wats up
Drugs
For this assignment we had to choose a few drugs and write a paper about them. There are many drugs in the world to choose from. I chose cocaine and methamphetamine to writeabout. Cocaine and methamphetamine are similar to other legal drugs in the U.S.
Cocaine is one of the oldest known psychoactive substances—it dates back as far as the Incan Empire where it was used as a local anesthetic. Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Modern day cocaine was invented by a man named Richard Willstatter in 1923 in which he derived cocaine from tropane, rather than directly from the leaves of the coca plant. According to The Crystal and Molecular Structure of l-Cocaine sHydrochloride. By Gabe, J. E., Barnes, H.W. (1963) the structure of cocaine is C17H21O4N. In the years following Willstatter’s work, cocaine was sold in various forms such as cigarettes, powder, and a mixture that could be injected directly into the skin. In the 1980s and 1990s cocaine reached its peak, and became recreational drug users drug of choice.
Unlike many other drugs, there is a clear line between cocaine abuse and cocaine dependency. Cocaine affects the sympathetic nervous system by creating a prolonged feeling of euphoria in stressful situations, rather than the normal fight or flight response. According to Sympathetic nervous system mediated cardiovascular effects of cocaine are primarily due to a peripheral site of action of the drug by Gillis, R. A., Hernandez, Y.M., Erzouki, H.K., Raczkowski, V., Mandal, A.K., Kuhn, F.E.,Dretchen, K.L. (1995) “the main effect of cocaine is that it magnifies the intensity of almost all natural pleasures.” Cocaine abusers are addicted to the feeling of euphoria; the feeling one gets while on the drug, rather than to the substance itself. When taken off cocaine, cocaine abusers experience symptoms such as depression and an increasing desire for sleep; cocaine dependents experience chemical withdrawal (i.e. vomiting, shakes,
For this assignment we had to choose a few drugs and write a paper about them. There are many drugs in the world to choose from. I chose cocaine and methamphetamine to writeabout. Cocaine and methamphetamine are similar to other legal drugs in the U.S.
Cocaine is one of the oldest known psychoactive substances—it dates back as far as the Incan Empire where it was used as a local anesthetic. Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Modern day cocaine was invented by a man named Richard Willstatter in 1923 in which he derived cocaine from tropane, rather than directly from the leaves of the coca plant. According to The Crystal and Molecular Structure of l-Cocaine sHydrochloride. By Gabe, J. E., Barnes, H.W. (1963) the structure of cocaine is C17H21O4N. In the years following Willstatter’s work, cocaine was sold in various forms such as cigarettes, powder, and a mixture that could be injected directly into the skin. In the 1980s and 1990s cocaine reached its peak, and became recreational drug users drug of choice.
Unlike many other drugs, there is a clear line between cocaine abuse and cocaine dependency. Cocaine affects the sympathetic nervous system by creating a prolonged feeling of euphoria in stressful situations, rather than the normal fight or flight response. According to Sympathetic nervous system mediated cardiovascular effects of cocaine are primarily due to a peripheral site of action of the drug by Gillis, R. A., Hernandez, Y.M., Erzouki, H.K., Raczkowski, V., Mandal, A.K., Kuhn, F.E.,Dretchen, K.L. (1995) “the main effect of cocaine is that it magnifies the intensity of almost all natural pleasures.” Cocaine abusers are addicted to the feeling of euphoria; the feeling one gets while on the drug, rather than to the substance itself. When taken off cocaine, cocaine abusers experience symptoms such as depression and an increasing desire for sleep; cocaine dependents experience chemical withdrawal (i.e. vomiting, shakes,
References: Gabe, J. E., Barnes, H.W. (1963). The Crystal and Molecular Structure of l-Cocaine Hydrochloride Gawin, H.F. (1991). Cocaine Addiction: Psychology and Neurophysiology. Science, New Studies The History of Crystal Meth. (2008, March 29). Retrieved April 18, 2010, from Addiction Search website: http://www.addictionsearch.com/treatment_articles/article/the-history-of-crystal-meth_58.html Ihde, R. (2010, March 1). Experiments show diet drug affects brain similar to cocaine Lundbeck Inc. (2010, February 20). Desoxyn. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Drugs.com website: http://www.drugs.com/pro/desoxyn.html Press, C. (1997, September). Acute Effects of Cocaine on Human Brain Activity and Emotion Walsh, S., Donny, E., Nuzzo, P., Umbricht, A., Bigelow, G. (2009, August 29). Cocaine abuse verses Cocaine dependence: Cocaine self-administration and the pharmacodynamic response in the human body