In the early 1980s, the United States was emerging as a haven for drug cartels seeking to expand their operations and increase their profits. Colombia's Medellín and Cali cartels sought to profit from the lucrative cocaine market in the United States. Forbes named Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cartel, as one of the world's richest people in their inaugural list. Guess what? He stayed on that list for 7 straight years. The influx of cocaine into the United States had become an epidemic, resulting in an increase in street violence, overdoses, hospital emergencies, mental instability, and addiction in the population.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared drugs to be a threat to US national security.
This declaration prompted collaboration between the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement agencies in Latin America, particularly Colombia, to eliminate the production and smuggling routes of cocaine into the United States.
According to History.com, in 1985, the number of regular cocaine users rose from 4.2 million to 5.8 million. By 1987, crack cocaine had reportedly spread to all but four states.
Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant derived from coca leaves. When extracted and purified, it resembles a white powdery substance. It is native to Latin America, and its use as a local anesthetic in the medical field is less well-known than its reputation for causing euphoria and the reward effect. It can be snorted, injected intravenously, or applied topically to the mouth.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) conceptualizes mental health as the “state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community”
This definition includes willpower, which is at the heart of our mental health. When this power is taken away, the consequences can spiral out of control.
Cocaine initially hijacks the pleasure centers, masquerading as empowering, but eventually depletes all of these abilities by the time addiction sets in. At this point, mental health issues begin to emerge.
COCAINE'S EFFECTS ON MENTAL HEALTH
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2021 found that 13.5% of young adults aged 18 to 25 had both a substance use disorder and a mental illness in the previous year. Almost one-third of adults had a substance use disorder or a mental illness, compared to 46% of young adults aged 18 to 25.
Diego Armando Maradona, one of football's greatest players of all time, struggled with cocaine for many years. When he moved to Barcelona from his local club in Argentina in 1982, he tried cocaine for the first time. He explained, "I tried it in Europe for the first time in 1982." "I was 22 years old and it was enough to make me feel alive..." As a result, he struggled with addiction for the majority of his career and was banned at some points from playing football due to drug abuse.
People have reported feelings of invisibility, strength, sexiness, being high, flying, and a variety of other positive emotions after using cocaine.
It is undeniable that cocaine produces some of the most incredible experiences for its users, particularly first-timers. This could explain why it is so widely used.
How does cocaine produce a high feeling?
A chemical known as dopamine is at the heart of cocaine's positive feelings.
Dopamine, also known as the "happy chemical," is one of the chemicals released in the body when a person is in love. It is linked to pleasure, reward, and motivation. Normally, the body has a way of recycling this chemical to keep it in check and prevent it from overstaying its welcome, however, cocaine hijacks this recycling process, making dopamine more abundant in the body.
What part of the brain is affected by cocaine, and how does this affect an addict's behavior?
The symptoms people experience during a health crisis are often determined by which part of their body is most affected. Because mental health disorders are primarily brain-based, it is critical to examine some areas of the brain that are most affected by cocaine use.
The limbic system is the most active site for cocaine, and it is made up of other parts of the brain that play important roles in how the body perceives cocaine. These parts are:
Nucleus accumbens: This part of the brain is responsible for pleasure, addiction, and reward. It is responsible for the obsession that people experience when using cocaine. The buildup of cocaine in this part of the brain causes a powerful sense of pleasure.
Hippocampus: It is responsible for memory, learning, and emotion. It reminds us of how we felt and behaved when we used cocaine. This may lead to repetition of the act when specific emotions are triggered by cues obtained while using cocaine (these cues could include the environment, friends, and specific visual patterns).
Amygdala: This part of the limbic system processes information and regulates emotions like anger, fear conditioning, aggression, social cognition, and emotional memory. Injuries in rats in this part of the brain have shown reduced fear upon sighting cats. This may help to explain some of the symptoms such as aggression experienced by those taking cocaine as a result of overstimulation of this part of the brain by the chemical.
How does cocaine addiction happen?
Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. As the drug is used repeatedly, the risk of addiction increases.
Addiction begins when the brain no longer feels satisfied with the amount it used to get high with, requiring more to achieve the same high. Our brains are made up of many nerve cells that communicate with one another to keep life going. When cocaine enters the brain, it creates a new communication pathway for these nerve cells, resulting in dependence as the body adjusts to the new communication pathway.
The body now begins to function using this template, which is why cocaine withdrawal can be life-threatening for addicts, as the body may react violently to the lack of cocaine, the fuel that powers the new pathway. It is similar to depriving oneself of food on which the body relies. Addiction and dependence can cause an addict to see no need for food, sex, or work because cocaine rewires the entire brain.
Symptoms of cocaine addiction
Schizophrenia, a mental health disorder caused by an excess of dopamine in the brain, has some of the same symptoms as cocaine disorder.
As we have established, the majority of the symptoms experienced by those using cocaine are dependent on the part of the brain affected by the chemical substance, and include the following:
Mood swings and irritability
Hallucinations
Anxiety
Delusions
Euphoria
Confusion
Increased heartbeat
Increased libido
Excessive sweating
Rapid speech
Stealing
Hyperactivity
TREATMENTS AND INTERVENTION
The Rat Park experiment explained that rats, when kept alone, would usually obsessively overdose on cocaine or heroin-laced bottles over water-filled bottles, but when kept in a community of other rats (rat parks) where they are free to associate, socialize, and mate, they naturally preferred the water-filled bottle over the cocaine laced one, though they occasionally took from the cocaine bottle but never overdosed or became obsessed with it, explained Dr. Bruce Alexander. He further stressed that the experiment is an indication that humans need to be part of a community, encouraged to relate and experience the support of others to help them beat the scourge of cocaine and drug abuse and addiction in general.
One of the interventions that must be implemented is physician-assisted family integration into the recovery process of cocaine addicts, also known as psychotherapy. However, in some patients, psychotherapy is insufficient to aid in full recovery, and medications are used as a supplementary treatment.
When treating cocaine addicts, the two primary goals are to help patients achieve an initial period of abstinence and to prevent relapse.
The greatest obstacle to this treatment path is withdrawal. Withdrawal is the crisis that engulfs the body as a result of the absence of cocaine or any other addictive substance. These crises include fatigue, distressed mood, irritability, anxiety, sweating, and changes in appetite.
A lot of research is still ongoing in the field of cocaine treatment, and at the moment there is no single medication to address this issue. The medications available are used to target the symptoms of withdrawal and to block the dopaminergic effect of euphoria.
CONCLUSION
As the cartels keep manufacturing new ways of expanding their business therefore creating problems in our communities, we must be on guard to protect our children and teens from the harmful effects of their substance. We can achieve this through massive community awareness, support for those already hooked, and empowering law enforcement agencies to go after these bad guys.
References
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board
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