#CocaineFacts #HowDoesCocaineWork #CocaineEffects
Have you ever wondered how cocaine works in the body? 🤔 It’s a commonly asked question, and for good reason! 🌿 Cocaine is a powerful drug that has a significant impact on the human body, and understanding how it works can help to shed light on the dangers of its use.
In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of how cocaine works, including why it is commonly consumed via the nose and what happens to it once it enters the nasal passage. So, let’s dive in and uncover the science behind this notorious drug.
## Why is Cocaine Consumed via the Nose?
When it comes to drug consumption, cocaine is most commonly snorted through the nose. But why is this the case? Let’s take a closer look at the reasons behind this method of consumption:
### 1. Rapid Absorption
– Cocaine is a highly potent drug, and snorting it allows for rapid absorption into the bloodstream through the nasal mucosa.
– This results in a quicker onset of effects, leading to a more intense high.
### 2. Avoiding the First Pass Metabolism
– By snorting cocaine, it bypasses the first-pass metabolism that occurs when a substance is ingested orally.
– This means that a larger percentage of the drug reaches the bloodstream, leading to increased potency.
### 3. Convenience
– Snorting cocaine is a relatively simple and discreet method of consumption, making it a preferred choice for many users.
## What Happens to Cocaine in the Nasal Passage?
Once cocaine enters the nasal passage, it undergoes a series of physiological processes that contribute to its effects on the body. Let’s break down the journey of cocaine after it is snorted:
### 1. Absorption into the Bloodstream
– As mentioned earlier, cocaine is rapidly absorbed through the nasal mucosa and enters the bloodstream.
– From here, it travels to the brain, leading to the euphoric and stimulating effects associated with the drug.
### 2. Impact on Neurotransmitters
– Cocaine acts on the brain’s neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine, by preventing its reuptake.
– This leads to an accumulation of dopamine in the brain, resulting in feelings of pleasure and heightened motivation.
### 3. Cardiovascular Effects
– Cocaine also exerts significant effects on the cardiovascular system, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure.
– This can pose serious health risks, including the potential for heart attack and stroke.
### 4. Short-lived Effects
– Due to its rapid metabolism, the effects of cocaine are relatively short-lived, leading many users to seek repeated doses to maintain the high.
In conclusion, cocaine works by rapidly entering the bloodstream after being snorted through the nose, where it exerts profound effects on the brain and cardiovascular system. Understanding the mechanisms of cocaine can shed light on the dangers associated with its use and the importance of seeking help for addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with cocaine use, it’s crucial to reach out for support and guidance. Let’s work together to promote a safer, healthier future.
You dont want to inject, because itll clot your blood
If you eat it, youll probably vomit
Sticking things up your butt is unpleasant
Unless it’s made into crack, it isn’t heat-stable, so smoking is a no
It tastes really bad, so buccal/sublingual is unpleasant
That leaves snorting as the only decent option, though many people will still use the other methods
>Why is it consumed via the nose and not some other way?
Bioavailability. Cocaine has an extraordinarily low oral bioavailability, meaning not much actually gets absorbed into the bloodstream when you swallow it.
It is most commonly taken intranasally (via insufflation/”snorting”), bucally (by rubbing it under the gums), rectally (“boofing”), via inhalation, or intravenously.
Most people don’t like sticking drugs up their ass, so they don’t boof. It’s an acquired taste, and numbs the gums, so people don’t usually use it bucally unless they’re using raw coca leaves.
Intravenous bioavailability for any drug is 100%, since bioavailability is a measure of the amount of the drug that makes it into your bloodstream, but most people don’t like injecting themselves with needles (and for good reason).
This leaves smoking and snorting as the two main ways people use cocaine. However, the hydrochloride salt of cocaine doesn’t vapourize very well, so smoking only works well with freebase cocaine (colloquially known as “crack”).
So, TL;DR:
**The intranasal bioavailability of cocaine is ~80%, and most other routes of administration are either physically unsafe or simply unpleasant.**
Moving on to the mechanism of action:
Cocaine has two primary mechanisms of action.
It acts as an inhibitor of voltage-gated sodium channels, which can lead to heart attacks by dysregulating cardiac activity. This is why cocaine is responsible for more lethal overdoses than any other stimulant known to man.
Sodium channels are also involved in perception of sensation, which is why it produces a topical & systemic numbing effect. The primary use of the coca plant throughout history was as an anaesthetic, precisely for this reason.
However, the majority of the psychoactive effects come from its activity as an NDRI (norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor).
Neurotransmitters are stored in the cytosol, and when they’re “released”, it means they’re released into the synaptic cleft, where their receptors are located.
Promptly after release, they are returned by their respective transporters into the cytosol of the neuron in a process known as “reuptake”.
A reuptake inhibitor blocks this transporter, preventing the reuptake process, making that neurotransmitter active for longer.
So, TL;DR:
**Cocaine blocks sodium channels & also increases the concentration of dopamine and norepinephrine in the synaptic cleft**
If you ingest cocaine, it takes longer to work, it will be less effective, and possibly cause some stomach discomfort. Snorting or “gumming” is a lot easier and safer than injection, which is why many people opt for using that method. Some people do inject, however, and some people do ingest as well. Cocaine absorbs very easily through the mucus membrane. The nasal passages and the gums/under tongue area have a very thin membrane, which allows for quick absorption. Because of the ease of use combined with the rapid effectiveness, snorting and “gumming” are the most popular methods of use.
In addition, the active components of cocaine are destroyed during combustion, which is why it is not effective to smoke it. This is why people convert cocaine into “crack”, which allows the drug to be freebased for use through inhalation.
Cocaine can be consumed in many ways. Snorted, injected, eaten, mixed with alcohol, smoked. It’s usually snorted because it’s effective and easy.
When snorted, it dissolves in the mucus membranes and is absorbed into the blood stream.
Google Scholar is a useful resource here. A [search](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=cocaine+delivery+insufflation+injection&btnG=) for `cocaine delivery insufflation injection` (insufflation is the technical term for snorting) yields reports such as [this](https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/0003-4819-119-3-199308010-00009?casa_token=Ba0hwjTRO5MAAAAA:nDkiIdzR6sytKX37KFq_sceFOmPiQDoiJYjsbbGOMAP7–uSne6LLGrce2RCWZB-HzVTE3Nfydp1Vg), which discusses delivery methods, why coca leaves can’t be stored for long-term use (and ingestion by mouth), and why cocaine can’t be smoked in its hydrochloride form, for example.
Is it consumed by sniffing, because it acts quicker and in general it’s easy to take. Another easy way is by endovenous injection but I guess it’s not suitable for everyone. Cocaine stops working pretty quickly after 10-30 minutes and usually to avoid withdrawal symptoms, addicts simply take it plenty of times, until they finish the dose they have in that moment. So endovenously is simply not comfortable.
After that it’s metabolized by the liver and after that is eliminated with urine, good bye. That’s why you can use piss to check if there is cocaine inside you.