Cocaine Pictures Resource

Cocaine Facts and Pictures Resource

This website contains a detailed selection of Cocaine pictures. Pictures and photos of cocaine powder, cocaine block, plants, utensils and crack.

COCAINE

Methylbenzoylecgonine, C₁₇H₂₁NO₄ (mol. wt. 303.35)

WHAT IS COCAINE?

a drug made from the leaves of the cocoa plant
is a stimulant drug (which means it speeds up the brain and nervous system) Cocaine is:
processed in different ways to make different types of cocaine.
in many countries including South America the cocaine leaves are processed using ordinary motor vehicle petrol rather than alcohol, resulting in neurological and brain damage with long term use.

TYPES OF COCAINE

1. Cocaine hydrochloride

white powder type of cocaine most common in Australia
it is sniffed through the nose ('snorted') or injected
it cannot be smoked because burning destroys it

2. ‘Freebase’ cocaine

a chemically changed type of cocaine (alkaloid cocaine)
it can be smoked making the user feel ‘high’ quickly

3. ‘Crack’ cocaine

a type of freebase cocaine sold in the form of small crystals or 'rocks'
it is usually smoked

People who sell cocaine often mix or 'cut' the powder with chemicals other that look the same, to make the drug go further. Added substances can have unpleasant or harmful effects. It is difficult to tell what the drug actually contains.

EFFECTS

What cocaine does to you depends on:

how much taken
the type of cocaine
height and weight
general health
mood
individual experience with cocaine
whether cocaine used on its own or with other drugs
whether used alone or with others, at home or at a party, etc.

IMMEDIATE EFFECTS

Small amounts

With a small amount of cocaine, the effects last from a few minutes to a few hours.

You may:

feel good and confident
be excited or upset
take more risks than usual
feel aggressive
be less hungry
feel alert and energetic
want to have sex

Effects on your body may include:

heart beats faster
body temperature rises
pupils in your eyes get bigger
movement quicker than usual

Large amounts

With a large amount of cocaine you may:

get headaches
feel dizzy
feel restless
become violent or aggressive
find it difficult to concentrate
lose interest in sex
feel apathetic (not want to do anything)
experience chest pain
have a heart attack
have convulsions (fits)
overdose
have psychosis (hear voices, imagine things, get frightened that others want to hurt you)

Long-term effects

If you use cocaine often and for a long time you may:

become dependent
become aggressive, violent and argumentative
have relationship, work, money, legal or housing problems

Long term use can cause health problems

Snorting cocaine can lead to:

nosebleeds
sinus problem
damage inside the nose

Injecting cocaine with used or dirty needles or other equipment can cause you to:

get infected with hepatitis C, hepatitis B and/or HIV
get blood poisoning (septicemia)
get skin abscesses (sores with pus)

Injecting cocaine over a long time can result in:

blocked blood vessels (caused by substances mixed with cocaine) leading to serious damage to the liver and heart
inflamed blood vessels and abscesses
a person picking at their own skin, causing serious damage that may need skin grafts (operations) to heal

Smoking freebase cocaine (crack) can cause:

breathing difficulties
long-term cough
chest pain
lung damage

OVERDOSE

Overdose of cocaine can happen to anyone even on small amounts with some people who have a particularly strong reaction to it.

Symptoms of an overdose include:

faster, irregular or weak heartbeat
breathing problems
heart failure
bleeding blood vessels in the brain
death

COCAINE AND PREGNANCY

Using cocaine when you are pregnant may:

increase the risk of losing the baby before it is born
cause the baby to be born too early
cause babies to weigh less
cause babies to get withdrawal symptoms from the mother's cocaine use (little is known about the long-term effects on the child as it grows)

COCAINE AND DRIVING

Cocaine can make you:

feel more confident when you drive
take dangerous risks and have accidents.

It is illegal to drive under the influence of drugs, including cocaine. Penalties include losing your license, a fine and/or jail.

MIXING COCAINE WITH OTHER DRUGS

Cocaine is sometimes taken with other drugs to cope with some of the physical effects of cocaine on the body. Minor tranquillizers, alcohol, marijuana or heroin are often taken for insomnia (can't sleep).

This can make you dependent on several drugs at once, cocaine each day to get moving and minor tranquillizers each night to get to sleep. This type of dependence can lead to many serious physical and psychological problems and also make you more likely to overdose.

TOLERANCE AND DEPENDENCE

Anyone can develop a 'tolerance' to cocaine. Tolerance means that you must take more of the drug to feel the same effects you used to have with lower amounts.

'Dependence' on cocaine means that it takes is a stimulant drug. This means it speeds up the brain and nervous system.

Dependence on cocaine can lead to a variety of health, money, legal, work and relationship problems.

Not all people who use cocaine are dependent.

WITHDRAWAL

Cocaine-dependent people may find it very hard to stop using or cut down because of withdrawal symptoms.

These can include:

wanting cocaine very badly (cravings)
feeling angry or upset
feeling sick
vomiting
shaking
tiredness
weakness
hunger
long but disturbed sleep
muscle pain
deep depression (feeling very down or sad)
wanting to kill yourself.

These symptoms are usually fairly short-lived and most people with withdrawals do not need medication. However, if you are worried about withdrawal, contact your doctor or health center.

Cocaine Powders