Natural plants and resources have been used throughout history to cure diseases and alleviate pain. They have been also been manipulated to make drugs that we as humans use to enter a disoriented reality. Humans have found numerous drugs and ways to get high some more deadly than others. Every drug is different because it is composed of different ingredients. However, two drugs that are very similar but yet very different are crack cocaine and powder cocaine. These two drugs are essentially based on the same chemical composition, but one is far more dangerous than the other. In order to comprehend why crack cocaine is more dangerous than powder cocaine we must first understand the history of these drugs, and the detrimental effects they have on the human body. First we will discuss the drug benzoylmethylecgonine, better known by its street name of coke. “Cocaine is a purified extracted from the …show more content…
This is almost the same high a powder cocaine user experiences, but bigger increments of dopamine are released. The addiction of crack comes from the brain because dopamine is a type of reward system for the brain that provides the brain with pleasure. The center for substance abuse research states, “After having tried Crack Cocaine, the user will rapidly develop an intense craving for the drug since the chemistry of the brain’s reward system has been altered” (Ceaser). The human body also becomes tolerant of this drug. In most cases in life this tolerance is a good thing, but when it comes to using drugs in order to get high it can be very deadly. As the human body becomes more tolerant, it becomes tougher to get high so the user must use more of the drug to obtain the same high. This is the key reason crack cocaine is more dangerous than powder cocaine. This severe addiction added with the increasing use of the drug makes this one of the deadliest
Drug enforcement agencies throughout North America spend over 40 billion tax dollars annually on their government funded war on drugs. The DEA currently classifies cocaine as an addictive and dangerous, schedule-two drug. Around the 1880’s, however, cocaine was celebrated in the United States for its “magical, medicinal purposes” (New Ulm Weekly Review). The miracle medicine of the late 19th century, cocaine, is derived from the coca plant native to South America, more specifically, the Andes Mountains. South Americans chewed the coca leaves for thousands of years to counter the nauseating effects of living in thin mountain-air environments and to stimulate their heart and breathing rates for hunting purposes.
To help understand how crack had such a devastating effect on crime, Witkin explains that that the crack high was relatively short, lasting about 10 minutes (4). To support this addiction, people needed quick cash and were often willing to resolve to crime to obtain it (Wikin
Since crack cocaine was cheaper to purchase and could be sold in small quantities, it was said to be more addicting. Although this theory was found to be false, Congress remained silent about it while the offenders were disproportionately sentenced. What this meant was that 500 grams of powder cocaine carried the same mandatory sentence as 5 grams of crack cocaine which was five years. And although there were White, Latino and African Americans cocaine users, 80 percent of those users sentenced in federal court for crack cocaine offenses were African American (Mauer,
The crack epidemic in the US was appearent during the Reagan era. The war on drugs began when the CIA decided to bring the drug into the low income communities. This epidemic exploded before anyone really noticed. "Crack was a plague that spread through African American neighborhoods like wildfire" (Bean, 2014). Laws changed so that the powder meant you went to jail for longer even thoough it was a non-violent offense.
The other side to this issue is that methadone death have increased. According the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in 2009, death from methadone increased sevenfold since 1999. They call it one of the most deadly drugs around (Boyles, 2005).
Introduction Written and published in 2008 by Paul Gootenberg, History professor and Latin American studies at University of New York at Stony Brook, “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global drug” retraces the pivotal stages of the illicit cocaine trafficking, starting from the boundless coca fields in Latin America to the chemistry laboratories in Europe up until the streets of U.S. cities. The aim of this book review is to provide the reader with a short but detailed insight of what is the main content of the book, by paying particular attention to its structure, objectivity and style. Scope & Organisation Adopting a meticulous chronological approach, Gootenberg describes the infamous and complex untold history of cocaine, analysing and
Substance Use, Incarceration and Race We need to have additional substance use treatment options instead of sending drug addicts straight to prison. Treatment costs tend to be far less than incarceration. There are higher rates of substance use within whites, but higher rates of African Americans being incarcerated for drugs. These factors have been proven to increase the rates of incarceration and substance use.
—Melanie. I got that story from Drug Free World. When taking meth and crystal meth it creates a false sense of wellness and energy. Continued use of this drug leads to decrease natural feelings of hunger, users can have extreme weight loss. Other effects are disturbed sleep patterns, increased anger, and irritability.
Both drugs are stimulants so they stimulate the individual and create an euphoric high, as a result of the way both drugs elevate the dopamine levels in the brain. Stimulants such as cocaine and meth cause the user to be more active, talkative, alert, less tired, exhilarated, etc. This essay will talk about each drug signs and symptoms treatment nursing management for drug abuse. Cocaine is an extremely addictive and poisonous drug and is a central nervous system stimulant (Miller-Keane).
“No one paid any attention, as everyone was busy going through their own withdrawal stages in different ways”(Beah 169). Ishamael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, shares his experience as a boy soldier using cocaine in the Sierra Leone War. As young soldiers, the boys were introduced to many different drugs and stimulants which quickly turned into their heavy dependence on them to be strong soldiers. Among these drugs were cocaine, “a stimulant drug that is derived from the South American coca plant”(Miller). Cocaine affects your dopamine levels, causing feelings of euphoria and bursts of energy.
Drugs and Rock n’ Roll: A Deadly Creative Culture? The use of various types of drugs, running the gamut from softer substances like marijuana to proverbial hard drugs like heroin and cocaine, is deeply tied to the history and culture of the rock n’ roll genre. Indeed, drug use and rock n’ roll music are intertwined in a manner that is almost mythical. From the legendary alcohol usage of the enduring Rolling Stones to the tragic and drug-related deaths of members of the 27 Club such as Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, it very much appears that drugs have represented both destructive and creative forces within the context of rock n’ roll.
Instead of rates going down as society continues to grow and change, drug abuse continues to rise, but the question is, why are these people taking them? This question leads back to what was shown in Brave New World. Within this novel the inhabitants are told and are forced to believe that everyone is happy in this after Ford era, yet they still continue to take drugs. The drugs these people are taking is nothing like Marijuana, cocaine or other various types of drugs, no, their drug of choice is a fictional one called Soma. The Brave New Worlders are all addicts and thrive off of these so called soma holidays, but why?
Drugs are substances that trigger temporary changes in the body which may result in such a pleasurable and relaxing effect. Some of the types can slow down the nervous system’s action, while other types can have the exact opposite effect; spurring the nervous system into rapid action. Drugs are connected to cravings or addiction since a person’s body starts yearning for drugs after he or she has taken it for a while. Drugs affect consciousness significantly! They may cause people to hear or see things that aren’t real (hallucinations), experiencing mood swings, or may even distort people’s perceptions.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who smoke marijuana are 104 times more likely to smoke cocaine, and other addictive drugs, than people who don’t smoke marijuana. This is potentially very dangerous because these other drugs can have adverse reactions that are many times worse than marijuana. Cocaine, like marijuana is a stimulant, but unlike marijuana is many times stronger. Users will become addicted to cocaine much quicker and much more deeply. Legalizing marijuana will multiply the already large problem with illegal drug use.
Addiction is the reliance on a routine. There are many addictive stages. Addiction, as it comes along, becomes a way of life. The persistent use of the substance causes to the user serious physical or psychological problems and dysfunctions in major areas of his or her life. The drug user continues to use substances and the compulsive behavior despite the harmful consequences, and tries to systematically avoid responsibility and reality, while he or she tends to isolate himself/herself from others because of guilt and pain (Angres, & Bettinardi-Angres, 2008).