What is Coke?

Coke, the street name for cocaine, is a powerfully addictive substance that is sold in either a powder or hard rock form.   Derived from the coca plant, coke is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system in a number of ways and promotes appetite suppression while also acting as a topical anesthetic.

In the powder form, cocaine is usually snorted or dissolved in water and injected.  When in the hard, rock form known as crack, the cocaine is smoked through a pipe.  All uses of cocaine are highly dangerous and are very addicting.  Smoking crack is the most addictive method of cocaine abuse but not the deadliest method; injecting coke intravenously is the deadliest method of abusing the drug.

For many centuries, cocaine has been used in various cultural applications and the drug was once widely used as a local anesthetic.  Today, anesthetics such as lidocaine and benzocaine are more commonly used for anesthetic purposes than cocaine is because these drugs are generally deemed safer than cocaine for such uses.

What is the Extent of Coke Abuse?

It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people aged 12 or older abuse cocaine.  That’s more than .5% of the entire U.S. population.  While cocaine use has declined amongst children and teens in middle school and high school, it is still estimated that as many as almost 2 out of every one hundred high school teens have abused cocaine at least once in the past year.

Once used in the middle and upper class amongst college students, party goers and the wealthy, coke is now widely abused by individuals of nearly every race, profession, age and socioeconomic status.  Cocaine is the second most popular, illegal, recreational drug in the United States.