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http://www.unl.edu/tcweb/pharm/drugs/abuse/cocaine.html Cocaine and Methamphetamine Cocaine may be used by a physician as a local anesthetic (Mucosal-Local) to numb certain areas of the body prior to examination or surgical procedures (USPDI, 1993). It is also used as a vasoconstrictor. When used as a recreational drug, cocaine acts as a central nervous system stimulant and serves as a euphoriant and mood elevator. It is typically sniffed, snorted, chewed, smoked, …

…a rapid onset, usually developing after the first few administrations of the drug. The abuser tends to crave more of the cocaine, which has highly reinforcing properties. Higher doses result in more intense rebounds and toxic symptoms in the aftermath, and thus intensify the desire for the cocaine. Hypervigilance, extreme anxiety, paranoia and suspisiousness, insomnia, and fears of persecution are common symptoms of toxic paranoid psychosis produced by habitual use of high levels of cocaine.