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Cocaine Pictures
Cocaine pictures show that this is a powerful and addictive stimulant drug. The drug cocaine begins as a paste. It is extracted from the leaves of the South American coca plant. Today, cocaine sold on the street is a white powder that is crystalline in nature. It is often "cut" or mixed with other substances. These substances may include sugar, cornstarch, vitamins, and flour. Crack cocaine is different in appearance than cocaine. It looks like a small rock, chunk, or chip and it is sometimes off-white or pink in color.
Cocaine is classified as is a stimulant which affects the user's central nervous system. The physical effects of this drug as shown in cocaine pictures and reports include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased body temperature, increased heart rate, and high blood pressure. The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include hyperstimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental alertness depends on the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. On the other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Increased use can reduce the period of time an user feels high and increases their risk of addiction.
Cocaine pictures points out that regardless of how cocaine is used or how frequently, an user can experience acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies, such as a heart attack or stroke, which could result in sudden death. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest.
Cocaine pictures report that some users of this drug describe feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. A tolerance to the "high" may develop. Many addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Some users will increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive to cocaine's anesthetic effects without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.
This drug is a strong central nervous system stimulant that interferes with the re-absorption process of dopamine, a chemical messenger associated with pleasure and movement. The buildup of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of receiving neurons, which is associated with the euphoria commonly reported by cocaine abusers. 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. This can result in a period of full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.
Scientists have determined that most addictive drugs like cocaine initially affect the brain's reward system. This part of the brain rewards us when we do the things necessary to survive like eating, drinking, having sex to perpetuate our species, and so on. Cells in the brain's reward center release chemicals that make us feel good (reward us) when we engage in survival type behaviors and thus teach us to repeat the actions. One of the many dangers of cocaine abuse is that it mimics the brain's natural chemicals. Instead of teaching us to repeat survival behaviors, cocaine use teaches the user to take more cocaine. If use continues, the dangers of cocaine abuse gradually change the user's brain and lead to addiction.
Cocaine pictures show other complications associated with cocaine use including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks, chest pain and respiratory failure, strokes, seizures and headaches, and gastrointestinal complications such as abdominal pain and nausea. Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease appetite, many chronic users can become malnourished.
Different means of taking cocaine can produce different adverse effects as shown in cocaine pictures. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead to 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.
Another of the dangers of cocaine abuse is tolerance. Cocaine pictures notes that tolerance is when increasing amounts of the drug is needed to duplicate the initial effect. Other dangers of cocaine abuse include increased sexual activity among cocaine users, both in prostitution and from the uninhibited effect of the drug. This puts them at a higher risk of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Many cocaine users also engage in criminal activity, such as burglary and prostitution, to raise the money to buy drugs. Some drugs, such as cocaine, are often associated with violent behavior.
Cocaine pictures also reports that the dangers of cocaine abuse include denial. The urge to use is so strong that the mind finds many ways to rationalize cocaine use. Someone abusing drugs may drastically underestimate the quantity of drugs they are taking, how much it is costing them, and how much time it takes away from their family and work. They may lash out at concerned family members, making the family feel like they are exaggerating and overstating the problem. What makes this so frustrating for family members is the person abusing drugs often sincerely believes they do not have a problem and can make the family member feel like the dysfunctional one.
Lastly, cocaine abuse can lead to the user's preoccupation with drugs, which causes changes in their mood and performance in life. This in turn can lead to marital problems and poor work performance or dismissal. Cocaine pictures show how cocaine abuse can disrupt family life and create destructive patterns of codependency. That is, the spouse or whole family, out of love or fear of consequences, inadvertently enables the user to continue using cocaine by covering up, supplying money, or denying there is a problem.
