Cocaine
The drug cocaine is classified under a central nervous system stimulant. It is a very powerful drug that has many dangerous effects to people who abuse it. It originated in the leaves of the Erythoxylon coca plant in South America. The traditional method was to chew the leaves to feel the affects of the drug. But in the United States today, it is used in a more refined powder like form. Pure cocaine was first extracted and identified by the German chemist Albert Niemann in the 19th century. But it was used as a medicine to treat a wide variety of illnesses instead for pleasure. Things like anesthetics for the eye, ear and throat surgery were very popular for the cocaine use. But this use soon turned into addiction for the patients, that's when many scientists and doctors soon discovered that cocaine was highly addictive and could in fact be deadly. (www.erowid.com/cocaine) Cocaine really didn't reach the United States until the late 70's early 80's by a man from Massachusetts named George Jung, he and a connection from Columbia named Pablo Escobar were responsible for nearly 80 percent of the cocaine in the United States during the early 1980's. Cocaine is generally sold on the streets as a hydrochloride salt or
Part of cocaine mystique is its association with celebrities in music, sports and movies. But that always isn't true, today all walks of life use cocaine. Statistics show that young single people are the most frequent users, with males outnumbering female users two to one. There is no clear connection between cocaine use and education, occupation or socio-economic status. Cocaine use among pregnant women is also a big problem today. In users, it tends to raise blood pressure, which may increase the risk of obstetrical complications. (www.erowid.com) In my opinion, cocaine should remain to be criminalized and mandatory sentences should be given out to offenders. It is an illicit drug with many dangerous effects. If it were to be decriminalized, many people would be using and their behavior that results from withdrawal or dependence could in fact be harmful to the communities they live in. I know there is an argument of the crowding of prisons and the amount of money being spent on people in for first time drug offenses, but in my opinion they broke the law and should be punished. If cocaine were to be decriminalized, it would increase the number of addicts and cause many problems and crime. It also will decrease the amount of money to buy drugs causing more people to buy them. This will also make children more susceptible to the illicit drugs. In conclusion, cocaine is criminalized and should remain to be it is a very dangerous drug that has harmful effects on the user and the surrounding community. As for the law, cocaine
Some common words found in the essay are:
Pablo Escobar, Enforcement Agency, Albert Niemann, South America, , George Jung, psychological dependence, effects cocaine, drug dangerous effects, pure cocaine, amount money, sentence depending, depending amount, blood pressure, dangerous effects, drug dangerous, users experience,
Approximate Word count = 1053
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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