Playing with Snow Drugs over the years have become more and more potent making them a lot stronger and increasing the chances of something wrong occurring upon entering the body. One such drug that falls into this category is Cocaine. Cocaine can be two things; A Coca leaf that is naturally grinded into a powder like substance, or it can be made into a “Crack” rock and smoked by the user. The coca leaf is a naturally grown plant that has natural opium’s in it used for medicines such as morphine and Vicodin. In the United States, approximately 14% of the adults have tried cocaine at least one time in their life if not more. The most common way of using cocaine is to snort a line of it although it is possible to smoke it. The short term effects of cocaine can make any user want to experiment with this drug because it can be a “pick me up”. Cocaine has been said to have increased both energy as well as alertness and can put you in the greatest mood a person can ever be in. Cocaine has also been known to give the user a sense of supremacy like he or she can’t be hurt or is above any other individual. Perks like these can make any individual consider using cocaine on a regular basis. However, these are only the good perks to using the drug. Some other short term effects of using cocaine are extreme irritability, restlessness, paranoia, and bad anxiety. The approximate “high” of using cocaine last usually around 30 minutes but can last for up to two hours sometimes depending on the pureness of the cocaine. Cocaine is responsible for the most drug related hospital visits due to its long term effects. For example, the use of cocaine results in high blood pressure in the body and with high blood pressure the chances of having a heart attack are instantly increased dramatically. Cocaine use also restricts blood flow to parts of the brain which can cause a stroke or even seizures to occur sometimes. Smoking crack can also ruin your body because of the irritation of the lungs and can also permanently damage your lungs if smoked enough. Another long term effect that cocaine has on its user is that it can cause an individual to develop ulcers due to the stress of not being on the drug. The last long term effect of cocaine is that it can impair sexual functions between men and women cause a delayed ejaculation or none at all. The use of cocaine is both physically as well as psychologically addicting. People become dependent on the use of cocaine to feel all the great perks of the drug and when the drug can no longer be provided to them, they lose all sense of reality and start to have withdrawals. Withdrawal symptoms include depression, anxiety, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, aches and pain, inability to feel pleasure and the craving for the drug again. Cocaine has also been known to cause suicidal thoughts but normally doesn’t need to be medically treated. These symptoms alone can make any individual want to stay away from the drug. Statistics have shown that in 2009 4.8 million Americans, ages 12 and up, had been abusing the use of cocaine while 1 million Americans had abused crack. Cocaine is a serious drug that is often used by older people, celebrities, and other famous people. Cocaine has in some cases killed people upon their first time trying the drug. On average, cocaine kills approximately 300 people each year making it not that deadly of a drug. Most cocaine users don’t die from the drug itself, rather they die from the toll it has taken on their body. The first use of cocaine in America was in 1855 but it wasn’t until 1880 that the medical field realized the harm that it had on the body. Sigmund Feud was a psychologist that believed that cocaine was safe and he used it to treat patients with depression. Later in 1886, a man named John Pemberton, created the most famous drink in history Coca Cola. Pemberton added in cocaine to the drink as the main ingredient and watched his product sky rocket into success. After Pemberton, other individuals started to add in cocaine to their drinks and this became the thing to do. Famous names throughout history have been cocaine users and were pro-drug advocates. Such names include Thomas Edison and Sarah Bernhart. Cocaine became a way of life up until 1920 when people began to realize the dangers of the drug. In 1920, cocaine was outlawed and put on the illegal narcotics list due to the Dangerous Drug Act of 1920. Coke, snow, flake, ye, white girl, and blow are all slang terms for cocaine. These have all developed over the years as a way to get around blatantly asking for cocaine. Cocaine can be taken in three different ways. The first way to ingest cocaine is to snort it. Snorting cocaine is the easiest way of doing cocaine because after snorting a line of cocaine, the coke will go through the nasal passage and will be a straight shot to the brain. The next way to ingest coke is to smoke it. This form of ingesting coke is called crack. Crack is a synthesized form of coke made into a rock so that you are able to smoke it out of a pipe. Finally the last way to ingest cocaine is to inject yourself in the arm. When you inject yourself with coke you have to go through a process of vaporizing the chemical out of the coke itself into a liquid form. Once you have it in a liquid form you will put it into a syringe and then shoot into your system. I did not find anything that specifically said anything about the effects that cocaine had on pregnant women but I would assume that the child would come out addicted to the drug or have some sort of dependency on the drug. Cocaine is a serious drug that shouldn’t be looked past. Although most people try to avoid using drugs in their life, many people thrive on new experiences and are willing to risk getting addicted for the short term effects. Coke has made history not only through its negative impacts but also because of its help in making one of the most famous drinks in history. The use of cocaine should never be used for recreational purposes and should remained illegal forever.