Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Cocaine is an addictive stimulant drug. It is made from the leaves of the coca plant Erythroxylon coca , which is native to South America.
Cocaine is a Schedule II drug , which means that it has high potential for misuse but can be administered by a doctor for medical uses, such as local anesthesia for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries. There are two chemical forms of cocaine: the water-soluble hydrochloride salt and the water-insoluble cocaine base or freebase.
Hydrochloride salt is a powder that is injected or snorted. The base form of cocaine is created by processing the drug with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate baking soda and water, then heating it to remove the hydrochloride to produce a smokable substance. This form of cocaine is sometimes called crack, which refers to the crackling sound of the rock as it's heated. Crack can also be used by sprinkling it on marijuana or tobacco and smoking it.
Cocaine is typically used orally, intranasally, intravenously, or by inhalation. When snorted intranasal use , cocaine powder is inhaled through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues.
People may also rub the drug onto their gums oral use. Dissolving cocaine in water and injecting it intravenous use releases the drug directly into the bloodstream and heightens the intensity of its effects. When people smoke cocaine inhalation , they inhale its vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is almost as rapid as by injection. Cocaine use ranges from occasional to repeated or compulsive use, with a variety of patterns between these extremes.
