The Medical Origins of Cocaine
Cocaine was originally used as a painkiller. While civilizations living in coca-growing regions of the world have been using it for medicinal purposes for centuries, the first Western use of the coca leaves comes into record in the 1880s, where it is being used for surgery as an anesthetic. Cocaine had the advantage of constricting blood vessels and thus limits bleeding. Since then most of its therapeutic applications are now obsolete because of the development of safer drugs.
The Origin of Cocaine
Coca leaves had been being used in religious ceremonies dating back hundreds of years. The chewing of coca leaves during religious ceremonies in Peru was acceptable, however the use outside these ceremonies was forbidden. This was broken and abused when Spanish soldiers invaded Peru in 1532 when the chewing of coca leaves occurred outside of religious ceremonies.
Cocaine however, did not become widely popular until as mentioned in the 1880s. One of its big proponents, Sigmund Freud, the well-known Austrian psychoanalyst began broadly promoting cocaine as a cure for depression and sexual impotence. He himself was an addict of cocaine and called it a "magical" substance and prescribed it to others. It could be accurately stated that Freud was indeed the first broad scale cocaine drug pusher. Freud continued to promote cocaine's "benefits" even after one of his close friends suffered what is now recognized as a long-term side effect to cocaine use. His friend described the sensation as "white snakes creeping over his skin". Another patient of Freud died from cocaine overdose after Freud proclaimed "for humans the toxic dose of cocaine is very high, and there seems to be no lethal dose." Modern texts and countless hospital cases show quite the opposite.
In the 1880s and early 1900s all classes of people were widely using cocaine in all manner of tonics and elixirs. Cocaine was even included in Coca-Cola and public pressure forced the company to remove cocaine from the soft drink in 1903. By 1922 the drug was officially banned as a result of the preponderance of medical evidence mounting on its destructive attributes and thousands of hospital related deaths.
Cocaine use in Society
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.7% of the American population aged 12 and older have used cocaine at least once in their lifetimes. Eight graders through twelve graders stated obtaining cocaine was easy. The result of over 36 million people using cocaine is that cocaine continues to be the most frequently mentioned illicit substance reported to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) by hospital emergency departments nationwide, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Cocaine's Effect on the Mind
Cocaine's fast-acting chemical compounds bind themselves to the proteins in the brain that are responsible for the transport of dopamines, the body's natural reward system. The Dopamine ends up building up more in the synapses to create a feeling of euphoria or being high. One of the reasons cocaine is so popular and becomes so addicting is that the euphoria from it can happen very quickly, often within seconds of snorting or inhaling it. The downside is that that high doesn't last very long so the user tends to use more and more to chase that elusive high. The brain is thought to actually begin to demand the drug.
As cocaine wears off, the user normally experiences anxiety, depression, irritability and lack of energy. This starkly contrasts the powerful feelings experienced from the high. This marked contrast of emotional highs and lows often leads unknown users to be misdiagnosed as emotionally unstable or even Bi-polar. To avoid these emotional fluctuations cocaine addicts often begin using more frequently to maintain their highs. The difficulty with increased use it the expense, which often leads powder users to switch to cheaper forms of cocaine like crack, for their continued highs. The difficulty becomes that over time cocaine's effect on the neural pathways is reduced and more is needed to experience the highs they did before. When users withdraw or reduce their use, they often find little enjoyment in life that doesn't involve using drugs. They often experience that their emotions are dulled. This is normal due to the damage the neurotransmitters and synapses have suffered from being overloaded by the chemicals in cocaine. Some of the neurological damage can be repaired, but there is risk of permanent damage with cocaine use can be very high.
The Real Answer to the Cocaine Addiction
Education and drug awareness is the only real answer to preventing society's cocaine problem. Narconon cocaine treatment center's drug education campaigns are one of the most effective anti-drug campaigns presently available. Narconon doesn't just tell kids to say no to drugs, the program gives kids the facts about drugs so they can think for themselves on the subject. With a highly addictive drug like cocaine, it is critical that kids understand the health risks of this drug before they ever become first time users.
Once users become addicted only a longer term drug rehabilitation program that handles the physical and mental effects of cocaine will create long term sobriety. By the time a cocaine addict gets to the point of rehab, he has been putting toxins into the body at a very rapid rate. While many of the toxins are processed by the liver and kidneys and excreted from the body, toxic cocaine metabolites have been stored in the fatty tissues of the body. The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program helps reduce the body burden of these toxic metabolites and cleanse the body. Until removed, these small particles of cocaine's bio-active components can create cravings when they are released into the bloodstream. Thus the detoxifications process dramatically reduces the addict's cravings for cocaine and helps greatly improve emotional stability. When the cocaine addict has finished addressing his physical cocaine addiction with the Narconon Detoxification Program, he will be ready to begin to address the mental and emotional issues which lead to his drug addiction in the first place. With a clear mind he will be able to identify his own problems and learn new life skills to allow him never to have to use drugs to solve life's difficulties again.
If you know someone who needs help addressing cocaine use call Narconon and speak with a counselor regarding ways to their use or addiction to cocaine. Call Narconon East US for help today at 877-237-3307.