Cocaine is a crystalline alkaloid from the leaves of coca plant and it is stimulant of the central nervous system as well as an appetite suppressant. It is a powerful addictive drug if it is snorted, injected, sniffed or smoked.

It is normally rich man’s drug; most of the successful personalities in every field of life are abusing; students, heroin addicts, sportsmen, star cooks, stars from cine field and many successful persons in our world. They want to show off, that is why the traces of cocaine found in the 1000 DM currencies which are used to sniff the cocaine. I have experienced several persons, who abuse cocaine, most of them are also afraid of their increasing age and it is mostly all artists.

62 years old man leaves his business and takes a eighteen year old girl friend, uses this to increase his potency and his son who found this in his father’s office room brought me for analysis. You may ask how we get this information, it is very easy because a mother, a wife or parents find some unknown substances from their beloved and they bring this substance to us with the request to make a screening to find out what it is. We search among 2000 substances, once we have the result; they seek our advice and counselling for the whole family. In this speech you get all the information and we give the necessary advice. Sometimes the concerned persons are also willing to talk to us and from these experiences we learn a lot which is not written in any text book.

The usual request of first users is, make my result negative, otherwise my house owner throw me out or my father will kill me, but there will be no help from our side. They must stop abusing.

Crack is a cocaine free base produced from cocaine hydrochloride to smoke.

Cocaine makes one feel euphoric, very energetic, alert, thus less sleepy, confident, and excited and this is the reason for its abuse. If taken with alcohol, the toxicity is increased.

As a chemist I may have a different opinion, but here I am the clinical toxicologist who wants to help the addicts. Look, most of the scientists are for me innocent fanatics who lived and live for chemistry and extract or synthesize substances, but they see only the positive health aspects of the substance as mood enhancers, but the marketing manager comes in picture and sees this in a different way. For him, only one thing is important, that is the huge profit. Do not forget the chemist and clinical toxicologist need not have the same opinion in everything. In the office I am only a clinical toxicologist and in my leisure time, I am a chemist as well as clinical toxicologist, smile.

Could you tell me, why should not I use this drug which can make me to feel euphoric and energetic?

You are clever, it makes one addict and when everybody knows that you are cocaine addict your social status is gone, the court of law can punish you and in many cases the partner leaves you and even the court can ban you to see your children. Is it worth? The answer is certainly no.

The adverse health effects are worse and they are:

Seizures, respiratory failure, heart attack, stroke and violent behaviour are the expected problems. Deaths are also reported in combination with heroin and several other drugs and tablets. Muscle weakness is also the effect of long time abuse. The psychological effects could not be neglected. The euphoria can be followed by depression and the feeling of discomfort, the result is you abuse further.

Cocaine amplifies sexual interest and enjoyment, but the big problem is it can also lead to impotence with frequent usage. There are other legal drugs to make you happier, but you must also be careful with social drugs also.

Every medal has two sides and there are only few exceptions for this truth.

Frequent intranasal intake can bring problems to cartilage separating the nostrils and this may lead to severe pain. To mask this lidocaine is mixed with cocaine and we have seen this in tens of thousands of samples from patients. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic.

Both women and men abuse cocaine and this is also same in all countries or cultures. Think of Maradona, the soccer idol of Argentina. In every country respectable people from all the fields abuse it.

The most common names of cocaine include:

• Snow
• Flake
• Coke
• Blow
• Powder lines
• Free base
• C
• Rock
• Nose candy
• Dust

Say always no to drugs…