Just How Dangerous Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is just one of those drugs that is bound to cross our paths at some point. It doesn’t matter whether someone is at school, work, or even church, there always seems to be some beady-eyed bastard holding a modest bag of blow, and, for whatever reason, he’s ready to spread the wealth.

And quite honestly, most folks are eager little beavers when it comes to relishing in a line or two.

Sure, they might be apprehensive at first, perhaps tip-toeing around it like “I don’t know, I’ve never done coke before,” but they always come around. Always.

Hell, cocaine didn’t become one of the most popular drugs in the United States for nothing. People love this shit, and rightfully so.

It is a super drug, of sorts, capable of alleviating depression, social anxieties and it has even been known to give men glass-cutting erections that should be registered as deadly weapons.

But there is a dark side to this drug that needs to be taken into consideration.

We’ve all heard the tales of people getting so strung out on this stuff that they are forced to start selling off sexual favors to lonely truckers just to earn enough cash to score more dope.

But aside from the risk of becoming a lot lizard, slobbing knobs just to stay loaded, is doing cocaine really as dangerous as they say it is?

The short answer is Yes.

What Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is a recreational drug that typically comes in powder form. It can be snorted, applied topically (usually on the gums) or used intravenously.

Some people even eat it. It is manufactured using the leaves of the coca plant, which is native to the jungles of South America.

As you probably already know from watching the Netflix series Narcos, Colombia is the primary producer of this drug. It is big business down there, too, and showing no signs of a slow down, according to the Economist.

Aside from marijuana, cocaine ranks up there with one of the most highly trafficked illicit substances in the world. The demand for it is just that high.

And while there always seems to be reports about how thousands of pounds of cocaine are being intercepted regularly by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), there is never a shortage of coke in the Land of the Free.

There never really has been, and we’re going out on a limb and saying there never will be – not ever.

How Does Cocaine Make You Feel?

The effects of this drug are what makes it so popular. It releases large amounts of dopamine in the brain, which is what turns the user into a chatty speed fiend in ways that we only wish we could get with a cup of coffee.

Some of the short term effects of cocaine are extreme happiness and the feeling of invincibility, but it can also go the other way and make the user irritable, anxious and super paranoid.

However, it has been my experience that the majority of the adverse effects really on emerge after a massive bender.

A cocaine hangover is a fucking terrible experience.

What Are The Downsides To Using Cocaine?

For the most part, however, a person doing cocaine for the first time will likely have a lot of fun and not go off the deep end. But that doesn’t mean that cocaine isn’t a dangerous drug.

The immediate downside to cocaine is that the high just doesn’t last long enough to appease anyone. If someone snorts a line of coke, they will probably have to do another in 30 minutes or so to stay in that “fuck yeah!” euphoric mindset.

It’s one of those situations where a person will likely have to keep doing line after line because they never want to lose the feel-goods.

And that can spell trouble right out of the gate. Some people get addicted rather fast.

It’s probably not going to be the kind of addiction that has them jerking off truckers after a time or two, but as with any type of addiction, it is progressive.

Maybe you’re not beating anyone off right now, but give it time.

Cocaine Might Come From A Plant, But It’s Not Natural

What is perhaps the most important thing to understand about cocaine is it is not a clean drug.

In addition to being processed using gasoline and solvents like acetone, ethyl acetate, or ether, it is very rarely pure by the time it is sold on the street.

Nope, cocaine is cut with a variety of agents.

We’ve heard of it being hacked up with corn starch, laundry detergent, and even laxatives. So you never really know what you are putting into your body.

You just sort of hope for the best.

But today’s cocaine market is getting even more dangerous, as criminal organizations are now apparently cutting coke with the powerful opioid know as fentanyl.

This shit is potent enough to kill a well-endowed Russian racehorse. And we’re not even playing.

Seriously, it is around 50 times more potent than heroin.

Even without the risk of getting nailed to the cross by some unscrupulous dealer, there is always a chance for an overdose when using cocaine.

The drug has been known to cause heart attacks, stroke, and even hemorrhages in the brain. What’s bad is, unlike with opioids, there isn’t an antidote for cocaine overdose.

Too much of it and it could be curtains.

Around 10,000 people die each year from it. It is a number that continues to increase, especially now that fentanyl is part of the scene.

Be Careful Out There

Aside from the obvious drawbacks of using cocaine, long term use can bring about a plethora of health issues.

We’re just saying, you don’t want to be a man in his mid-40s still fucking around with cocaine, we assure you. It’s definitely one of those drugs that need to be approached with caution.