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 Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:03 pm Post subject: Consequences of cocaine use |
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Physical dependence
At present, it's unclear if physical dependence upon cocaine hydrochloride can occur. However, when some regular heavy users stop taking the drug, they experience a powerful negative reaction, which may indicate physical dependence.
Crack cocaine does produce a strong physical dependency. With regular heavy use increasingly unpleasant symptoms occur. Euphoria is replaced by restlessness, over-excitability and nausea. With continued use this can lead to paranoid psychosis. Regular users may appear chronically nervous, excitable and paranoid. Confusion as a result of exhaustion, due to lack of sleep, is common.
Psychological dependence
Psychological dependence exists when a drug is so central to a person's thoughts, emotions, and activities that it becomes a craving or compulsion. Among heavy cocaine users, an intense psychological dependence can occur; they suffer severe depression when the supply of cocaine runs out, which lifts only when they take it again. Experiments with animals have suggested that cocaine is perhaps the most powerful drug of all in producing psychological dependence.
When not taking cocaine, many regular users complain of sleep and eating disorders, depression and anxiety, and the mental craving for the drug often compels them to take it again.
Consequences for health
Death from a cocaine overdose can occur from convulsions, heart failure, or the depression of vital brain centres that control breathing.
Chronic cocaine snorting often causes stuffiness, runny nose and eczema, and commonly damages the nasal membranes and the structure separating the nostrils.
Severe respiratory tract irritation has been noted in some heavy users of crack cocaine.
Users who inject the drug not only risk overdosing but also getting infections from unsterile needles and hepatitis or AIDS from needles shared with others.
The risk to mental health of using cocaine is high. As mentioned above, regular use can lead to anxiety, paranoia and psychosis - which can sometimes produce permanent mental health problems.
Legal consequences
Cocaine in any form is a Class A drug. It is illegal to produce, supply or possess it. It is also illegal to allow premises to be used for the supply, production or consumption of cocaine. Penalties are high.
Cocaine is not a cheap drug and it is expensive to maintain a regular intake. Many regular users resort to crime of one kind or another to fund their drug use. Obviously, such behaviour can result in a criminal record or imprisonment.
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