HASHISH/CANNABIS/WEED/SKUNK

A popular South American tea called mate de coca is also made from the leaves of the coca shrub.

Coca paste (also known as basuco) is a smokeable form made from the leaves and mainly used in countries where the plant grows.

In Britain and America the most common form of COCAINE is as a white crystalline powder. Most users sniff it up the nose, often through a rolled banknote or straw, but it also sometimes made into a solution and injected.

Crack is a smokeable form of COCAINE made into small lumps or 'rocks'. It is usually smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil. It gets its name from the cracking sound it makes when being burnt. It can also be prepared for injection.

LATEST NEWS

Because it is such a fast-acting drug and the powerful effects wear off quickly, COCAINE is an expensive drug and so closely associated with the rich lifestyle enjoyed by rock and film stars and those earning large salaries in the financial markets. This is largely true; most ordinary' regular drug users tend to regard COCAINE as an occasional treat.

Large amounts of COCAINE are seized in the UK, but relatively few people present to services for the treatment of COCAINE dependency. There may be many reasons for this including the fact that those who can afford to have a COCAINE problem can then afford to attend a private clinic and so are unavailable to researchers and those agencies who collect information about drug use in the UK.

However, there does appears to be some increase in more general use of the drug. COCAINE use is appearing in more clubs around the dance/ rave scene alongside ecstasy and other drugs.

COCAINE powder costs [more]. Crack is around £20-25 for a small rock the size of raisin, but a rock may have slivers cut from it which are sold for perhaps £10.

Although the UK crack problem is not as significant as predicted some years ago, crack use has increased in certain inner city areas bringing with it reports of problems of dependence, drug related crime and violence.

HISTORY

Coca leaf chewing as an aid to work may have been common amongst South American Indians as long ago as 2500BC.

COCAINE was first extracted from the leaves in 1855 and by the 1870s it was a popular stimulant and tonic and used in a range of patent medicines for all sorts of ailments. The famous psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, recommended its use for a range of medical and psychological problems, including alcohol and morphine addiction. However, he changed his mind after he recommended COCAINE to his friend for morphine addiction and the friend died of a COCAINE overdose.

Doctors also used COCAINE as a local anaesthetic for eye surgery and in dentistry.

At the turn of the century doctors began to warn of possible dependence and problems with its use. In America fears developed amongst white people about 'COCAINE crazed' black people who were rebelling against new discriminatory laws. In Britain concerns arose about the use of COCAINE by troops during the First World War. Hysterical press reaction claimed that this was a German plot to destroy the British Empire. In 1916 emergency laws were rushed in to ban possession of COCAINE ( and opium) and limit its medical use.

At the time there was very little recreational use of COCAINE in Britain, although when a young actress died of an overdose in 1918, it provoked the beginnings of what became the typical exaggerated press reaction to drugs and drug using that we see today.

COCAINE was always available in this country, but it was not until the mid 1970s that COCAINE became more commonly used. Sniffing COCAINE became fashionable amongst the 'smart and successful' middle classes and was seen as a glamorous and expensive drug.

Meanwhile in America COCAINE use was much more widespread and in the mid 1980s, a new more powerful form of the drug became available, smokable COCAINE or crack. This became a major problem for those living in the most deprived areas of the inner city America. Gang warfare, shootings and drug related crime hit the headlines. In Britain the authorities braced themselves in anticipation of a similar situation. But while crack has come to Britain with related violence and criminal activity, it has not been anywhere near the scale of what happened in America.. However, COCAINE use has possibly increased amongst young people in recent years, especially amongst those who attend all-night dance clubs.

THE LAW

COCAINE and crack are controlled as Class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. It is illegal to be in possession either crack or COCAINE or supply them to other people. Maximum penalties for possession are 7 years imprisonment plus a fine and for supply life imprisonment plus a fine.

EFFECTS/ RISKS

COCAINE and crack are strong but short acting stimulant drugs. They tend to make users feel more alert and energetic. Many users say they feel very confident and physically strong and believe they have great mental capacities. Common physical effects include dry mouth, sweating, loss of appetite and increased heart and pulse rate. At higher dose levels users may feel very anxious and panicky. The effects from snorting COCAINE start quickly but only last for up to 30 minutes without repeating the dose. The effects come on even quicker when smoking crack but are even more short lived.

"It makes you feel great and powerful and all that. The trouble is it can make you really wired. And it doesn't last that long so the temptation is to have another go. That's why I found it so moorish and it cost me a fortune".

Large doses or quickly repeating doses over a period of hours can lead to extreme anxiety, paranoia and even hallucinations. These effects usually disappear as the drug is eliminated from the body. The after-effects of COCAINE and crack use may include fatigue and depression as people come down from the high. Excessive doses can cause death from respiratory or heart failure but this is rare.

COCAINE may be adulterated with other substances and this may make it particularly dangerous to inject.

Neither tolerance or heroin -like withdrawal symptoms occur with regular use of COCAINE. However, regular users may develop a strong psychological dependence on the feelings of physical and mental well-being and may be tempted to keep taking COCAINE to avoid feeling tired and depressed. Dependence may be more likely and more severe from smoking crack compared to snorting COCAINE. The fact that COCAINE and crack are expensive means that people who become dependent may spend vast amounts of money. Those who are not wealthy may find themselves involved in crime or prostitution to fund a habit.

With everyday use restlessness, nausea, hyperactivity, insomnia and weight loss may develop. Some regular users become very 'wired' and paranoid. Lack of sleep and weight loss may lead to exhaustion and being very run down.

"Everyone who tries crack will not like the high and everyone who likes the high will not become instantly and hopelessly addicted." - M.G. Beattie, Crack: the facts. Hazelden Foundation, 1987.

"The first hit is always the best...I've never had anything like it. With crack once you've got that hit of the day, no matter how much you take you don't get it back. If the rock is there, I can't leave it, even though I don't get anything off it. But you can't just have one (rock) and leave it, you've got to have more". Quoted in Crack and COCAINE in England and Wales. Home Office 1992

Repeated snorting of COCAINE damages the membranes which line the nose. Repeated smoking of crack may cause breathing problems and partial loss of voice. Long term injecting may result in abscesses and infection with the added risk of hepatitis and HIV if injecting equipment is shared.

Pregnant women who heavily use COCAINE or crack may experience complications and find that their babies are adversely effected. Much has been made in the American press of so called 'crack babies' and although some babies of crack using mothers may be irritable, difficult to comfort and feed poorly the extent to which this happens has often been exaggerated.

HMMMMMMM YES, VERY INTERSTING... SNIFF SNIFF....