Cocaine

**Cocaine** (from French *cocaïne*, from Spanish *coca*, ultimately from Quechua *kúka*) be a tropane alkaloid wey dey act as a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. Na dem traditionally use Coca by indigenous South Americans for various purposes for over a thousand years. As an extract, cocaine be rarely buh formally used as a local anaesthetic anaa diagnostic tool by medical practitioners insyd sam countries. However, chaw cocaine use today be recreational drug use, wey be consumed illegally make e produce euphoria den act as an aphrodisiac.

Dem primarily dey obtain Cocaine from de leaves of two coca species native to South America: *Erythroxylum coca* den *E. novogranatense*. After extraction from de plant, den further processing into cocaine hydrochloride (powdered cocaine), de drug be administered by ebe either snorted, dem apply am topically to de mouth, anaa dissolved den injected into a vein. Dem sanso fi turn am into free base form (typically crack cocaine), insyd wich e fi be heated til sublimated den then de vapours fi be inhaled.

Cocaine dey stimulate de mesolimbic pathway insyd de brain, wey dey produce mental effects such as intense happiness, sexual arousal, loss of reality, den agitation, along plus physical effects like fast heart rate, sweating, den dilated pupils. High doses fi lead to high blood pressure anaa elevated body temperature. Effects typically dey begin within seconds to minutes den dey last five to ninety minutes dey depend on administration route. Secof ein topical anesthetic den vasoconstrictor properties, e be occasionally used insyd surgeries wey dey involve de pharynx anaa nasopharynx make e reduce pain, bleeding, den vocal cord spasm. Cocaine dey act as a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SNDRI), increasing levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, den dopamine insyd de synaptic cleft, wey dey lead to heightened post-synaptic activation, plus dopamine wey dey contribute to euphoria den arousal, den de oda monoamines wey dey enhance additional effects. E dey cross de blood–brain barrier mainly via a proton-coupled organic cation antiporter den, to a lesser extent, by passive diffusion.

A single dose of cocaine dey induce tolerance to de drug ein effects. Repeated use dey likely to result for addiction. Addicts wey abstain from cocaine fi experience prolonged craving wey dey last for chaw months. Abstaining addicts sanso experience modest drug withdrawal symptoms wey dey last up to 24 hours, plus sleep disruption, anxiety, irritability, fatigue, lethargy, depression, decreased libido, den decreased ability to feel pleasure. Use of cocaine dey increase de overall risk of death, den intravenous use dey potentially increase de risk of trauma den infectious diseases such as blood infections den HIV thru needle sharing. E sanso dey increase risk of stroke, heart attack, cardiac arrhythmia, lung injury (wen e be smoked), den sudden cardiac death. Illicitly cocaine dem dey sell fi be adulterated plus fentanyl, local anesthetics, levamisole, cornstarch, quinine, anaa sugar, wich fi result for additional toxicity. Insyd 2017, na de Global Burden of Disease Study find say cocaine use cause around 7,300 deaths annually.

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