1. Stimulants - I: Cocaine
Psychoactive Plants
Stimulants - I: Cocaine

2. Psychoactive Plants
Psychoactive plants act on the central nervous system - often by influencing neurotransmitters or endorphins
Can be divided into three categories
Stimulants – excite or enhance psychomotor activity (caffeine, cocaine)
Depressants – reduce mental and physical performance (opiates, alcohol, kava)
Hallucinogens – induce a dreamlike state and hallucinations (peyote, marijuana, morning glory seeds)
May also be narcotic

3. Narcotic Compounds
By definition a narcotic drug induces central nervous system depression resulting in numbness, lethargy, sleep
In current use, a narcotic is a psychoactive drug that is dangerously addictive
Addictive compounds elicit: psychological dependence, physiological dependence, and/or tolerance

4. Psychoactive Compounds

5. Compounds that excite or enhance psychomotor activity
Stimulants
Compounds that excite or enhance psychomotor activity

6. Cocaine Major alkaloid in the coca plant
Erythroxylum coca
Erythroxylum novogranatense
Small trees in genus Erythroxylum (Family Erythroxylaceae) native to Andes Mts. in South America

8. Ethnobotany and history
Cocaine use by the Incas
Spanish conquest
Introduction to Europe
US – 19th century
Late 20th and 21st centuries
Sources of cocaine

13. Forms of Cocaine Cocaine hydrochloride Freebase
Hydrochloride salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water
Can be taken snorted or taken intravenously
Freebase
Compound that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride
Hydrochloride is heated with water and sodium bicarbonate to form crack which is usually smoked

14. Cocaine Structure

15. Mode of Action on CNS a and b adrenergic receptors activated
Region most affected - deep within the brain (ventral tegmental area)
Nerve cells originating there extend to the nucleus accumbens (one of the reward centers)
At the synaptic level, cocaine blocks the re-uptake of dopamine results in a build up of dopamine in the synapse which contributes to the high - later dopamine is depleted
Blocks reuptake of norepinephrine
a and b adrenergic receptors activated

16. Action of cocaine on CNS

18. Effects of Cocaine Increased energy Decreased appetite
Mental alertness
Increased heart rate and blood pressure
Constricted blood vessels
Dilated pupils
Increased temperature

19. Highs from cocaine
Duration of cocaine's euphoric effects depends on the route of administration
The faster the absorption, the more intense the high BUT the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action
High from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes (high from smoking starts in 10 sec)
Increased use can reduce the period of stimulation

20. Negative effects of cocaine use
Addiction
Tolerance
Cardiovascular effects
Direct effects on the heart
Respiratory problems
Psychological effects