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Stimulants: cocaine, amphetamines and party drugs
Published in Berry Beaumont, David Haslam, Care of Drug Users in General Practice, 2021
Cocaine is an alkaloid made from the leaves of the coca bush, which grows in the mountain regions of South America. Cocaine has traditionally been used by rich people (for example, musicians, stockbrokers and drug dealers) and also by sex workers but this has changed to some extent as the price has fallen. It has obtained a lot of political attention because of its rapidly increased use in deprived inner-city areas and its association with crime and disturbed behaviour. It is used widely by those who also use heroin. Almost 70% of those first attending drug services in Manchester now have urine tests positive for cocaine.
Cocaine and the Fetus: Methodological Issues and Neurological Correlates
Published in Richard J. Konkol, George D. Olsen, Prenatal Cocaine Exposure, 2020
Cocaine is obtained from Erythroxylon coca, a plant indigenous to the mountainous regions of South America. For centuries the natives of this region have used coca leaves in religious rituals or for its medicinal properties to treat a variety of ailments, notably fatigue and mountain sickness. In these settings coca is administered by either chewing on coca leaves or by preparing an infusion of coca leaves, coca tea.
Stimulants and psychedelics
Published in Ilana B. Crome, Richard Williams, Roger Bloor, Xenofon Sgouros, Substance Misuse and Young People, 2019
In most countries, production, distribution and sale of cocaine products, and cultivation of the coca plant are restricted, as it is regulated by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Additionally, in the United States, it is regulated by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, as a Schedule II drug; it is available in a liquid preparation for use in medical and surgical centres, but it is not available for prescription. In the UK, cocaine is a Class A drug, controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, though medical use by doctors to control pain is permitted. Some countries, such as Peru and Bolivia, permit cultivation of coca leaf for traditional consumption by the local indigenous population, and Peru, Mexico and Colombia permit possession of small quantities of cocaine powder. In addition, some other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, have decriminalised possession, or allow use of processed cocaine for medicinal purposes.
The global movement towards a public health approach to substance use disorders
Published in Annals of Medicine, 2022
Kimberly Johnson, Irina Pinchuk, Marie Isabel E. Melgar, Martin Osayande Agwogie, Fernando Salazar Silva
Peru is one of the primary national producers of cocaine and coca products and its policy has evolved within that role in the drug economy [22]. Historically, in Peru there is an association between the Andean man, work, and the coca leaf. The Andean cultures have used coca leaf, attributing magical properties to it, and recognized its ability to mitigate hunger, cold and physical fatigue during workdays in the fields and mines [62]. Currently, it is believed that consumption of chewed coca leaf in rural areas remains highly prevalent among agricultural workers, though data is lacking. The cultural heritage surrounding the use of coca has rendered eradication programmes or alternative development programmes ineffective, though these are the primary historic approaches to addressing use of CBP and cocaine in the country and region [22].
Long-term cocaine use is associated with increased coronary plaque burden – a pilot study
Published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2020
Doris Hsinyu Chen, Márton Kolossváry, Shaoguang Chen, Hong Lai, Hsin-Chieh Yeh, Shenghan Lai
Cocaine is an addictive stimulant that is sourced from the Erythroxylon coca plant. It is categorized as a Schedule II drug and can be prescribing for medical purposes such as local anesthesia during surgery (1). The short-term physical effects of cocaine include sensitivity to environmental factors, increased energy, and mental alertness. The effects vary depending on the amount and route of exposure. There is a wide range of physiological effects from increased heart rate to narrowing of blood vessels. Long-term use can lead to negative health consequences such as cardiovascular problems, coma, and seizures (2,3). Even though the rates of cocaine use have remained steady over the past decade, cocaine is still a widely used substance in the United States. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 5.5 million people used cocaine in 2018 (4).
Whether drug detection in urine and oral fluid is similar? A systematic review
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2020
Milena Binhame Albini Martini, Thiago Beltrami Dias Batista, Indiara Welter Henn, Patrícia Tolentino da Rosa de Souza, Alexandre Rezende Vieira, Luciana Reis Azevedo-Alanis
Two studies evaluated cocaine and its metabolites (Jufer et al. 2006; Strano-Rossi et al. 2008). Different ways of administration such as ingested, smoked, injected, and inhaled were described. Strano-Rossi et al. (2008) evaluated only cocaine ingested (3 mg of cocaine) and its metabolites, benzoylecgonine (BZE), ecgonine methyl ester (EME) and coca. The first positive finding for metabolites was in 2 h in urine and in 1 h in oral fluid, with peak concentration for analytes after a longer time in urine (EME 34 h) than in oral fluid (BZE 9.3 h). This study did not declare cutoff values, so we used cutoff reference values from other study (Jufer et al. 2006) because both evaluated and quantified the same metabolites. The latter study evaluated cocaine and its metabolites (coca and BZE) after a single dose injected (25 mg), inhaled (32 mg) and smoked (42 mg) (Jufer et al. 2006). They reported positive results in first collection immediately after drug administration; a longer time of drug detection was observed in urine than in oral fluid, and higher concentrations of analytes were detected with inhaled drug compared to smoked drug in both urine and oral fluid. This study also evaluated chronic use of ingested cocaine (375–2000 mg) and obtained higher values of concentrations and time of positive detection than other ways of administration with lower doses besides obtaining positive value also in first collection (Table 3) (Jufer et al. 2006).