The chemical acts directly on the instinctive pleasure centers of the brain to produce a surge of energy, pleasure and a sense of confidence that lasts about 20 minutes. Heavy use will also produce hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, insomnia and depression. When animals are taught to medicate themselves with cocaine, they will ignore food, water and a receptive mate and continue medication until death. This speeds up and intensifies the drug's impact on the pleasure center of the brain. Other users inject cocaine as their dependency increases.
Cocaine withdraws rapidly from the brain, making the user feel depressed, irritable and fatigued.
With larger or stronger doses, the risk of death grows. Violence, suicide and reckless driving have also killed many cocaine users and others who may be in their presence.