Cocaine is a stimulant that has been around for thousands of years. The emergence of cocaine began with its origin in Peru, dating as far back as 2500 BC (Hansen, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2012). According to history, cocaine use appeared in three stages with its recent, major stage of existence occurring in the 1980s. During the first era cocaine was used as a performance enhancement among Native Americans. The Native Americans would chew on the coca leaves for its stimulant effect in order to obtain energy so they would be more productive within their community. It is believed …show more content…
It is a chronic brain disease that can cause deterioration and many other health problems. People find it difficult to understand why or how people become addicted to drugs. With long-term drug abuse, addiction can cause individuals to lose everything of importance to them: family, friends, jobs, and or finances. Tragically it often leads to death. Unlike the 1970s, cocaine addiction more often afflicts individuals in poverty as well as being a problem for the wealthy. Many celebrities, entertainers, and even high authority political officials suffer drug addiction. Drug addiction does not discriminate. However, the more we become educated about this disease we can have compassion, and refrain from judging victims of drug addition. Without the knowledge of drug addiction and the affects of it, addiction can harmfully go unnoticed within ones family and …show more content…
The effect is determined by how the drug is introduced in to body. The duration of cocaine 's euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the resulting high, but also the shorter the duration. The high from snorting is relatively slow to arrive but it may last 15 to 30 minutes; in contrast, the effects from smoking are more immediate but may last only 5 to 10 minutes. (NIH, 2010). In the short-term, cocaine can cause your body to show symptoms od distress such as increases your blood pressure and heart rate. It also constricts your blood vessels, dilates your bronchioles (the tubes you use for breathing), and increases your blood sugar (Wagner, 2014). Furthermore the long-term effect are damaging as well on the body. Many health issues are associated to cocaine abuse, some more serious than other but they all can be life threatening. Wagner