EFFECTS ON THE BODY

Immediate Effects

• Blood level of cocaine is highest about five minutes after taking the drug intravenously or smoking. But when snorted, peak blood levels occur after a larger period of time, approximately fifteen to sixty minutes later.

• Cocaine is broken down quickly by the body into inactive byproducts and is almost completely eliminated within 24 hours.

• The drug is quickly broken down largely by an enzyme in the blood known as pseudocholinesterase. After being broken down by the pseudocholinesterase cocaine is metabolized into a number of by-products. The most common, benzoylecgonine, is detected in people's urine for up to several days after drug use.

• Some people are born without pseudocholinesterase and a deficiency of this enzyme can cause severe toxic and even fatal reactions to the smallest amounts of the drug. Other immediate effects that can occur are listed below...

 

• Heart Attack
• Rapid Irregular Heartbeat (Ventricular Tachycardia or Fibrillation)
• Cerebral Hemorrhage
• Heatstroke
• Seizures
• Respiratory Failure

 

Long-term Effects & Complications--> Generalized Cocaine Effects

Effects on Mind and Body Main Page