Cocaine is a stimulant drug made from the leaves of the South American Coca Plant. The Coca plant was used for many years by the indigenous people in the Rainforest and Andes Mountains by chewing coca leaves to receive an energetic high. 

Coca leaves were first turned into cocaine by European scientists in the 1850s, it was once labeled as a medical “wonder drug”.

John Stith Pemberton, an American pharmacist, founded Coca-Cola in 1886. The beverage was a mixture of cocaine and sugary syrup. It was originally sold only at segregated soda fountains but quickly became popular among the white middle class. 

Cocaine affects the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays a vital role in the brain’s reward and reinforcement triggering pleasurable feelings. The drug prevents dopamine molecules from being taken back into the cell. This allows it to build up in the synapse and have a more substantial effect on the surrounding cells, causing the intense happiness and energy that it is often associated with.

 According to the National Institute on Drug Addiction, other effects of cocaine include mental alertness, extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and touch, irritability and restlessness, and paranoia.

A small amount of cocaine can induce euphoric feelings, increased energy, and mental alertness. It can also cause the user to feel a reduced need for sleep and food. While some may feel more focused and able to perform tasks quickly, it can also have the opposite effect on others. Some short-term effects include: constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Abusing cocaine for long periods of time and in large amounts can cause numerous medical complications. Most of the harmful effects of cocaine are related to the cardiovascular system such as heart attacks, seizures, strokes, and heart rhythm disturbances. 

All forms of cocaine can lead to long-term damage to mental health including mood or emotional disturbances. Chronic use usually increases specific symptoms like hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms, restlessness, agitation, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. 

Cocaine tends to make people feel more extroverted, confident, and social many people tend to feel isolated after stopping cocaine. Short-term effects are also dangerous as they can induce a subsequent emotional crash, these depressive episodes can vary in length and severity even leading to suicidal thoughts and actions.