Coming down from the drug causes depression so severe that a person will do almost anything to get the drug—even commit murder.
And if he or she can’t get cocaine, the depression can get so intense it can drive the addict to suicide.
Short-term effects
Loss of appetite
Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature
Contracted blood vessels
Increased rate of breathing
Dilated pupils
Disturbed sleep patterns
Nausea
Hyperstimulation
Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior
Hallucinations, hyperexcitability, irritability
Tactile hallucination that creates the illusion of bugs burrowing under the skin
Intense euphoria
Anxiety and paranoia
Depression
Intense drug craving
Panic and psychosis
Convulsions, seizures and sudden death from high doses (even one time)
Cocaine causes heart, kidney, brain and lung damage.
Cocaine causes heart, kidney, brain and lung damage.
Long-term effects
Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain
High blood pressure, leading to heart attacks, strokes, and death
Liver, kidney and lung damage
Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed
Respiratory failure if smoked
Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
Malnutrition, weight loss
Severe tooth decay
Auditory and tactile hallucinations
Sexual problems, reproductive damage and infertility (for both men and women)
Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
Irritability and mood disturbances
Increased frequency of risky behavior
Delirium or psychosis
Severe depression
Tolerance and addiction (even after just one use)
“Don’t touch cocaine. I spent two years in jail because of this drug. And when I got out, life was so hard I started taking the drug again. I know 10 girls who became prostitutes because of coke. It’s much more extreme and degrading than we believe. At the time we don’t realize to what degree it destroys us.” —Shawne
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/effects-of-cocaine.html