Cocaine, commonly referred to as "coke", is a potent stimulant derived from the Coca plant. Coke acts upon the body's central nervous system by inhibiting the brain's normal biochemical process for metabolizing dopamine---a neurotransmitter associated with voluntary movement, behavior, cognition, and pleasure and reward sensations. For this reason, Coke is a highly addictive, and thus illegal, substance with the capacity to generate serious long-term effects.
Tolerance
Use of cocaine over time typically leads to a physiological tolerance to the drug's potent effects, meaning the same "high" induced from the use of coke can only be achieved by increasingly larger doses.
Physical Effects
Chronic use of coke diminishes a person's appetite, which can result in serious malnourishment over time. For those users who snort the drug, effects also include chronic sinus problems (drainage and bleeding), loss of smell, and difficulty swallowing.
Physiological Effects
Long-term use of coke can produce a number of serious physiological effects on the body's central nervous system, including irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), high blood pressure, convulsions, and respiratory complications.
Psychological Effects
One of the most detrimental long-term effects of coke is its ability to plunge the psyche into full-blown paranoid psychosis, manifested by a fundamental detachment from reality coupled with auditory, and, at times, visual hallucinations.
Addiction
The most common long-term effect of coke is addiction whereby the use of the drug grows to a persistent need, and the obtaining and use of the substance seriously interferes with normal lifestyle routine and activities.
Withdrawal
Long-term coke users typically suffer from withdrawal symptoms whenever their use is abruptly halted or discontinued altogether---crashing sensations of depression and fatigue, severe anxiety, irritability, sleep difficulties, and persistent cravings for the substance.
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