Cocaine Addiction in the Modern Society - Term Paper Example

Cocaine Addiction affiliation Cocaine addiction There are many vices in the society we live in. Nevertheless, it is no doubt that the use of cocaine and other types of drugs is among the many issues that affect the community the most. Tracing the root cause of other vices in the society for instance dropping out of school, rise in number of accidents on the roads, increase in homicides, and increase in overall crime rates, we note that all these are happening due to an increase in drug abuse in the society. As discussed in this paper, there is countless benefits that the society can gain from drug abuse regulation. This paper will be addressing one of the most misused drug, cocaine and the age group it affects most. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the methods to control the addiction. There are numerous reasons why people engage in drug abuse. Before we get into some of the most intricate and those that occur in rare situations, young people engage in the use of drugs so as they can get high. Since there is a plethora of drugs that the youth can choose from, the choice depends on whether the drug delivers well and the condition of the individual’s pocket. Some drugs are more expensive than others, and that is why the need to tackle addiction of a drug such as the expensive cocaine comes in. Cocaine is one of the most misused and addictive drugs around. It is also a very powerful stimulant and it is because of this reason that people do not deal with the addiction so easily. Stimulants are what makes people feel ‘high’, more alert and energetic. Most drug users usually favor cocaine because of the above reasons. To give a brief description of what cocaine is and in how many different methods it can be delivered to the body, we need to know the primary places the drug is grown. Cocaine comes from the coca bush that is grown in the Andes Mountains in South America. Currently, the largest amount of coca is grown and made into cocaine in this region. The main routes, through which cocaine is administered in the body, are intravenous, oral, intranasal, and inhalation. The main methods are through injection and ‘snorting’ which refers to the process of inhalation where the cocaine powder is inhaled through the nostrils whereby it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Some addicts prefer the injection method as it heightens the effects of the drug. Smoking cocaine powder, which is known as ‘crack’ delivers the vapor into the lungs where absorption occurs. This method delivers cocaine into the bloodstream as fast as the injection does. The short-term effects of cocaine use are dependent on the method of administration. Smoking the drug or administration through injection is the fastest ways to feel high. The high does not last a long time and can only be there for less than 10 minutes. Other methods that delay the high, are sometimes favored since the effect can last as much as 30 minutes. As mentioned earlier, it is the pleasure that those who use cocaine seek. Biologically, it is said that cocaine increases the activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for pleasure associated with food, water, and sex. Other than the high part of cocaine use, more short term effects include loss of sleep and appetite. While there are those that say that cocaine helps them solve intellectual tasks, there are those who report the opposite. Nonetheless, it is the long-term effects of the drug that matters. Cocaine is evidently a very addictive drug. Once an individual tries the drug, they may have difficulty predicting or even controlling the extent at which they use the drug. The stimulant and addictive effects of cocaine are thought to be predominantly a result of the drug’s ability to inhibit nerve cells reabsorption of dopamine. Usually, the brain releases dopamine (which is either directly or indirectly involved in most major drugs addictive properties) as a reward system (Volkow, 2000). The result of this process is the body developing a high tolerance for the drug. Most users say that they no longer experience their very initial experience during consecutive uses. It is because of this reason that users frequently increase their doses so as to maintain the euphoric intensity and thereby becoming addicted over time. Sometimes users may become sensitive to cocaine’s convulsing and anesthetic effects. This occurs without the user increasing their dosage. The increased sensitivity usually leads to death in cases where the individual takes low doses of cocaine. Due to the fact that the drug is highly addictive and is illegal, demand among its users is typically very high thus leading to very high costs. Unfortunately, most of the affected people are youths. Research findings indicate that in the year 2005, about 4.4% of grades 7 to 12 admitted to having used cocaine in the past one year. This translates to about 43,000 students having used cocaine. Other research findings indicate that almost an equal number of male and female students use cocaine. The numbers are (4.5%) for males and females (4.3%). As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of users that prefer the use of crack since it gets absorbed into the blood stream quickly. In the 43,000 students who had used cocaine in the past one year, more than 19,300 students had used crack. Other users of cocaine include adults but in most cases, addiction is common in people that are below 40 (FRIEDEN, 2005). Since the main reason people use cocaine or get introduced to the drug is through peer pressure, it comes as no surprise why the youth are the most affected. While the utmost adverse effect of the use of cocaine is premature death, it is true that there are the myriad other effects of an addiction to the drug. Cocaine addicts, mostly those who are young and thus lack enough money to sustain their urge to use the drug may find themselves committing other crimes so that they can acquire the cash necessary to buy the drugs. This is the reason we have increased robbery, mugging, and theft (Inciardi & Surratt, 2001). Like any other addiction problem, cocaine addiction, albeit difficult to control, can still have a remedy. Since cocaine use is not only a biological problem but also one that affects the social wellbeing of an individual, their family and so on, it is very complex to address the addiction as it entails putting all these issues into perspective when developing a treatment program. Today, there is still no effective drug that can be said for sure that it cures cocaine addiction. Nonetheless, behavioral intervention is usually the most effective. The pharmacological approaches that exist include the use of the selegeline that is said to inhibit the need of an individual to use cocaine. This, combined with individual therapies, which are indeed the most viable and efficient way of dealing with an addiction, becomes even better in helping an addict recover. The use of contingency management involves rewarding individuals who stay in the treatment. If their urine is drug-free, they earn points that translates to good prizes upon completion of the program. While this is not necessary a way of treating an addiction, it is a very effective method of promoting healthy living through restraining oneself from the use of the drug during the treatment period. As seen above, a cocaine addiction is a guarantee to anyone who tries the drug. It is therefore very crucial that enough awareness is created so that the likelihood of school children or the youths engaging in drug abuse remains at a minimum. For those affected by the addiction, therapy or rather behavioral intervention remains the most efficient method of controlling the addiction and it should occur to anyone that help is always available and the only thing required is the effort to seek it. References FRIEDEN, J. (2005). Teens’ Illicit Drug Use Down, but Rx Abuse Up. Psychiatry, 62, 1157-64. Inciardi, J. A., & Surratt, H. L. (2001). Drug use, street crime, and sex-trading among cocaine-dependent women: implications for public health and criminal justice policy. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 33(4), 379-389. Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Fischman, M. W., Foltin, R., Fowler, J. S., Franceschi, D., ... & Pappas, N. (2000). Effects of route of administration on cocaine induced dopamine transporter blockade in the human brain. Life sciences, 67(12), 1507-1515. Read More