What is nose candy?

Cocaine

Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine (cocaine hydrochloride), a drug that resembles white crystalline powder; often makes the user feel alert, confident, talkative and strong. Cocaine use is most prevalent among males between the ages of 18 and 25. Its effects last for about 45 minutes. On the streets, cocaine may be diluted with cornstarch, talcum powder, sugar, or other drugs. Because cocaine is extremely addictive, the first-time user cannot possibly predict when loss of control will occur. Street names for cocaine are coke, snow, blow, nose candy, Peruvian marching powder, or C.

Cocaine is usually snorted or dissolved in water and injected. The other methods of use are that it can be chewed as a leaf, smoked as a paste or freebase lumps, snorted into mucous membranes of the nose as a powder or vapor, applied to mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina, or rectum as a powder, injected into the bloodstream in a water solution, used with heroin (called "speedball"), used with morphine (called "whiz bang"), or dissolved in liquid and drunk.

Effects
Cocaine acts on the nervous system almost immediately. Cocaine intoxication may cause hallucinations and other perceptual disturbances, tachycardia, agitation, panic, paranoia, impulsive and aggressive behavior, and poor judgment. Cardiac or respiratory distress can cause death in some cases. Common side effects include:

• Difficulty passing urine


• Dizziness Enlarged pupils


• Fast or irregular heartbeat


• Headache


• Increased sweating


• Mood swings Paranoia


• Neutralized sense of taste S


• tomach pain


• Nausea and vomiting


• Numbness or tingling in extremities


• Seizures or convulsions

The faster the absorption of cocaine, more intense the high. However, the faster the absorption, the shorter the high lasts. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Cocaine's effects are short lived, and once the drug leaves the brain, the user experiences a "coke crash" that includes depression, irritability, fatigue and sleep disturbance. This may lead to craving for more of the drug.

Life Risks

• Mixing cocaine with alcohol results in the creation of a new chemical compound called cocaethylene, which intensifies cocaine's effects and increases the risk of sudden death due to depressed life-support functions, such as breathing.


• Long-term use of these drugs has been associated with personality changes that include increased paranoia and aggression, especially in adolescents.


• Cocaine is an illegal substance. Addicts can put themselves in dangerous situations while attempting to buy their drugs. Obtaining, using, and especially dealing cocaine carries significant legal penalties, including lengthy jail times.

Withdrawal

Cocaine withdrawal causes characteristic symptoms of depression that can last for years. How the drug induces long-term depression is not known, but cocaine apparently causes changes in the serotonin system in the central nervous system. Other withdrawal symptoms from cocaine may involve:

• Apathy and listlessness


• Oversleeping


• Intense cravings for cocaine


• Loss of appetite