Cocaine

Cocaine (C17H21NO4) is a powerfully addictive, psychoactive, stimulant drug. On the

street it is usually sold as a fine, white powder. The powdered, hydrochloride salt form can be
snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Use in any form is illegal in the U.S. when used as
recreational drug.
Freebase is cocaine hydrochloride that is processed with ammonia and heated to remove
the hydrochloride salt. This ‘freebase’ form is not water-soluble; the powder can be heated and
its vapors smoked due to the lower melting point. Diethyl ether is used to process freebase and is
highly flammable and volatile, often leading to lab explosions and bodily injury such as burns. It
produces a much more intense "rush" than snorting the drug and can be extremely addictive due
to the quick high and repeated use. People who use this drug in any form may "binge" -- taking
the drug repeatedly within a short time and at increasingly higher doses -- to maintain their high.
Crack cocaine ("crack") is another form that is processed into a rock form using baking
soda and may contain a high percentage of impurities. The term "crack" refers to the crackling
sound heard when it is heated prior to smoking. Crack abuse in the U.S. rose in the mid-1980's
and is considered the most addictive form of the drug.

Harmful Effects of Cocaine

The effect is described as euphoric with increased energy, reduced fatigue, and
heightened mental alertness. Users may be talkative, extraverted, and have a loss of appetite or
need for sleep. The psychoactive and pleasurable effects are short-lived without continued
administration.
Biologically, the effect occurs in the midbrain region called the ventral tegmental area
(VTA). Neuronal fibers from the VTA connect to the nucleus accumbens, an area of the brain
responsible for rewards. Animals studies show that levels of a brain chemical (neurotransmitter)
known as dopamine are increased in this area during rewards. Normally, dopamine is released
and recycled in response to these rewards. The use of cocaine can interfere with this process,
allowing dopamine to accumulate and send an amplified ‘reward’ signal to the brain, resulting in
the euphoria described by users.
Some users report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. A tolerance to the high
may develop - many addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did
from their first exposure. Some users will increase their doses to intensify and prolong the
euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive to
the anesthetic and convulsant effects without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity
may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses.
Use in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses,
may lead to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This can result in a period
of paranoid psychosis, in which the user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory
hallucinations.

Where does cocaine come from?

Cocaine originates from coca leaves, and has been used for centuries in a variety of
cultural applications. The pure drug is extracted from the Erythroxylon coca bush, found
primarily in the South American countries of Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Coca-leaf infusions
or teas have been used to combat altitude sickness and boost energy in many native tribes of
South America.
The early use was not just limited to South American countries. In the U.S., it was found
as an active ingredient in many elixirs and tonics used in the early 1900's and was even found as
in Coca-Cola products at that time.
 Ecstasy
Ecstasy was originally developed by Merck pharmaceutical company in 1912. In its
original form, it was known as “MDMA.” It was used in 1953 by the US Army in psychological
warfare tests, and then resurfaced in the 1960s as a psychotherapy medication to “lower
inhibitions.”1 It wasn’t until the 1970s that MDMA started being used as a party drug.
By the early 1980s, MDMA was being promoted as “the hottest thing in the continuing
search for happiness through chemistry,” and the “in drug” for many weekend parties. Still legal
in 1984, MDMA was being sold under the brand name “Ecstasy,” but by 1985, the drug had been
banned due to safety concerns.
Since the late 1980s, Ecstasy has become an embracive “marketing” term for drug dealers
selling “Ecstasy-type” drugs that may, in fact, contain very little or no MDMA at all. And while
MDMA itself can produce harmful effects, what is called Ecstasy today can contain a wide
mixture of substances—from LSD, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and methamphetamine, to rat
poison, caffeine, dog deworming substances, etc. Despite the cute logos dealers put on the pills,
this is what makes Ecstasy particularly dangerous; a user never really knows what he is taking.
The dangers are increased when users increase the dose seeking a previous high, not knowing
they may be taking an entirely different combination of drugs.
Ecstasy most commonly comes in pill form but can also be injected and taken in other
ways. Liquid Ecstasy is actually GHB, a nervous system depressant—a substance that can also
be found in drain cleaner, floor stripper and degreasing solvents.

Harmful Effects of Ecstasy

Low to moderate doses
Some of the effects that may be experienced after taking ecstasy include:
 increased confidence and energy
 lowered inhibitions
 feelings of wellbeing
 feelings of closeness to others
 empathy
 anxiety
 paranoia, aggression and psychosis
 poor muscle control and unsteadiness
 muscle aches and stiffness
 increased blood pressure & heart rate
 nausea
 loss of appetite
 increased body temperature
  sweating
 skin tingles
 dilated pupils
 heightened sensations (sight, hearing, touch)
 jaw clenching
 teeth grinding.

Higher doses
A high dose of ecstasy can cause a person to overdose. This means that a person has taken more
ecstasy than their body can cope with. The effects can include:
 floating sensations
 vomiting
 high body temperature
 high blood pressure
 increased heartbeat
 hallucinations
 irrational or bizarre behaviour
 convulsions (fits)

What Is Ecstasy Made From?

Molly is one of the nicknames for MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It
is a synthetic chemical manufactured in clandestine labs, which is then sold on the black market
for recreational use. The process starts with safrole, the oil produced from the sassafras tree,
although chemicals synthesized from safrole like isosafrole or piperonal can also be used. In its
original production in 1912, in the Merck Company pharmaceutical labs, safrole was mixed with
hydrobromic acid to produce bromosafrole; that chemical was then mixed with methylamine to
produce MDMA. There are other, simpler methods used in modern production, which can vary
based on the lab.
Many clandestine Molly labs use dangerous additives, including caffeine, other
amphetamines, and even drugs like fentanyl to bulk up the product or to change its potency.
Molly may contain lots of unknown chemicals, which can be very dangerous.