Cocaine: What You Need to Know About This Deadly Substance

Published April 2010

Aside from heroin, cocaine is one of the most deadly and highly addictive illegal drugs in the United States. Cocaine is illegally imported into the country each year and gets distributed throughout the nation by way of street dealers. It is a white power substance made from the coca leaves of South America. Typically by the time it gets sold on the streets, the substance contains added contents and chemicals of deadly sorts. Drug deals add other contents to the power in order to make a higher profit– multiplying their supply. Because the high of cocaine does not last long, people tend to use more of it the minute the begin to feel as they are “coming down.” The “come down” from cocaine is quite extreme. Depression, paranoia, restlessness, and severe decrease in sexual function are only some of the side effects from using this powerful substance.

Those found in possession of cocaine could face up to seven years in prison. In 2014, nearly 5,000 people in the United States died from cocaine overdose. Those between the ages of 18-25 are more likely to use and abuse this deadly drug.