The Illegality of Cocaine :: Pregnancy Drugs Essays

The Illegality of CocaineAs I was graze through the casebooks in Current Issues and Enduring Questions, I stumbled upon a recital by James Q. Wilson called Back to the Future in which he proceeded to split that cocain 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 steer which be native to Peru and Bolivia (GG 300). Cocaine is referred to as a benzoylmethyl ecgonine. Ecgonine is an amino intoxicant base which is closely re lated 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 desire the ones in synthetic local anesthetics (GG 300). Cocaine is a hydrochloride, water-soluble salt, alter white powder that is usually snorted through a small pipework placed into the nost ril it can also be injected into a stain (Encarta). The history of cocaine can be dated back into the 1850s. In 1855 cocaine was offshoot isolated and came to be widely used as an anesthetic in minor surgeries (Encarta). Cocaine has been used for a desire time as a drug of abuse, but in the late 1970s and 1980s, 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 non very effective be precedent it is not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract 2. snorting or sniffing is the near 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. hummer or free-basing is common because it produces an extreme high. The problem with smoking is that it is followed by ire and discomfort, which results in the user wanting to smoke more (march). The effects of cocaine usually only last between twenty minutes and an se cond depending on the purity and the amount of the drug taken in (march). The first signs noticed from cocaine are and increase in motor activity, unwavering heartbeat, high blood pressure, and an increase in respiration (march). Other than these results seen from cocaine, decease may sometimes occur from a small dose cause by seizures or a heart attack (Encarta).