The drug cocaine is classified under a central nervous system stimulant. It is a very powerful drug that has many dangerous effects to people who abuse it. It originated in the leaves of the Erythoxylon coca plant in South America. The traditional method was to chew the leaves to feel the affects of the drug. But in the United States today, it is used in a more refined powder like form. Pure cocaine was first extracted and identified by the German chemist Albert Niemann in the 19th century. But it was used as a medicine to treat a wide variety of illnesses instead for pleasure. Things like anesthetics for the eye, ear and throat surgery were very popular for the cocaine use. But this use soon turned into addiction for the patients, that's when many scientists and doctors soon discovered that cocaine was highly addictive and could in fact be deadly. (www.erowid.com/cocaine) Cocaine really didn't reach the United States until the late 70's early 80's by a man from Massachusetts named George Jung, he and a connection from Columbia named Pablo Escobar were responsible for nearly 80 percent of the cocaine in the United States during the early 1980's.
             Cocaine is generally sold on the streets as a hydrochloride salt or a fine white crystal. On the streets it goes by the name of coke, C, or blow. It rarely is pure cocaine many dealers dilute the cocaine with other stimulants or chemicals for profit that is what makes it so dangerous. Cocaine is usually snorted into the nose or rubbed around the mouth and sometimes even injected into the body for a quicker more intense effect. The effects of cocaine are both psychological and physical. But the dose and the tolerance of the user also come into play. As for psychological effects, it increases alertness, wakefulness, elevates moods and causes an euphoric state of mind. Many people use cocaine to help them perform physical tasks more quickly. With
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