Cocaine, the glamor drug of the 70s, is making a comeback

Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of coca plant native to South America. The leaves were used for millennia by natives such as the Incas, who chewed or made tea for their vigilance and energy.
The German chemist Albert Niemann finally isolated the drug in 1859 and was named cocaine. This was the beginning of drug use as a drug and recreational substance in Western culture.

How many people use it?

Cocaine is the second most used illegal substance in Australia after marijuana. Reports of cocaine use in the 12 months to June 2017 have more than doubled since 2004 - from 1% to 2.5% (or around 170,000 to 500,000 people).
The number of people who have ever used cocaine has increased by a similar percentage - from 4.7% in 2004 to 9% in 2016. Cocaine use has reached a 15-year high.

History and usage over time

Cocaine gained importance in the 1880s. Sigmund Freud widely praised its use, including to overcome the morphine addiction and for the treatment of depression.
The Viennese ophthalmologist Carl Koller carried out the first operation with cocaine as an anesthetic in a patient with glaucoma, which led to the application as a local anesthetic.

Soon after, the practitioners reported side effects. Cocaine doses were administered in such high concentrations that there were 200 cases of poisoning and 13 deaths (in about seven years).
At the Hague International Convention on Opium of 1912, cocaine (and heroin) was included as a problematic substance in the drug control contract. This triggered the introduction of new drug control laws related to cocaine in different countries.

Thereafter, cocaine use decreased, but later in the 1970s, it rose in popularity and peaked in the 1980s. During this time, cocaine was associated with celebrities, high rollers and glamorous parties.
Then a new, crystallized form of cocaine (crack cocaine) was developed. Crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or baking soda into a solid "rock" version of the drug that could be smoked.
Crack cocaine was not only more effective, but the effect of the drug (typically after smoking) was also felt faster. It was also much cheaper, which allowed it to spread quickly in poorer communities. Its use was recognized around 1985 as an "epidemic" that lasted ten years.

How it works

The nervous system uses chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate. These move across the space between two nerve cells and bind to receptors of the receiving cell.
Neurotransmitters do different things. For example, dopamine is involved in the reward system of the brain. It creates feelings of pleasure and contributes to the motor control, strengthening and motivation.

The more neurotransmitters in the space between two cells, the more they can bind to receptors and work harder. When the body no longer needs the neurotransmitter in its system, it is absorbed into the cell that released it. This is called resumption.
One way to increase the level of a neurotransmitter in the brain is to prevent this reuptake process from occurring. Cocaine inhibits the reuptake of dopamine in the brain. The resulting increase in dopamine levels can, among other things, lead to increased well-being.

Some evidence suggests that cocaine also inhibits the uptake of the norepinephrine stimulant and the mood regulator serotonin.
Nerves also communicate via electrical signals. Cocaine inhibits electrical communication. In this way, it also acts as an anesthetic, blocking the communication between peripheral nerve cells. Cocaine produces an anesthetic effect when applied to mucous membranes such as the mouth, throat and nose.

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How much does it cost

The average price for cocaine is around $ 300 to $ 350 per gram. That's A $ 50 more per gram than methamphetamine (ice cream). In 2017, Australia was the most expensive country to buy cocaine.

How it is used

Cocaine is mainly used as a recreational drug. In Australia, people snort most often. Injecting, swallowing and smoking are rarer.

How it makes you feel

The effects of cocaine depend on the dose, the form, the method of use and the way in which the cocaine is cut. Cocaine is usually taken at doses between 10 mg and 120 mg. A high lasts between 15 and 30 minutes and has a half-life (time required before 50% of the drug has left the user's system) of one hour.

Lower doses increase heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. Cocaine also produces feelings of euphoria, self-confidence, dizziness, alertness and heightened self-esteem.
Higher doses may cause additional effects such as sleep deprivation, hyper-alertness, anxiety and paranoia.

Some people who consume cocaine may also experience tactile hallucinations. A common example of this is the feeling that insects are crawling on the skin.


The use of cocaine over a prolonged period or in bumps can lead to depression, irritability, eating and sleeping disorders and tactile hallucinations.
Cocaine is also very addictive. Withdrawal symptoms last up to ten weeks.
Cocaine can cause serious heart and nerve problems and even death if taken in too large amounts.
Recent data show that in Australia in 2013, seven people died from an overdose of cocaine.

Other interesting points

In the 1880s in the US, cocaine was found in many medicines and even in Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola had about 60 mg of cocaine in a 250 ml bottle.
In Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the possession of small amounts of cocaine is decriminalized for personal use.

One of the recent concerns about cocaine re-emergence is the potentially lethal effect it has when cut with fentanyl, a potent opioid. A number of drug overdoses recently administered in Sydney have been linked to heroin, which has been cut with fentanyl, highlighting the deadly effects. Although this has not become popular with cocaine, it could be very good.