Cocaine is a powerful nervous system stimulant. Its effects can last from fifteen to thirty minutes, to an hour. That is all depending on the amount of the intake dosage and the route of administration. Cocaine can be in the form of fine white powder, bitter to the taste. When inhaled or injected, it causes a numbing effect. “Crack” cocaine is a smokeable form of cocaine made into small “rocks” by processing cocaine with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water.

Cocaine increases alertness, feelings of well-being and, energy and motor activity, feelings of competence and sexuality. Anxiety, paranoia and restlessness can also occur, especially during the comedown. With excessive dosage, tremors, convulsions and increased body temperature are observed. Severe cardiac adverse events, particularly sudden cardiac death, become a serious risk at high doses due to cocaine’s blocking effect on cardiac sodium channels. Even occasional use of cocaine could cause trouble to the body and mind.

Cocaine dependence (or addiction) is psychological dependency on the regular use of cocaine. Cocaine dependency can result in physiological damage, lethargy, psychosis, depression, akathisia, and fatal overdose. Common signs of snorting cocaine, the most popular method of ingestion, include:loss of the sense of smell, nosebleeds, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, and a chronically runny nose.

Courtesy of WikiPedia.org