Interesting Facts about Cocaine

Cocaine is an alkaloid found in leaves of the South American shrub Erythroxylon coca. The drug induces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

In pre-Columbian times, the coca leaf was officially reserved for Inca royalty. The natives used coca for mystical, religious, social, nutritional and medicinal purposes. Returning Spanish conquistadores introduced coca to Europe.

The active ingredient of the coca plant was first isolated in the West by the German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke in 1855; he named it "Erythroxyline". Albert Niemann described an improved purification process for his PhD; he named it "cocaine". Sigmund Freud, an early enthusiast, described cocaine as a magical drug. Robert Louis Stephenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a six-day cocaine-binge. Intrepid polar adventurer Ernest Shackleton explored Antarctica propelled by cocaine tablets.

Doctors dispensed cocaine as an antidote to morphine addiction. Unfortunately, some of their patients made a habit of combining both.

Cocaine was soon sold over-the-counter. Until 1916, cocaine was widely used in tonics, toothache cures and patent medicines, in coca cigarettes "guaranteed to lift depression", and in chocolate cocaine tablets.

When combined with alcohol, the cocaine alkaloid yields a further potently reinforcing compound, now known to be cocaethylene. Thus cocaine was a popular ingredient in wines.

Coca-cola was introduced in 1886 as "a valuable brain-tonic and cure for all nervous afflictions". Until 1903, a typical serving contained around 60mg of cocaine.

Effects of "Crack" on the Individual & Society

A coca leaf, if chewed, rarely presents the user with any social or medical problems. Indeed coca-chewing may be therapeutic. When the leaves are soaked and mashed, however, cocaine is then extracted as a coca-paste. After the organic solvent used has evaporated, the coca-paste is 60 to 80 per cent pure. It is usually exported in the form of the salt, cocaine hydrochloride. This is the powdered cocaine most common, until recently, in the West. Drug testing for cocaine aims to detect the presence of its major metabolite, the inactive benzoylecgonine. Benzoylecgonine can be detected for up to five days in casual users. In chronic users, urinary detection is possible for as long as three weeks.

Sensation-hungry thrill-seekers have long sought the ultimate "rush". Normally, only intravenous administration could deliver the more potent hit they have been seeking. Yet there are strong cultural prejudices against injecting recreational drugs. So a smokeable form was developed.

Since the hydrochloride salt decomposes at the temperature required to vaporize it, cocaine is converted to crack. Ordinary cocaine hydrochloride is concentrated by heating the drug in a solution of baking soda until the water evaporates.

The initial short-lived euphoria of crack is followed by a "crash". This involves anxiety, depression, irritability, extreme fatigue and possibly paranoia. Physical health may deteriorate. An intense craving for more cocaine develops. In heavy users, compulsive and repetitive patterns of behavior may occur, so may tactile hallucinations of insects crawling underneath the skin.

The social consequences of heavy cocaine use can be equally unpleasant. Addicts are likely to alienate family and friends. They tend to become isolated and suspicious. Most of their money and time is spent thinking about how to get more of the drug. The compulsion may become utterly obsessive. During a "mission", essentially a 3-4 day crack-binge, users may consume up to 50 rocks a day. To obtain more, crack addicts will often lie, cheat, steal and commit crimes of violence. Once-loved partners and children may be callously cast aside. Whole communities can be disrupted by crack-abuse.

More Fact about Cocaine/Crack

• Cocaine is one of the oldest known drugs but became popular in the last two decades as the ‘drug of the 80s and 90s’. It is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. However, ordinary people know very little facts about cocaine.
• Facts about cocaine are as follows:
• It is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant that has a strong stimulant effect on the central nervous system of the body.
• In appearance it is a crystalline powder, white in color. On the street it is mixed with vitamins, cornstarch, flour or sugar and looks like a small rock with an off-white or pink color.

• On the street cocaine is known by a variety of names such as, Coke, Dust, Toot, Line, Nose Candy, Powder, Girl, White Pony, Flake, C, The Lady, Cain, Neurocain, Rock, and Crack.
• Cocaine is sniffed, snorted or smoked and in the deeply addict stage, injected.
• Nearly 1 percent of Americans currently use cocaine, and they come from all social and economic levels. It is the second most popular drug in the US.
• The drug gives the user a strong sense of exhilaration. Users generally feel highly energetic and euphoric, are alert and have a sense of invincibility. The effects usually last for about two hours followed by a feeling of intense depression, anxiety and paranoia. This is accompanied by loss of appetite.
• Cocaine is an extremely potent and highly dangerous drug. It has several adverse effects that include insomnia, blurred vision, high anxiety, irritability and loss of appetite. Users are susceptible to cardiac arrest or respiratory failure preceded by seizures.

Video about Cocaine

How Drugs Work 3/3 - Cocaine (BBC Three)

Eric Clapton - Cocaine

Cocaine Mafia: Vanguard

Pablo Escobar - King of Cocaine

How Cocaine Is Made

How Does Cocaine Affect The Brain? - How Drugs Work, Cocaine, Preview - BBC Three

Colombia mulls decriminalising cocaine

source: drug-testing-forum.com; 

Any language
コカインについての興味深い事実 // Faits intéressants au sujet de la cocaïne // Ενδιαφέροντα δεδομένα για κοκαΐνη // Numeri interessanti di cocaina // 有趣的事實可卡因 // 코카인에 대한 흥미로운 사실 // Interessante Fakten über Kokain // Fatos interessantes sobre Cocaína // Datos interesantes sobre la cocaína

Interesting Facts about Wine, Alcohol

The longest bar in the world is 684 feet(about 208.5 meters) long and is located at the New Bulldog in Rock Island, Illinois.

Each molecule of alcohol is less than a billionth of a meter long and consists of a few atoms of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen.

As the famous explorer Magellan prepared to sail around the world in 1519, he spent more on Sherry than on weapons.

Vassar College was established and funded by a brewer.

The U.S. Marines’ first recruiting station was in a bar.

Bourbon is the official spirit of the United States, by act of Congress.

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, observed that “It has long been recognized that the problems with alcohol elate not to the use of a bad thing, but to the abuse of a good thing.”

Tom Arnold, Sandra Bullock, Chevy Chase, Bill Cosby, Kris Kristofferson, and Bruce Willis are all former bartenders.

Frederick the Great of Prussia tried to ban the consumption of coffee and demanded that the populace drink alcohol instead.

During the reign of William III, a garden fountain was once used as a giant punch bowl. The recipe included 560 gallons of brandy, 1200 pounds of sugar, 25,000 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and five pounds of nutmeg. The bartender rowed around in a small boat, filling up guests' punch cups.

The Chagga people of Tanganyika believe that a liar will be poisoned if he or she consumes beer mixed with the blood of a recently sacrificed goat.

The national anthem of the US, the "Star-Spangled Banner," was written to the tune of a drinking song.

In the 1600's thermometers were filled with brandy instead of mercury.

As late as the mid-17th century, the French wine makers did not use corks. Instead, they used oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles.

The term "brand name" originated among American distillers, who branded their names and emblems on their kegs before shipment.

In ancient Babylon, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead (fermented honey beverage) he could drink for a month after the wedding. Because their calendar was lunar or moon-based, this period of free mead was called the "honey month," or what we now call the "honeymoon."

Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the liquid to determine the ideal temperature,, for adding yeast. From this we get the phrase "rule of thumb."

In old England, a whistle was baked into the rim or handle of ceramic cups used by pub patrons. When they wanted a refill, they would blow the whistle to get service. So when people went drinking, they would "wet their whistle."

The word "toast," meaning a wish of good health, started in ancient Rome, where a piece of toasted bread was dropped into wine.

In English pubs and bars drinks are served in pints and quarts. In old England, bartenders would advice unruly customers to mind their own pints and quarts. It's the origin of "mind your P's and Q's."

The consumption of alcohol was so widespread throughout history that it has been called "a universal language." by many people.

Most vegetable, and virtually all fruit juices, contain at least a small amount of alcohol.

There is a cloud of alcohol in outer space with enough alcohol to make four trillion-trillion drinks. It's free for the taking. . . but it's 10,000 light years away from Earth.

"There's no free lunch." Pennsylvania outlawed free lunches in 1917 to prevent taverns from giving free sandwiches to customers who bought beer to drink with them. This led some shop keepers to sell sandwiches and give away the beer.

President Jimmy Carter's mother said "I'm a Christian, but that doesn't mean I'm a long-faced square. I like a little bourbon."

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the US, stated that "It has long been recognized that the problems with alcohol relate not to the use of a bad thing, but to the abuse of a good thing."

Between 1980 and 1996, over 2,300 anti-drunk-driving laws were passed in the U.S.Which goes to show you If laws could solve a problem, there wouldn't be any drunk driving today!

Move over, Mickey. Napa valley has replaced Disneyland as California's number one trourist destination, with 5.5 million visitors per year.

The largest cork tree in the world is in Portugal. It averages over one ton of raw cork per harvest. That's enough to cork 100,000 bottles.

The soil of one famous vineyard in France is considered so precious that vineyard workers are required to scrape it from their shoes before they leave for home each night.

The pressure in a bottle of champagne is about 90 pounds per square inch. That's about three times the pressure in automobile tires.

The Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C.) marked the first time in human prehistory where alcohol was fermented. They also produced bread, beer, meat, and grain dishes we enjoy today.

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine and vegetation. He showed mortals how to cultivate grapes and make wine. In 5th century B.C., he was worshipped at celebrations that became associated with licentiousness and intoxication.

There is some anecdotal evidence that alcohol sipped through a straw is more potent than simply drinking straight from the glass. Drinking through a straw helps mix air with the alcohol, carrying it to the nasal cavity where it is absorbed more rapidly. An even flow of alcohol also boosts absorption efficiency.

Poor soil quality tends to produce better wines. The trick is to "challenge" the vines by making them "work" harder.

Most wines do not improve with age.

Alcohol in the UK

According to government figures, a child under 10 is admitted to hospital due to alcohol problems every three days in England.

(It's not that surprising when you realise that some supermarkets offer beer at 54p a pint, and a 750ml bottle of branded water, sells for the equivalent of 57p a pint.)















source: interesting-facts.fun-with-english.co.uk