COCAINE - HOW IT WORKS

Pleasurable feelings and sensations are nature’s way of keeping us doing those things necessary for our well-being and for the survival of the species. Cocaine artificially stimulates the pleasure (reward) centers that lie deep within the brain.  When these centers are intensely and artificially stimulated, they soon become exhausted and require time to recover.  This is not unlike tired muscles needing time to recover after vigorous exercise.  However, during the recovery period from cocaine stimulation there is an inability to experience further pleasure.  Now the cocaine abuser becomes depressed, anxious and craves more cocaine.  Often the craving and depression are more than the addict can tolerate, and so he takes more cocaine in order to force the exhausted pleasure centers to produce another high.  Ultimately, the cocaine abuser is trapped by an intense craving for the very thing that is responsible for his depression.

The young man in the picture was found dead on the floor of a gas station restroom.  Beside the body was a small container of commercially produced cocaine.  This overdose occurred years ago, before cocaine became a popular drug of abuse.

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