Cocaine in Today's Society

Are you tired? Do you need a little "pick-me-up"? Do you need some help with your sex life? Would you like to be smarter, stronger, or faster? A good strong stimulant is just what you need.....or do you? Stimulants range from cigarettes and coffee to cocaine and amphetamines. This group also ranges from the most socially excepted product, to the least socially excepted product. Stimulants can reverse the effects of fatigue, maintain wakefulness, decrease appetite, and temporarily make your mood better. However, stimulants are also some of the most dependent-producing substances available. Have you ever watched someone take their oxygen off long enough to get a big gulp of smoke? Although dependence is almost always inevitable, and statistics prove that death is a consequence of using them, people continue to light up, snort, swallow and shoot these products. Our group project in Substance Abuse 110 focuses on Cocaine. We would like to present the history of cocaine, including the population that uses it and the laws and schedules associated with it. We would like to identify the treatment model used as well as current use of the drug, including an interview from a recovering addict. Finally, we would like to present the future implications of the on-going abuse of this drug.

One of the most widely used illegal drugs in the United States is cocaine, and like many other drugs, cocaine comes from a coca leaf, a plant that has long history in spiritual rituals. At first it seemed to be a miracle drug that was useful in treating depression and morphine addiction, and it was prescribed by many physicians for various reasons. However, it became evident that there were some serious problems with using cocaine. The use decreased naturally in popularity by the 1920's. There has been much controversy about the connection between the US government and cocaine dealers. There have been articles and books written about CIA working with cocaine dealers to help win the war on communism. Others argue that the aggressive role the US government played in banning the drug actually led to the smuggling of in in our country.

Today, Cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse. It can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as local anesthesia for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries. Cocaine is considered a class H felony. If anyone other than a doctor is caught with the drug could receive jail time; a first offence carries four to eight months and a second offense would bring no less than five to forty years. There isn't a certain population that is targeted by cocaine and is not respecter of any geographic, ethnics, economic and has no social boundaries. Inequality in punishment is dramatic. Penalties for powder cocaine are extremely different than an inner city crack user.

Some drug abusers have the desire to stop using drugs. Therefore, if given the necessary help to stay clean, cocaine addicts are able to use their knowledge and the tools of recovery to stay away from the temptation of using this drug. Cocaine treatment should be a safe environment where each person feels safe and unthreatened; it is a complicated process that contains many different phases. Treatment is an essential, important, and powerful part of recovery. The first step is getting rid of all the toxins and chemicals in the body that was produced by the drug. Medical professionals closely supervise the process. Detox is an uncomfortable course of action because the body is still craving. This treatment should address all the aspects of cocaine addiction, focusing specifically on the mental, emotional, and the physical components of the addiction. Further steps are taken in order to help the addict recover from cocaine use and abuse. Activities such as walking, medication and as well as a standard meal plan are some ways that the users body achieves recovery. Although emotional and mental issues of the users become first priority; it is necessary to address the physical aspects before moving onto the emotional part of the recovery, counseling the addicts are able to bring forward any damages that affect them mentally. This treatment helps the addict remember some of the more painful and degrading periods of hi/her use. Group counseling is designed to help recovering addicts to share their experiences with each other and confront each other on situations within the treatment community. Finally family counseling is available to help mend the broken ties that were destructed by the cocaine addiction. Through each treatment the addict begins to gain control of his/her thought process, and slowly the obsession to use cocaine or return to old ways of life will dissolve.

The trafficking and abuse of cocaine in the United States affect nearly all aspects of our lives. The economic cost alone is immense, estimated at nearly $215 billion. The damage caused by cocaine abuse and addiction is reflected in an overburdened justice system, a strained healthcare system, lost productivity, and environmental destruction.

The consequences of illicit cocaine use are widespread, causing permanent physical and emotional damage to users and negatively impacting their families, coworkers, and many others with whom they have contact. Cocaine use negatively impacts a user's health, often leading to sickness and disease. In many cases, users die prematurely from drug overdoses or other drug-associated illnesses, some users are parents, whose deaths leave their children in the care of relatives or in foster care. Drug law violations constitute a substantial proportion of incarcerations in local, state, and federal facilities and represent the most common arrest category. Cocaine use and abuse may lead to specialized treatment, ER visits (sometimes involving death), and prolonged hospital stays. The consequences of drug use usually are not limited to the user and often extend to the user's family and the greater community. According to SAMHSA, combined data from 2007 to 2010 indicate that during the prior year, an estimated 2.1 million American children (3%) lived with at least one parent who was dependent on or abused illicit drugs, and 1 in 10 children fewer than 18 lived with a substance-addicted or substance-abusing parent. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 2010 that substance abuse was a factor in two-thirds of all foster The trafficking and abuse of cocaine in the United States affect nearly all aspects of our lives. The economic cost alone is immense, estimated at nearly $215 billion. The damage caused by cocaine abuse and addiction is reflected in an overburdened justice system, a strained healthcare system, lost productivity, and environmental destruction.

The consequences of illicit cocaine use are widespread, causing