The Illegality of Cocaine :: Pregnancy Drugs Essays

The Illegality of Cocaine As I was skimming through the casebooks in Current Issues and Enduring Questions, I stumbled upon a story by James Q. Wilson called â€Å"Back to the Future† in which he proceeded to tell that cocaine harms an unburned baby and can lead to physical deformities or neurological damage. This sparked my curiosity into wanting to know more about the effects of cocaine on the body and an unborn child. Cocaine comes from the leaves of the Erythroxylon Coca tree which are native to Peru and Bolivia (GG 300). Cocaine is referred to as a benzoylmethyl ecgonine. Ecgonine is an amino alcohol base which is closely related to trephine, the amino alcohol in atropine. Ecgonine is an ester of benzoic acid and a nitrogen-containg base which has the same fundamental structure like the ones in synthetic local anesthetics (GG 300). Cocaine is a hydrochloride, water-soluble salt, dry white powder that is usually snorted through a small tube placed into the nostril; it can also be injected int o a vein (Encarta). The history of cocaine can be dated back into the 1850’s. In 1855 cocaine was first isolated and came to be widely used as an anesthetic in minor surgeries (Encarta). Cocaine has been used for a long time as a drug of abuse, but in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, it became one of the top drugs to be taking (Encarta). There are four common methods of which it is used: 1. swallowing which is not very effective because it is not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract 2. snorting or sniffing is the most common 3. injecting with a needle produces an intense, awesome rush, but the effects do not last long because of the rapid metabolization by the liver 4. smoking or free-basing is common because it produces an extreme high. The problem with smoking is that it is followed by irritability and discomfort, which results in the user wanting to smoke more (march). The effects of cocaine usually only last between twenty minutes and an hour depending o n the purity and the amount of the drug taken in (march). The first signs noticed from cocaine are and increase in motor activity, fast heartbeat, high blood pressure, and an increase in respiration (march). Other than these results seen from cocaine, death may sometimes occur from a small dose cause by seizures or a heart attack (Encarta).