Cocaine is a drug that affects the central nervous system. It causes feelings of pleasure, and increase energy. People under the influence don’t feel like they need food or sleep. People also become very energetic and talk a lot. But if the drug is overused and the user has an overdose the feelings of the drug have the exact opposite effect. People may become violent, get dizzy, suffer from insomnia, or have heart failure. Long- term effects of cocaine are strokes, loss of memory, and a decrease of learning capability. When people take cocaine it causes a rush. There is a one to two minute time period of intense pleasure, after that there is five to eight minutes of euphoria. When the user is coming down they have an intense need for more. This feeling can last for up to a day. When the user is feeling the need for more they get depressed and tired. It has been recently discovered that cocaine hinders blood flow. This is why the drug causes brain damage. It has been discovered that even in the user thinks about cocaine the blood flow is altered. This shows that the addictive nature of the drug is stronger then what most people think. Current treatment for cocaine work well, but there are many users that dropout of the program. This includes users taking antidepressants and going to rehab. Scientists are currently trying to find new treatments. Only half of the people that go thorough the program actually remain sober.
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