rate of current cocaine use than those in any other age group.
Overall, men have a higher rate of current cocaine use than women do. Also, according to the 1997 NHSDA, rates of current cocaine use were 1.4 percent for African Americans, 0.8 percent for Hispanics, and 0.6 percent for Caucasians.