Cocaine
Drug: Cocaine
Street names: Coke, Charlie, Snow, Blow, White,
Bugle, Gold Dust, Lady, Nose Candy, Sniff
Similar drugs: Ecstasy, Mephedrone
Drug type: Stimulant
Legal status: Cocaine is a class A drug. That means
you could go to prison for seven years for possessing it and for
life for dealing it.
What is it? Cocaine is a white powder made from the
leaves of the coca plant. You typically snort it, but the powder
can also be made into a solution and injected.
How it can make you feel: You can feel more
energetic, alert, happy and confident. Cocaine also increases your
heart rate and body temperature, suppresses your appetite and makes
your eyes more sensitive to light. It makes your pupils dilate
too.
These effects kick in very quickly, but only last for around 20
to 40 minutes.
The risks: Using cocaine can make you have a fit,
stroke or cardiac arrest.
Regularly snorting cocaine can seriously damage your nasal
passage, giving you nosebleeds. It can make you lose weight
too.
In the longer-term, it increases your likelihood of experiencing
anxiety, paranoia and depression. If you inject it, you could
damage your veins or get a disease from a dirty needle.
The expense (£30 to £50 a gram), lure and addictive properties
of cocaine can easily lead you into debt.
Mixing cocaine with other drugs, particularly alcohol, is very
dangerous. This is because cocaine masks the effects of alcohol,
meaning you don't feel drunk, so could drink too much and end up
with alcohol poisoning.
Cocaine image courtesy of Talk to Frank, Crown Copyright.
Cannabis
Crack Cocaine