Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid and comes from the leaves of the coca plant. It was first used in the 1880s as a local surgical anesthetic and later became an ingredient in many tonics to treat a variety of ailments. It was banned in the United States during the early twentieth century, and it is now classified as a Schedule II drug, meaning it is very powerful and is highly addictive. Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in the United States with an estimated 1 million users per year.

There are two main types of cocaine: a white, powdery substance used for snorting or injecting and a smoking version which looks like a small rock or chip and is referred to as crack cocaine because of the sound it makes while being heated.

Cocaine users experience a strong, euphoric feeling upon taking the drug followed by feelings of depression, anxiety, and paranoia. Its effects can last from 20 minutes to several hours, depending on the dosage, purity, and method of intake.

There are numerous short and long-term effects associated with cocaine. The initial signs are hyperactivity, restlessness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and euphoria, which is often followed by feelings of depression and a craving to use again. Side effects can include paranoia, impotence, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Long-term users can experience itching, hallucinations, paranoid delusions, violent mood swings, depression, and degrading of the cartilage separating the nostrils.

When overdose occurs, an individual may experience seizures, followed by respiratory and circulatory depression, which can lead to death from respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, or heart failure.