Cocaine Side Effects
Given the board spectrum of laced-in chemicals, the side effects of cocaine can be diverse and unexpected for street users. The ‘goal’ feeling is a euphoria (the ‘high’) which is experienced for a short duration while the ‘crash’ or withdrawal is a feeling of depression and utter sadness.
The scientifically verified side effects of pure cocaine are as follows:
- Schizophrenia – disintegration of the process of thinking and collapse of emotional responsiveness. Manifested as auditory hallucinations (hearing things), paranoid or very strange delusions, disorganized speech, and social/occupational dysfunction.
- Angry, hostile and anxious feelings – The precursor to schizophrenic emotional collapse
- Violent behavior – typically found in the addicted, this tends to push others away in favor of cocaine use
- Confusion – Users develop an inability to keep track of where they are or were going. Family can tend to hear lots of comments similar to “what did I come down here for?”
- Increased physical activity – Recreational users tend to develop more ‘get up and go’ at strange times of the day while requiring less and less sleep.
- Loss of appetite and severe weight loss – the early purpose for using coca leaves, users will sometimes go without eating for stretches of times, particularly if they have recently been on a ‘binge’ for 3 or 4 days straight.
- Inability to sleep – insomnia results from the increased burning of energy; the effect is similar to a heavy dose of caffeine 3 hours before bed.
- Increased heart and pulse rate – Hyper-stimulation of muscles means an increased heart rate
- Permanent damage to blood vessels in the brain – Increased heart rate and blood pressure can cause the inner tissues of the brain’s blood vessels to “pop” out of the outer tissues (aneurysm) which will ultimately result in a brain hemorrhage (bleeding/stroke)
- Convulsions and body tremors – A user’s muscles will contract in groups given that cocaine tends to block Muscle Action Potential and causes it to ‘burst’ among different nerve groups, leading to the contractions.
- Chest pain and raised blood pressure – Arterial muscles constrict the side of arteries, causing increased blood pressure. To get through these smaller openings, the heart must work hard, putting more strain on it, resulting in the chest pains.
- Irregular heartbeat – the heart’s increased workload will often result in it ‘skipping beats’ (palpitations)
- AIDS or Hepatitis resulting from shared needles – shared needles comes with a very high risk of contracting blood-borne diseases like HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.
- Dependence and addiction – can be caused by even the first use. “Needing” cocaine in periodic intervals is also a form of addiction. The human body reacts very negatively when it needs its fix of cocaine, and this causes the general appearance that addicts are known for.
- A runny nose and/or nose bleeds – destruction of nasal tissue results from snorting. Bleeding is the damage, runniness is the body’s attempt to repair said damage.
- Deviated septum (collapse of the "divider" between the nostrils) – cocaine and the chemicals it is laced with will literally dissolve the cartilage between the nostrils. This effect is incredibly common, and has been known to form the unappealing appearance of a ‘bent’ nose.
