Cocaine, the most potent stimulant of natural origin, is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca), which is indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine is produced as a white chunky powder. It is sold most often in aluminum foil, plastic or paper packets, or small vials.

Crack is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a ready-to-use free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked.

Methamphetamine is classified as a psychostimulant as are such other drugs of abuse as amphetamine and cocaine. We know that methamphetamine is structurally similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter dopamine, but it is quite different from cocaine. Although these stimulants have similar behavioral and physiological effects, there are some major differences in the basic mechanisms of how they work at the level of the nerve cell.

Cocaine addiction can occur very quickly and can be very difficult to break. Animal studies have shown that animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine limited in order to prevent taking toxic or even lethal doses.

Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca bush, which grows in South America. Cocaine has been used for centuries by Indians to combat the effects of hunger, hard work, and thin air. In the mid 1800s its effects were praised by Freud, among others. Until 1906, this substance was a chief ingredient of Coca-Cola and was also used as a anesthetic. Widespread use and addiction led to government efforts against cocaine in the early 1900s.

The effects of cocaine are immediate, extremely pleasurable, and transient. It produce intense but ephemeral euphoria and can make users feel more gumptious. Like caffeine, cocaine produces wakefulness and reduces hunger. Psychological effects of cocaine include feelings of well-being and a grandiose sense of power and ability mixed with anxiety and restlessness.

A.) Crack is made from cocaine in a process called freebasing, in which cocaine powder is cooked with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to create rocks, chips, or chunks that can be smoked. The term crack refers to the crackling sound that is heard when the mixture is smoked. Crack is usually smoked in a pipe. Because it's smoked, crack cocaine effects are felt more quickly and they are more intense than those of powder cocaine.

Yes. When individuals use cocaine and drink alcohol at the same time, a very toxic metabolite of cocaine is formed.

Cocaine users most often inhale the powder sharply through the nose, where it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. But it also can be heated into a liquid and its fumes inhaled through a pipe in a method called "freebasing". Freebasing is also a common method of using a form of cocaine called "crack". Crack resembles small pieces of rock and is often called "rock" on the street.

Addicts are preoccupied with getting their drug, and most of their thoughts and behaviors are directed to that end. Cocaine interferes with judgment and produces exaggerated feelings of well-being and confidence. High doses can produce paranoia, and users can become aggressive and violent. In rare cases, cocaine can produce death, after first use or after prolonged use.

Cocaine is excreted in the urine primarily as benzoylecgonine in a short period of time. Benzoylecgonine can be generally detected for 24 to 60 hours after cocaine use or exposure. Exact clearance rate times can't be determined since the metabolic rate is individualized depending on weight and other factors.

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Although both cocaine and methamphetamine are psychostimulants that trigger the release of dopamine, the drugs are quite different. For one thing, methamphetamine produces a stronger and longer-lasting high than the high produced by cocaine. Animal studies conducted at UCLA show that cocaine releases 350 units of dopamine, while methamphetamine releases almost four times as much -- about 1,200 units (See a slideshow on the neuroscience of meth).

Sniffing cocaine can result in an overdose. It is called an overdose when the effects of the cocaine turn out badly or when the used dose is lethal. Both are possible when sniffing cocaine. A moderate use of cocaine, tobacco and heroin is almost always impossible. Only 10% of the people who start to use them become moderate users. Treatment of cocaine addiction is similar to treatment of other narcotics. It takes many weeks to get rid of the addiction. Problems come back after about 10 weeks.

A.) The chemical cocaine hydrochloride is commonly known as crack. Some users chemically process cocaine in order to remove the hydrochloride. This process is called "freebasing" and makes the drug more potent. "Crack" is a solid form of freebased cocaine. It is called "crack" because it snaps and cracks when heated and smoked.

The U.S./Mexico border is the primary point of entry for cocaine shipments being smuggled into the United States. According to a recent interagency intelligence assessment, approximately 65 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States crosses the Southwest border. Cocaine is readily available in nearly all major cities in the United States. Organized crime groups operating in Colombia control the worldwide supply of cocaine.