Why has cocaine become a drug that teenagers now take more often?

Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that increases levels of dopamine, a brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) associated with pleasure and movement, in the brain's reward circuit. It can be snorted, injected or smoked, all of which can lead to addiction and serious health problems.

Cocaine gives its user increased energy, reduced fatigue and mental alertness, but for short periods of time, for example, snorting cocaine hits the system in 30 minutes but the effect can last for as little as an hour. In order to sustain the high, a cocaine user has to administer the drug again. For this reason, cocaine is sometimes abused in binges - taken repeatedly within a relatively short period of time, at increasingly higher doses.

Adverse effects of cocaine

• Constriction of blood vessels, pupil dilation, increase in body temperature,


• Increase in heart rate and blood pressure


• Headaches, nausea and abdominal pain


• Decrease in appetite can lead to malnutrition


• Loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, runny nose, hoarseness of voice


• Ingesting cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene as a result of reduced blood flow.


• Injecting cocaine can bring about severe allergic reactions and increased risk for contracting HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases.


• Binge-patterned cocaine use may lead to irritability, restlessness, and anxiety


• Cocaine abusers can also experience severe paranoia - temporary states of full-blown paranoid psychosis - in which they lose touch with reality and experience auditory hallucinations


• Heart attack or stroke, which may cause sudden death


• Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest.

So, why on earth would anyone want to take this drug? Simply put, cocaine users say it makes them feel they can conquer anything. It gives them overwhelming confidence and a significant euphoria, energy and they feel happy. For girls, the side effect of it acting as an appetite suppressant means it helps them diet. As a drug it has become cheaper, and the variant crack cocaine, is even cheaper.

Cocaine gained popularity amongst non-typical drug users in the 1980's, when it was increasingly used by middle class professionals as a way to keep going for long hours and keep alert for important meetings or sales pitches. It has maintained that popularity as more and more pressure is put on people to succeed in difficult times. Teenagers also feel this kind of pressure, and the sales pitch surrounding cocaine is often about confidence and success. If you discover your teen is using cocaine, part of their treatment may well need to involve building their confidence without drugs.