30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Cocaine | Amazing Facts 4U
- Cocaine is an extraction of the leaves of the Erythroxylon coca bush, commonly found in the Andean highlands of South America.
- Most of the cocaine in the US arrives from Colombia.
- After marijuana, cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the US.
- Amazingly more Colombians die every year from American tobacco than Americans die from Colombian cocaine. Cocaine can be purchased for about US$5 per gram in Colombia while in the U.S. it sells for at least US$80.
- In fact, Worldwide sales of cocaine earn more than Microsoft, McDonald’s, and Kellogg’s combined.
- Cocaine is found in both powder and crystalline forms. The crystal form is called crack or freebase which hasn’t neutralized by an acid.
- Coca leaves, the source of pure cocaine, have been chewed and ingested for thousands of years for the euphoric effects of the drug. They were first used by members of the Inca civilization in the Andes.
- Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaves of the coca plant in 1859 and was marketed in a fortified wine in France as early as 1863.
- Amazingly cocaine was first used in the U.S. in the 1880s as an anesthetic for eye, nose, and throat operations. The use became obsolete after safer drugs became available.
- Cocaine hydrochloride, the purified chemical from the leaves of the coca plant, was the main active ingredient in several tonics and elixirs produced for a variety of illnesses in the early 1900s.
- The soft drink Coca-Cola originally contained an estimated 9 milligrams of cocaine per serving, which combined with caffeine created the drink’s powerful stimulating effects. Cocaine was officially removed from the drink’s ingredients in 1903.
- Cocaine was first regulated under federal law by the Harrison Act of 1914 which banned it for nonmedical use and categorized it with opium, morphine, and heroine which were already banned.
- About 2,500 Americans every day will try cocaine for the very first time. Approximately 10% of people who begin using cocaine will immediately progress to serious, heavy use of the drug.
- It is estimated that about 35 million Americans aged 12 and older have tried cocaine at least once. More than 2 million Americans are regular users. Of them about one third use crack cocaine.
- Cocaine is responsible for 3 times more deaths than any other illegal drug. Amazingly taking cocaine increases the chance of having a heart attack within the hour by 2,400%.
- Cocaine is usually administered by snorting through the nose, injecting into the bloodstream, or smoking to produce vapours. Powder cocaine is generally snorted or mixed with water and injected, while crack cocaine is commonly smoked.
- Cocaine is the most powerful central nervous stimulant found in nature. Users experience greater alertness, energy, self-confidence, and power after it is administered.
- Euphoric effect after cocaine is due to release of Dopamine , a chemical associated with pleasure and mental alertness.
- Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in fact recommended use of cocaine for treatment of depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction. He tried it for the first time in 1884 and later became addict.
- The famous 19th century literary character Sherlock Holmes was a frequent user of cocaine especially when no interesting cases were present for him to investigate.
- After cocaine was outlawed in 1914, use of the drug dropped significantly but it rebounded in the 1970s and 1980s. Crack cocaine became popular due to inexpensive street price and quick euphoria.
- Cocaine is usually diluted by dealers to maximize profits. Common additives in cocaine include lactose, lidocaine, corn starch, talcum powder, and sugar.
- Because cocaine enters the bloodstream much faster when it is smoked, smoking crack cocaine can bring users to a euphoric state twice as fast as when the drug is snorted. Crack cocaine is most often smoked in a clear glass pipe where the drug is heated to produce vapours.
- Average street price for a gram of pure cocaine in the U.S. is about $80 while a rock of crack cocaine costs $20.
- The Coast Guard seized more than $1 billion worth of cocaine in 2015 at San Diego Naval Base it’s largest ever from Latin America on a single day. The estimated street value of the haul over the year was about $1.8 billion.
- Babies born to mothers who used cocaine during the pregnancy tend to be born prematurely, have low birth weights, and suffer from brain damage. The risk of spontaneous abortion is also greatly increased.
- When cocaine is used in combination with alcohol, the body converts the two substances into cocaethylene. This toxic combination causes a greater duration of drug effects in the brain and is responsible for most of the cocaine related deaths.
- In fact, between 30% and 60% of users combine cocaine with alcohol. This concurrent use is the cause of nearly 75% of cocaine-related fatalities. Cocaine user is 25 times more likely to experience sudden death when combining it with alcohol.
- According to one study, trace amounts of cocaine can be found on four out of every five dollar bills in circulation.
- Worldwide, the use of cocaine has been reported in more than two thirds of all countries. Scotland has the highest incidence of cocaine (2.4%) followed by USA, Spain, and Australia. The lowest rates of cocaine use are found in Asia.
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