Cocaine

Cocaine is a widely used alkaloid drug isolated from the leaves of the coca plant. Its salt form is cocaine hydrochloride, which is a white crystalline powder, and is sometimes referred to as cocaine powder to distinguish it from crack cocaine, a base form of the drug. Cocaine is used for its euphoric and stimulant effects. Cocaine powder is typically insufflated (snorted) into the nose, allowing the drug to be absorbed through mucosal membranes, or mixed with water to form an aqueous solution and injected intravenously (“mainlining”). Crack cocaine is smoked/vaporized in a specialized pipe, often consisting of a glass tube into which scouring pad-based mesh has been inserted and onto which the drug can melt before entering the vapor phase.

The psychoactive effects of cocaine result from its ability to block the reuptake of monoamine neurotransmitters. In particular, its blockade of dopamine reuptake in the mesolimbic area (often referred to as the “rewards center”) of the brain is responsible for its reinforcing and addictive effects.

Approximately 15 percent of the U.S. population age 12 or older has used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 0.7 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 12 has used cocaine within the past month; however, this estimate largely misses the population of criminally active heavy users.

Today in the United States cocaine falls under Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. Cocaine falls under Schedule II rather than Schedule I because it still has limited medical use as a local anesthetic and vasoconstrictor resulting from blockade of local norepinephrine reuptake.