Cocaine addiction is a significant problem in Texas. With Mexico the neighbor the South amply supply is available. Cocaine is a crystalline that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from “coca” in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant to the central nervous system, suppresses appetite and has been used as a topical anesthetic even used in cocaine toothache drops for kids at the turn of the 20th century.
Cocaine addiction causes an alteration of the normal flow of the naturally produced neurotransmitters known as dopamine and serotonin and is highly addictive. Thousands of addicts are admitted into Texas drug rehabs each year as a result. Its possession, cultivation, and distribution are illegal for non-medicinal and non-government sanctioned purposes in virtually all parts of the world. Although cocaine is free commercialization is illegal and has been severely penalized in virtually all countries, its use worldwide remains widespread in many social, cultural, and personal settings.
Treatment For Cocaine In Texas And Cocaine Addiction Origins
Cocaine addiction is the psychological and physical dependency on the regular abuse of cocaine. It can result in cardiovascular and brain damage, specifically in the central nervous system. Cocaine addiction causes mood swings, paranoia, insomnia, psychosis, high blood pressure, panic attacks, cognitive impairments and drastic changes in the personality that can lead to aggressive, compulsive, criminal and/or erratic behaviors. The symptoms of cocaine drug addiction and withdrawal (also know as comedown or crash) range from moderate to severe: anguish, depression, anxiety, psychological and physical weakness, pain and compulsive craving.
For over a thousand years South American indigenous peoples have chewed the leaves of coca, a plant that contains vital nutrients as well as numerous alkaloids, including cocaine. The coca leaf was, and still is, chewed almost universally by some indigenous communities. The remains of coca leaves have been found with ancient Peruvian mummies, and pottery from the time period depicts humans with bulged cheeks, indicating the presence of something on which they are chewing.
In the mid 19th century German scientist synthesized Cocaine from the coca plant which was then introduced into Western medicine and exploited for profit. Also wine makers like Angelo Mariani and soft drink developer John Styth Pemberton used “pinch of coca leaves” original 1886 recipe for Coca-Cola. Cocaine was also used as a remedy for Morphine addiction. By the turn of the 20th cocaine addiction was rampant and soon prohibited.
Cocaine Addiction Treatment In Texas
Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. The primary cocaine importation points in the United States are in Arizona, southern California, southern Florida, and Texas.
The price of cocaine in lower Texas is drastically cheaper than anywhere else making cocaine addiction significantly higher in this region. Trends in cocaine use have varied over time, but the indicators declined in 2009 (exhibit 1). New terms for powder cocaine include “soft”, “snow seal,” and “her,” with new terms for crack cocaine including “hard,” “cookie,” and “biscuit.”
Between 1987 and 2009, the percentage of Hispanic cocaine addiction treatment admissions using powder cocaine increased from 23 percent to 49 percent, while for Whites and Blacks, the percentages dropped from 48 percent to 27 percent and from 28 percent to 23 percent, respectively. The proportion of Blacks among crack cocaine admissions fell from 75 percent in 1993 to 51 percent in 2009, while the proportion of Whites increased from 20 percent in 1993 to 32 percent in 2009. Hispanic crack cocaine addiction admissions rose from 5 percent to 16 percent in the same time period. There were nearly 2,000 admissions to Drug rehabs in Texas for cocaine in 2010; the percentages were evenly split male and female. Cocaine addiction has slightly decreased over the last few years all due to the Mexican drug wars per law enforcement officials. With the decrease in price an increase with cocaine addiction is on the horizon.