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Information about cocaine, an illegal substance commonly abused by adolescents and adults.
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- Cocaine - Facts and Figures
Pure cocaine was first used in the 1880s as a local anesthetic in eye, nose, and throat surgeries because of its ability to provide anesthesia as well as to constrict blood vessels and limit bleeding. Learn more from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
- DEA Cocaine Fact Sheet
Learn all about cocaine including street terms for cocaine, the different forms of cocaine, and the consequences of using cocaine from the DEA.
- InfoFacts - Crack and Cocaine
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The powdered, hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. Learn more from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- Neuroscience for Kids - Facts about Cocaine
From the plant called Erythroxylon coca, cocaine is a local anesthetic and central nervous system stimulant. It can be taken by chewing on coca leaves, smoked, inhaled ("snorted") or injected.
- What is Crack Cocaine?
Cocaine is an alkaloid found in leaves of the South American shrub Erythroxylon coca. It is a powerfully reinforcing psychostimulant. The drug induces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain.
