Cocaine and its Short Term Effects

One of the toughest addictions to overcome is that of cocaine abuse. This drug, which is a derivative of the cocoa plant, has been a problem for many years. Cocaine has really come into prominence in the last two decades. With this prevalence into society there is also many problems associated with cocaine use.

Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant that changes the way that the brain functions. In prolonged use, it actually changes the brain physically by lowering the amount of Dopamine receptors that are present in that region of the brain. One of the myths that are associated with cocaine use is that it is only a recreational drug and will not hurt you if you only use it a few times. The short term effects of cocaine make it one of the most dangerous drugs in existence today.

The most dangerous short term effect of cocaine is in the way that it reacts with the dopamine receptors in your brain. Dopamine is a chemical that is produced in the region of the brain that regulates pleasure. The cocaine binds this dopamine so that it stays in the region to give you a sudden rush of euphoria. This gets the brain into wanting to have more of the drug. This causes an addiction very quickly in the person using the cocaine.

Cocaine also lowers the inhibitions in the user so they feel that they can do anything and do not have any type of responsible actions. There is also a sudden increase in energy that causes short jumpy movements and erratic behavior.

One of the hidden dangers of cocaine is that it rapidly increases the heart rate. If there are any problems with a user's heart it will complicate by the introduction of cocaine into the system. This increase takes place automatically and stays with the user during the entire high. Cocaine also drives up the core temperature of the user. Many times when a user goes into a coma is because their temperature was elevated too high. This is because the entire body is working much harder while on cocaine.

While addiction, and these other medical problems, are all associated with the short term effects of cocaine, there is also the danger of the user feeling like they can accomplish anything. Many times they are reckless with their surroundings and cause injury, or death to themselves or someone else.

^{Source: http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/coke/f/coke_faq06.htm}