What are the short-term effects of cocaine use?

Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them to perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others can experience the opposite effect.

Short-term effects of cocaine abuse:

• Increased energy
• Decreased appetite
• Mental alertness
• Increased heart rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Constricted blood vessels
• Increased temperature
• Dilated pupils

The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.

The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.

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More About Cocaine:

• What is cocaine?
• What is the scope of cocaine use in the United States?
• How is cocaine used?
• How does cocaine produce its effects?
• What are the short-term effects of cocaine use?
• What are the long-term effects of cocaine use?
• What are the medical complications of cocaine abuse?
• Why would anyone become addicted to cocaine?
• Is cocaine addiction serious?
• Are there any other problems that can occur from crack or cocaine addiction?
• What is crack?
• History of Cocaine
• Cocaine's Role in American History
• Cocaine Addiction Index

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