The Effects of Cocaine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Effects of Cocaine - Research Paper Example Statement of the Problem In order to effectively fight cocaine addiction among various members of the population, nongovernmental as well as governmental organizations have to comprehend the different reasons why people in different economic brackets choose to abuse the drug. In addition, they have to find ways of gaining the trust of drug users in order to influence their choices. Hypothesis Crack cocaine, which comes in the form of rock crystals, is considered to be the most addictive of all types of cocaine. It has become easily accessible to individuals in all socioeconomic brackets. Crack is a variety of cocaine that is currently more widely abused. Crack has more intense as well as swift effects than do the other varieties of cocaine which are injected or snorted. Crack is also cheaper to produce and thus has become accessible to people in all socioeconomic brackets. In most cases, people use crack to boost their abilities in a competitive world in which there is the constant r ace to be the best. While imbuing them with the strength to keep performing, cocaine also gives its users an abnormal feeling of pleasure. In the past three decades since it first emerged in the 80s, crack cocaine has left many destroyed communities in its wake all over the world. Research Questions 1. How does cocaine affect the physical body? 2. 2. How does cocaine affect a person psychologically? 3. What are the economic impacts of cocaine? 4. What are the medicinal uses of cocaine? 5. Who are the largest producers of cocaine? 6. What are the programs that can help a person addicted to cocaine? Crack is more pure and therefore considerably more addictive than cocaine which is mixed with impurities. Addicts who smoke crack experience a feeling of happiness in about 10 to 15 seconds while those addicted to cocaine who experience a rush 10 to 15 minutes after smoking. This feeling is then followed by a feeling of desperation when the drop into depressed feelings follows the â€Å"high.† This crash then compels the addict to seek for more cocaine so that he or she may experience the feeling of happiness once more. Consuming any amount of cocaine that is more than 100 milligrams can result in erratic, bizarre, or violent behavior. The addict will experience physical symptoms such as chest pain, blurred vision, fever, nausea, convulsions, muscle spasms, and finally death from brain or heart failure which causes the addict to stop breathing (Lennard-Browne 65). Crack cocaine addiction is an extremely difficult habit to stop and may actually require the hospitalization of th e addict who experiences adverse withdrawal symptoms upon stopping to use the drug. Psychological Effects Crack cocaine triggers major pleasure centers in the brain and brings about an extremely heightened feeling of ecstasy. People who wish to start using cocaine merely do so in order to stimulate themselves to be at their best so that they can work harder and longer. While the results of the pleasant and invincible feelings appear to give the addict an almost supernatural experience at first, repeated cocaine use soon dominates his or her life to the extent that he or she cannot function without it. Depression is the result of long term abuse of cocaine. The addicted person takes crack in order not to feel depressed. The drug reduces a person’s mental capacities to psychosis and auditory hallucinations. Crack cocaine brings about a severe mental