Addictions are one of the many psychiatric disorders that continue to be extensively researched and investigated by scientists in the world. There are many ways to describe an addiction but it is majorly known that addiction is the state of dependence on a substance. Addiction is categorized as one of the many psychiatric disorders because it impacts the psychological state of an individual, from their pattern of thought, emotions, and personality. Substance addiction also leads to adverse physical issues such as illness, loss of mobility and even death. One of the most well-known substance that is abused in the USA and all over the world is Cocaine. According to the (“ National Vital Statistics Report” , 2018) , Cocaine addiction ranks second as one of the illicit substances killing many Americans. This is a worrying concern considering the amount of pressure put by the government to fight cocaine trafficking in the USA. The goal of this paper is to highlight some of the major concerns surrounding cocaine addiction and suggest some of the necessary steps to take to counter this highly prevalent disorder that is wreaking havoc in the lives of many globally.
Crack, which is another name for Cocaine, is a highly addictive substance that is drawn from the leaf of the coca plant which is commonly found in South America. Though this chemical substance has known medicinal value such as formulating anesthetic drugs used in some operation procedures, the many who consume it use it for leisure purposes and that is illegal. This drug is mainly found in the form of a white powdered substance that abusers take in through injections, snorting, inhaling and some even smoke it. It is reported that an average of 1800 individuals use this substance for the first time each day (Juergens, 2019) . Cocaine has gotten a stronghold on many people’s lives because of its highly effective nature to increase a chemical known as dopamine in the human brain (Nilsson, 2018). This chemical is the one responsible for controlling the reward and motivation aspect in the brain henceforth affecting how the brain works which leads up to one becoming an addict.
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The Effects of Cocaine Addiction
The part of the human body that is largely affected by this substance abuse is the Brain. Like any disorder, cocaine addiction has a significant impact on the human brain. Cocaine highly stimulates areas of the brain that causes one to experience euphoric emotions (Wang et al., 2019). Before cocaine was processed causing there to be an epidemic of illegal use, workers in South America where the coca leaves area in plenty used to chew the coca leaves to help reduce fatigue, improve endurance and build a strong resistance to the cold. In 1855 the active ingredient in cocaine was isolated from the leaves, in 1880 it was used as a local anesthetic. The original formula for Coca Cola TM is reported to have contained 2.5 mg per 100 ml of the beverage (Cadet, McCoy, & Jayanthi, 2016). The reason for using some of this chemical in the drink in those early days was to give the users energy and a feeling of well-being.
Cocaine addiction became a huge epidemic in the 1980s when crack cocaine became readily available in the streets at a relatively low cost. Crack is alkaloidal cocaine, also known as freebase cocaine which means it can be easily vaporized by heating. Abuse of cocaine has been associated with causing various health complications to the human body, from brain, heart, intestinal, muscular and even skin issues. Other effects of cocaine addiction are dependent on the method used, individuals who inhale the substance develop an ability to smell, frequent nose bleeding and a persistent running nose. According to NIDA's Cocaine Research Report, Cocaine was found to speed up HIV infection, this is because cocaine damages the function of the immune cells and therefore promotes the reproduction of HIV. Research from the NIDA report (2016) also says that cocaine addicts who are HIV positive are a high risk of getting other viruses, such as hepatitis C, which damages the liver (“NIDA”, 2016). There is still no medication for this addiction though research has shown some measure that can be taken to aid in treating this disorder.
Treatment for Cocaine Addiction
In the many years’ that cocaine addiction has been a known disorder, a lot of research has been put into finding a medical cure for cocaine addiction, though to date there is none that is available. The absence of a drug does not imply that there are no available measures to treat the addiction. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been proven to be one of the effective forms of treatment for those suffering from this addiction (Kim, & Hodgins, 2018). In this treatment method, the addict’s pattern of thought that leads to this addictive behavior is identified and they are redirected towards better positive behavior. Research by NIDA (2016) has found that behavioral related therapy is one of the best forms of treatment for substance abuse. Another form of behavioral therapy that research has shown to be effective in handling cocaine addiction is contingency management, also known as motivational incentives. It is a form of treatment that has proven to be highly impactful in community programs. How it works is, the addicts are rewarded for abstaining from the use of the drug and this is proven by undergoing verification tests such as urine tests. They are then rewarded by receiving items that will aid them towards having a healthy lifestyle.
Connection to Nursing Practice
As stated in this paper, cocaine addiction has no recognized pharmaceutical-related therapy currently and another factor that makes this complex for those of us in the nursing practice is that the number of those who need treatment is hard to quantify. Therefore, to a practicing nurse like me, the challenge of handling this disorder pushes me to seek after the appropriate training and acquire the required knowledge and skills to be able to rightfully serve these patients in the various treatment groups. There has been significant progress in the study of this disorder to be able to cater to the growing needs surrounding cocaine addiction. Research for developing drug treatment is still in progress and a lot is yet to be done to further our knowledge on how to best treat cocaine addiction and even other drug addictions (Sánchez-Hervás, 2016). Although more scientific studies are being done to help us better understand this disorder, there has been exceptional progress in the areas of genetics and brain-imaging that is proving to be effective in giving helpful findings on cocaine addiction
Conclusion
As has been discussed in this paper, the issue of cocaine addiction is one that is worth a lot of attention. Its damaging effects are evident all around our societies and countries. The amount of those dependent on cocaine and in desperate need for help is only growing more and more. The effects of this disorder are not only felt in families, but also as a nation. Jobs are losing their workforce to individuals caught in the snare of cocaine addiction. What is most encouraging is that all hope is not lost, from the research work and even the current findings by scientists are showing a considerable amount of progress in treating this disorder. In summary, cocaine addiction has numerous effects on those dependent on it but there is significant progress to give assurance that a cure shall soon be available.
References
Cadet, J. L., McCoy, M. T., & Jayanthi, S. (2016). Epigenetics and addiction. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics , 99 (5), 502-511.
National Vital Statistics Report . (2019). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_09-508.pdf
Juergens, J. (2019). Cocaine Addiction and Abuse - Addiction Center . Retrieved from https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/cocaine/
Kim, H. S., & Hodgins, D. C. (2018). Component model of addiction treatment: a pragmatic transdiagnostic treatment model of behavioral and substance addictions. Frontiers in psychiatry , 9 .
NIDA, (2016, May 6). Cocaine. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine on 2019
Nilsson, H. (2018). The Neural Mechanisms of Reward and Addiction: A Review of the Role of Dopamine in Cocaine Addiction.
Sánchez-Hervás, E. (2016). Cocaine addiction: treatments and future perspectives. Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy , 38 (4), 242-243.
Wang, G. J., Wiers, C. E., Shumay, E., Tomasi, D., Yuan, K., Wong, C. T., ... & Volkow, N. D. (2019). Expectation effects on brain dopamine responses to methylphenidate in cocaine use disorder. Translational psychiatry , 9 (1), 93.
