Hi everyone, This is Vikas and you are watching JustChemThings.
This video is about one of the renowned illegally sold drug, cocaine.
I’ll try to answer few basic questions regarding
this drug like why is this drug attracting
such large number of people? How does this
drug this works? and What are the side effects
of its use? At last, I will tell you some
common myths related to drugs. So stay with
me and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel.
Cocaine is a powerful stimulant. And by stimulant
we mean a source which gives you instant boost
of energy. It is naturally extracted from
the leaves of coca plant and is also be produced
commercially by different synthetic routes.
It is the 2nd most illegal drug to be consumed
globally, after weed. Cocaine has been known
by different street names across different
countries like Coke, powder, line, dust, stash,
and many more.
People use different methods to take this
drug but It is most commonly administered
by being 'snorted' through the nasal passage,
other methods of intake include oral consumption,
injecting and smoking.
Chemically, Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid
which is mostly made available as a hydrochloride salt due to its high solubility in water.
Whereas, Freebase cocaine is obtained by neutralizing
this Cocaine hydrochloride with a solution
of baking soda that is sodium bicarbonate
to produce a brown coloured amorphous material that contains sodium carbonate, entrapped water,
and other by-products as the main impurities.
This is known as crack cocaine and it can be smoked because it vaporizes
with little or no decomposition at 98 °C unlike cocaine hydrochloride.
Let us answer to our first question that is
What makes people to take this drug or any other drugs?
It is generally observed that most of the
people start taking drugs when they are in their 20s.
Some of the reasons or excuses
as rendered by these young people are
Number 1: Peer or social pressure
This is most feasible cause like if you are surrounded by people who are already involved
in these activities and going out in parties and clubs where the drug use is very common.
Number 2: Curiosity and experimentation
Many youngsters first start taking drugs out of their curiosity
but fall prey to the addictiveness
of these drugs.
Number 3: To enhance performance
Some people incline towards drugs to boost their energy levels due to
failures experienced by them in their respective fields, merely in hope of betterment.
But at the end, they only suffer.
Number 4: Availability of drugs
With the increased convenience of the internet and modern communications,
it’s getting relatively easy for people to obtain drugs.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible
to activate pleasure system of the brain.
In the normal communication process, dopamine
is released by a neuron into the synapse that
is the small gap between two neurons, where
it binds to dopamine receptors on the neighbouring
neuron. There is a specialized protein called
transporter which removes dopamine from the
synapse to be recycled for further use.
Cocaine acts by binding to the dopamine transporter,
blocking the removal of dopamine from the
synapse. Dopamine then accumulates in the
synapse to produce an amplified signal to
the receiving neurons. This is what causes
the euphoria commonly experienced immediately
after taking the drug.
Now let’s see the side effects of its use?
Consumption of drugs can be related to some
short term and long term side effects.
Short term effects are the instant effects
as observed after taking a drug includes
Extreme sensitivity to touch, sound, and sight, Intense happiness,
Anger, Paranoid feeling, and Decreased appetite.
Long terms effects are observed after a regular
consumption of the drugs for a longer period
of time.
If taken by snorting, it can lead to Loss
of smell, nose bleeding and runny nose.
It can also cause HIV and hepatitis if injected.
Some other common side effects include headache,
convulsions, seizures, heart diseases, and
lung damage.
Let’s look at some myths related to drugs:
Myth number 1: Drugs help a person become
more creative.
But the truth is Drugs can lift a person into
a fake kind of cheerfulness, but when the
drug wears off, he or she crashes even lower
than before. And each time, the emotional
plunge is lower and lower. Eventually, drugs
will completely destroy all the creativity
a person has.
Myth number 2: “Natural” drugs are safer
than synthetic ones.
Drugs are drugs it depends on the quantity
like how much and how frequent you consume,
natural drugs aren’t harmless just because
they grow in the ground.
Myth number 3: You can control, you will not
get addicted
Yes you may think at the beginning, but reality
is very different. Drugs will take control
over you and your life slowly and steadily.
Just go and checkout the confessions of some
drug addicts before trying anything.
Myth number 4: Once you’re addicted, there
is no hope for you.
It is difficult to overcome the drug addiction
but not impossible. There is always a way
to get out of it. Just you have to give yourself
time, a lot of motivation and engage yourself
in activities that divert your mind from them.
