Cocaine is a white powder that is refined from the coca plant.
This plant grows in South America. The powder can be sniffed or snorted through a straw or rolled up banknote and absorbed through the nasal membranes. Cocaine is sometimes mixed and reacted with other chemicals to form crack, a smokable form of the same drug. Burning cocaine powder destroys the drug. When the smoke is inhaled it passes into the bloodstream through the lungs and quickly reaches the brain.