By Mahita Gajanan. Get our Health Newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest health and science news, plus answers to wellness questions and expert tips. Please enter a valid email address. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies. Cocaine, in all forms, including crack, has been associated with sudden heart attacks in people under the age of 30, some of whom had used the drug for the first time.
Brain- Cocaine and crack can cause brain seizures, a disturbance in the brain's electrical signals, some of which regulate the heart and muscles controlling breathing.
Studies show that over time, the brain appears to become more and more sensitive to cocaine. As a result, the threshold at which seizures occur is lowered.
Repeated use of the drug without experiencing problems does not guarantee seizures will not occur. The next dose-used in the same amount and the same way-can produce a seizure that may cause the heart to quit beating or the muscles controlling breathing to stop working. In addition, some users have suffered strokes after using cocaine-the increase in blood pressure caused by cocaine may rupture brain blood vessels.
The obsessive, drug-seeking behavior of cocaine and crack users seems to be due to the drugs' overwhelming influence on what has been called the "reward center" in the brain.
Cocaine appears to cause an intense stimulation of the center by allowing a brain chemical called dopamine to remain active longer than normal. This causes changes in brain activity and triggers an intense craving for more of the drug. The user may compulsively use cocaine or crack just to feel normal.
Violent, erratic, or paranoid behavior can sometimes accompany use of these drugs. This "cocaine psychosis," which can occur in all cocaine users, may appear more rapidly in those who smoke crack.
Affected users can be anxious, believe they have superhuman powers, or become suspicious and paranoid to the point where they believe that their lives are in danger and react in bizarre or violent ways. Some people inject a combination of cocaine and heroin, called a Speedball. Another popular method of use is to smoke cocaine that has been processed to make a rock crystal also called "freebase cocaine". The crystal is heated to produce vapors that are inhaled into the lungs. This form of cocaine is called Crack, which refers to the crackling sound of the rock as it's heated.
Some people also smoke Crack by sprinkling it on marijuana or tobacco, and smoke it like a cigarette. People who use cocaine often take it in binges—taking the drug repeatedly within a short time, at increasingly higher doses—to maintain their high.
Cocaine increases levels of the natural chemical messenger dopamine in brain circuits related to the control of movement and reward. Normally, dopamine recycles back into the cell that released it, shutting off the signal between nerve cells. However, cocaine prevents dopamine from being recycled, causing large amounts to build up in the space between two nerve cells, stopping their normal communication.
With continued drug use, the reward circuit may adapt, becoming less sensitive to the drug. As a result, people take stronger and more frequent doses in an attempt to feel the same high, and to obtain relief from withdrawal.
Some people find that cocaine helps them perform simple physical and mental tasks more quickly, although others experience the opposite effect. Large amounts of cocaine can lead to bizarre, unpredictable, and violent behavior. Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately and disappear within a few minutes to an hour.
How long the effects last and how intense they are depend on the method of use. You will want more and more of the drug just to feel normal. Learn more: What questions do teens ask about cocaine? Yes, you can. Over time, cocaine can change the way your brain works.
If you stop, you can start to feel really sad and sick. This makes it hard to stop using cocaine. This is called addiction. Anyone can become addicted to cocaine. There is no way to predict who will become addicted. The right treatment can help someone who is addicted feel better and stop using cocaine, but it is hard work and takes many years to stay in recovery from addiction.
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