Abstract

DAMIN, Carlos  and  GRAU, Guillermo. Cocaine. Acta bioquím. clín. latinoam. [online]. 2015, vol.49, n.1, pp.127-134. ISSN 0325-2957.

Cocaine is the illicit drug that causes greater demand of urgencies in health care services of Argentina, after alcohol and prescription drugs. It belongs to the sympathomimetic and stimulating drug group of the Central Nervous System. Cocaine is a natural alkaloid contained in the leaves of Erythroxylon coca, a shrub native to the Andes. Cocaine can be produced in various ways for its consumption. Farmers can commercialize the cocaine leaf, or process it into paste of cocaine or cocaine base, or in clandestine laboratories transform it into cocaine hydrochloride. In the search of euphoria and agitation, among other effects, its acute consumption can also produce damage in almost all the organs as a result of vasoconstriction, hemorrhages and coagulation alterations. The chronic ingestion may produce psychomotor agitation, anorexia, loss of weight, coronary syndromes, renal insufficiency, mental deterioration and hallucinations. Its abrupt suspension can trigger a syndrome of psychological and physical abstinence.

Keywords : Cocaine; Drug abuse; Erythroxylum.

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