Cocaine, The Reflection of Society
Introduction
But here is the broad question that one can ask themselves, what does the consistent use of cocaine among teenagers reflect about the culture of the American society. Before that question can be answered, we need to break it down into smaller questions, questions such as is cocaine really as detrimental as people say it is, and why? What is it about cocaine that makes it as addicting as it is, and what does that do to one? In every question there are details that need to be known to truly comprehend what is being asked.
What is Cocaine?
Conjointly, in its chemical composition, cocaine is what is known as an Alkaloid in chemistry. In addition to it being an alkaloid, its composition includes nicotine, caffeine, and morphine. Now as to what an alkaloid is, it is a substance composed of nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen and thus it is similar to alkalies which have inorganic bases.
Alkaloids have certain effects on the the human nervous system, and conjointly have effects on animals as well. Many alkaloids include common drugs that humans know and us in society. Among them include drugs like nicotine in cigarettes, caffeine, as well as the drugs being covered in the research (cocaine) and morphine.
Alkaloids aren't solely made in labs, but to the contrary many are natural produced in seed plants including the opium poppy, the tobacco plant, and the coca plant. Scientists are still dumbfounded as to its natural purpose in plants, but they do know that there are hundreds of diverse types of alkaloids. Despite the extremely diverse selection of natural alkaloids, humans only use up to 30 for common everyday uses and for the base of the drugs it is used to produce.
How is Cocaine Made?
The most elaborate cartel for drugs derived from plants is located in the country of Colombia, it there that Cocaine is made, and consequently exported. The workers that contribute to the cartel do so as jobs in their countries are exceedingly limited, and although they know the business is highly dangerous and illegal they do so anyway in order to survive and provide for their families.
The official process for its creation is as follows.
Cocaine is processed in jungle labs by soaking leaves in gasoline inside metal drums.
Gasoline containing cocaine alkaloid is then poured from metal drums and filtered into a barrel which contains diluted acid. The gasoline is going to be separated from the acid layer and ammonia will be added to the solution to produce cocaine base.
A cloth is then used to filter the cocaine base
What is left from this is then dried, which results in a purer form of cocaine base.
Cocaine base is then dissolved in a solvent, which can be a chemical compound like acetone, and is then put in a hot water bath. Additionally another solvent such as methyl ethyl ketone is put into the boiling liquid with concentrated hydrochloric acid which then crystallizes the cocaine.
The extra solvent are removed both by hand and hydraulic press. Solvents are also removed by a microwave which starts to produce the “powdery” cocaine base.
The base, informally known as “crack” is then made by dissolving cocaine hydrochloride in a mixture of water and baking soda. The solution is boiled until the cocaine forms an oily substance that drops out of the solution and to the bottom of the container
The other impurities that are not part of the composition are removed, thus finishing the process.Composition of Cocaine
What is the Big Deal with Cocaine?
In truth, one does and will not understand the addition that a drug like cocaine causes until they try it. There is a reason behind its exact chemical composition, as each of these components have certain properties that alter both the mental and physical state of the human organism.
Now there are two types of cocaine, its solvent form, which consists of its base and water in order to weaken the effect. This types is more common than is pure, freebase form, whose effects are much more potent. Despite their composite differences, they are both ingested either through being smoked or snorted (a process by which the substance is ingested through the nasal cavity and into the system). In both cases the drug enters the bloodstream and goes straight to the brain, making it extremely fast acting. What occurs in the brain is that cocaine interferes with the chemical messengers -- known as neurotransmitters -- that nerves use to communicate with each other. Cocaine blocks the norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, as well as oxytocin, and other neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The resulting chemical buildup between nerves causes euphoria or feeling "high." Each of these contributes to what human call the “feel good” sensation. See when a human feels a certain rapture, each of these neurotransmitters is released and then to end the feeling, absorbed. What cocaine does is block the pathways that lead to absorption in the brain and thus these chemicals are locked out leading to very extended amount of time of the “high” feeling.A Teen Snorting Cocaine
Smoking Cocaine
Injecting
Whats So Bad About It?
One may argue why is this a problem if all it does is increase the neural pleasure of a human? Well that in actuality is not the entirety of its effects. Cocaine, in addition to contributing to neural highs, has exceedingly addictive qualities, and it wreaks havoc on the respiratory and cardiovascular system as well as having significant effects on the kidneys and even sexual function (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/cocaine-use-and-its-effects).
Effects on the Brain and the Heart
Why is it so Addictive?
It's Abuse
Now how many teens and conjointly people in the U.S. are consistent users of cocaine. Well, beginning with teens, a survey of the United States has shown that 3.7% sophomores are users of cocaine, and 5.2% of seniors are. This may not seem like a lot, however even this number is extremely high for such a dangerous drug. For a combined statistic of almost all people, somewhere above six million people over the age of twelve have used cocaine, just in the past year and frighteningly this number is climbing.
The Reflection of Society
To answer the final question, what does this reflect about society, it is a broken answer. Firstly, I stand in saying that it does not reflect weak personalities due to the fact that people cannot stop using it, as it is terminally addictive, thus people that become hook are for the most part out of their own hands and begin to lose themselves in addiction. What is however a factor that is worth considering is how many people use it, as this does present a reflection of people. In fact, it is the statistic that so many people have given in to the pressures of whatever caused them to take up the habit that demonstrates a conglomeration of individuals in society who are weak minded while so many others are not. The sheer knowledge that they even started the drug is enough to summarize their character, with rare exception to the rule.
Conclusively this popularized use of the “white death”, known as cocaine, reflects that as a society, America is rather broken in that some many people have external pressures indulge them into the life of an addict, while so many other have not. This clashing demographic of statistics truly personifies how diversely shattered we are as a country, not only physically, but especially psychologically.