Cocaine
Cocaine is an alkaloid obtained from leaves of the coca plant and used medically as a local anesthetic. It is also widely abused as a drug. Native Americans of the Inca Empire chewed coca leaves to obtain mild euphoria, stimulation, and alertness. The drug was first isolated in 1855 and came to be used widely as a local anesthetic in minor surgery. Cocaine has long been known as a drug of abuse, but it projected in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Cocaine hydrochloride, a water-soluble salt, is a dry white powder (known on the street as "snow") that is usually inhaled through a thin tube inserted into the nostril. More rarely, cocaine is injected into a vein. The drug may also be smoked in a purified form through a water pipe ("freebasing") or in a concentrated form ("crack") shaped into pellets and placed in special smoking gear. Users experience euphoria, exhilaration, and a decrease
Later, the Incas employed the leaves in their sacrificial rituals. In the last century cocaine was recommended therapy for depression and other mental illnesses, digestive disorders, degeneration of tissues, morphine and alcohol addiction, asthma, and as an aphrodisiac and local anesthetic. Chronic use can lead to skin abscesses, perforation of the septum of the nose, weight loss, and damage to the nervous system. These products were advertised as cures for asthma, colds, corns, eczema, neuralgia, opiate and alcohol addiction, and even venereal diseases. To guarantee a safe crossing of the Andes Mountains, the tribe would offer coca leaves to the gods. In the sixteenth century, the Spanish realized the profit potential of trading coca leaves with the Incas for their gold and silver. The drug also increases heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and dilates the pupils. In conclusion, the effect of this central nervous system stimulant is dependent upon the dose, the drug's purity, the user's mind-set, the psychosocial setting, and the route of the administration. This is a solution of cocaine, methadone, and alcohol, the special cocktail that was first used for the relief of pain in terminally ill patients. (though this too can be accompanied by severe toxicity) Another therapeutic use has been in conjunction with Brompton's cocktail. Presently, cocaine has limited therapeutic uses because of its toxicity and potential for abuse. It was not until 1844 or later that cocaine was first isolated in pure form from coca leaves. Even though it has been used for medical purposes it is still a dangerous drug and is abused tremendously causing death in severe cases. This liquid analgesic was given in low doses at regular intervals or upon request from the patient.
Common topics in this essay:
Andes Mountains,
Inca Empire,
South American,
,
coca leaves,
local anesthetic,
chewed coca leaves,
chewed coca,
nervous system,
coca plant,
alcohol addiction,
inca empire,
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