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A DISCUSSION OF
STIMULANTS
By Steven L.
Hayes
A stimulant is a type of drug
that is supposed to increase your feeling of
happiness, contentment and even euphoria while at
the same time it increases your energy and
alertness.
(While alcohol and opioids may also produce
a feeling of happiness, contentment and euphoria,
these are central nervous system depressants and
don't normally increase energy or
alertness.)
EXAMPLES
Some of the most common
stimulants are:
*
Caffeine
*
Nicotine
*
Cocaine
* Crack
cocaine
*
Amphetamines
*
Methamphetamine
* Methylphenidate
(Ritalin)
* Ecstasy
In this article, we are going to
discuss cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamine
("meth").
COCAINE
Cocaine is processed from the
coca plant.
The Spanish conquistadores saw South
American Indians chewing the coca leaf to give
them energy.
(Some people confuse the coca plant with
the cacao tree from which cocoa and chocolate are
derived but one is a leafy plant and the other a
tree.)
Chewing coca leaves gave some
stimulation but was not popular with Europeans
until the middle of the nineteenth century, when
German chemist Albert Niemann found that you could
greatly increase the stimulant effect by
extracting the cocaine from the leaves. In a
process that is still similar to that used today,
the coca leaves were soaked in an alcohol
solvent.
The resulting liquid is further refined
into hydrochloride salt, an odorless, white
crystalline powder. This
powder is snorted or it can be dissolved in water
and injected.
Cocaine then became a popular
stimulant in Europe. Its
use and its harmful effects were dramatized by
Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective--Sherlock
Holmes.
Cocaine is most often
snorted, smoked or mixed with water and
injected.
The duration of cocaine's immediate
euphoric effects depends upon the route of
administration. The faster the absorption, the
more intense the high. Also, the faster the
absorption, the shorter the duration of action.
The high from snorting is relatively slow in
onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that
from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.
"Coke," "C," "snow," "flake,"
"blow," "bump," "candy," "Charlie," "rock," and
"toot" are common names for cocaine. A
"speedball" is the street name given to combining
cocaine or crack with
heroin.
CRACK COCAINE
Crack cocaine is cocaine that
has not been refined into the hydrochloride salt
but remains in a more solid form. Crack cocaine is
a rock crystal that can be heated and its vapors
smoked. The sound made when the rock crystal is
heated is a crackling sound and hence the name
crack.
Because it requires less
processing, crack is less expensive than cocaine
powder and because it is smoked, it can produce a
"high" in less than 10 seconds.
METHAMPHETAMINE
Meth is a crystal-like
powdered substance that often is in rock-like
chunks of powder. Sometimes meth is grown into
crystals which is more concentrated. Meth is
usually white or slightly yellow, depending on the
purity.
One of the main reasons for the explosion
of illicit production of meth is that it is simple
and inexpensive and uses ingredients that are easy
to obtain.
However, the process gives off very caustic
and flammable fumes and is very dangerous.
Meth is taken orally,
snorted, injected or smoked. Abusers may become
addicted quickly, needing higher doses more
often.
Methamphetamine is commonly
known as "speed," "meth," "chalk, and "tina." In
its smokable form, it's often called "ice,"
"crystal," "crank," "glass," "fire," and "go
fast."
HOW STIMULANTS
PRODUCE PLEASURE AND
EUPHORIA
In the brain, there are
literally billions of neurons (nerve cells) which
communicate with each other by means of electrical
impulses which create sensations and carry
instructions throughout the body. A neuron's
electrical impulse causes the release of a
chemical named a neurotransmitter. The
neurotransmitter goes to another neuron which has
a receptor that accepts only that
neurotransmitter.
One neurotransmitter named
dopamine is believed to stimulate receptors in the
brain that create the feeling of pleasure and
euphoria.
When we do things that we consider to be
pleasurable, more dopamine is released which
stimulates the dopamine receptors, producing
pleasure, and then is returned back into the
transmitting neuron by a specialized protein
called the dopamine transporter.
(Of course, many people find pleasure in
things like eating a fine meal or drinking a nice
wine that do not bring the same amount of pleasure
to others.
This means that dopamine seems to be
released based on each person's conception of
pleasure.)
Stimulants change the way the
brain works by changing the way nerve cells
communicate.
Cocaine and meth both artificially increase
the actions of dopamine neurotransmitters but in
different ways.
Cocaine attaches to the
dopamine transporter and blocks the normal
recycling process, which increases the length of
time (an estimated 50% longer) dopamine continues
to stimulate the receptors. This
increases the feelings of pleasure and euphoria
for a short time.
Meth increases the
concentration of dopamine by increasing the number
of dopamine neurotransmitters that are released
into the brain. This
increased amount of dopamine results in more
stimulation of the receptors and increases the
feelings of pleasure and
euphoria.
Generally, the faster the
absorption of a drug, the shorter is the duration
of action. The high from snorting may last 15 to
30 minutes, while that from smoking may last five
to 10 minutes. Because of the short time of the
"high", many users increase their stimulant use
and this increases their risk of
addiction.
WHAT IS
TOLERANCE?
Our nervous systems work hard to maintain a
constant degree of cell activity in spite of the
presence of chemicals (drugs) in the brain
stimulating the dopamine receptors
(homeostasis). Tolerance
is the situation where a person needs higher doses
and more frequent use of a drug in order to
receive the same sensation that was experienced in
the initial use. This is
because the receptors are now not as sensitive to
the drugs-they become desensitized.
While generally receptors
don't become desensitized after only a single
exposure to a drug, it can happen. It depends on
the individual's DNA and
metabolism.
COCAINE AND METH CAN
DAMAGE THE WAY THE BRAIN
WORKS
Research suggests that
long-term cocaine use may reduce the amount of
dopamine produced and the number of dopamine
receptors in the brain, thus reducing the ability
to feel pleasure. When this
happens, nerve cells must have cocaine to
communicate properly. Without the drug, the brain
can't send enough dopamine into the receptors to
create a feeling of
pleasure.
If a long-term user of cocaine or crack
stops taking the drug, the memory of the euphoria
associated with cocaine use can trigger tremendous
craving and relapse to drug use.
Animal research going back
more than 30 years shows that high doses of meth
damage dopamine-producing neuron cell endings.
Nerve ending damage is associated with reduced
motor speed and impaired verbal learning. Other
studies of chronic meth abusers indicate
structural and functional changes in areas of the
brain associated with emotion and memory. It is
thought that this explains some of the emotional
and cognitive problems seen in chronic meth
abusers.
Long-term stimulant abuse can
result in addiction, a chronic, relapsing disease
characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug
use.
WHAT DO USERS
FEEL?
Cocaine users
report:
* Panic
attacks
* Feelings of
restlessness
*
Irritability
*
Anxiety
* Losing touch with
reality
* Hearing voices that are
not there
* Decreased appetite
leading to
malnourishment
* If snorted - loss of the
sense of smell, nosebleeds, hoarseness, and a
chronically runny
nose
Meth users
report:
* Violent
behavior
*
Anxiety
*
Confusion
*
Insomnia
*
Paranoia
* Hearing voices that are
not there
* Mood
disturbances
* Delusions (insects
creeping on the
skin)
* Homicidal
thoughts
* Suicidal
thoughts
* Decreased sexual
functioning
* Decreased appetite
leading to malnourishment
* Cerebral edema
(excessive fluid in the
brain)
* Brain
hemorrhage
* High blood
pressure
* Chest
pain
* Shortness of
breath
*
Nausea
*
Vomiting
*
Diarrhea
* Increased body
temperature (can be
lethal)
* Severe dental
problems
* Symptoms of Parkinson's
disease
ALCOHOL AND
COCAINE
National Institute on Drug
Abuse researchers have found that the human liver
combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a
third substance, cocaethylene.
Cocaethylene
intensifies cocaine's euphoric effects,
while potentially increasing the risk of sudden
death.
The mixture of cocaine and alcohol is the
most common two-drug combination that results in
drug-related death.
HEALTH
RISKS
In addition to the reduction
of dopamine production and dopamine receptors,
stimulants cause the body's blood vessels to
become narrow, constricting the flow of blood and
causing the heart to work harder. This may cause
the heart to temporarily lose its natural rhythm.
This is called fibrillation, and it can be very
dangerous because it stops the flow of blood
through the body.
Other physical symptoms may
include chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever,
muscle spasms, convulsions, and coma.
Hyperthermia (elevated body
temperature) and convulsions occur with
methamphetamine and cocaine overdoses, and if not
treated immediately can result in death.
Cocaine and meth related
deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or
seizures followed by respiratory
arrest.
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