Cocaine is a psychoactive chemical made from the coca bush, also called "Erythroxylon coca", which works by blocking the signals of the neurotransmitter dopamine, discharging epinephrine, and blocking receptor sensitivity. "Crack" is a psychoactive chemical made of cocaine and baking soda that has been dried into a paste. When smoked, this caused a "freebase" of cocaine that vaporizes rapidly into the blood stream from the lungs. Users will experience:

1. Enhanced mental ability
2. Enhancement of strength
3. Euphoria
4. Excitability
5. High blood pressure
6. High heart rate
7. Uneasiness
8. Drippy nose
9. Paranoia
10. A "rush" effect in the stomach and sex organs
11. A general feeling of greater muscle strength
12. Twitching muscles

Unpleasant and subjective reactions include:

1. Hyperstimulation
2. Extreme paranoia
3. Visual and/or auditory hallucinations
4. Nausea
5. Appetite reduction
6. Loss of weight
7. Headaches
8. Seizures or convulsions
9. Extreme anxiety
10. Depression

When using the drug there is always the danger of seizures or even cardiac arrest related to a "kindling" phenomenon in cardiac and brain tissues. When under detoxification, the goals are to break the physical and mental instabilities of cocaine addiction. Withdrawal effects during detox include: irritability, weakenss, hypersomnia, depression, inability to focus, inability to feel pleasure, enlarged appetite, and paranoid ideation. Typically, the cocaine addicted individual will crave the chemical after experiencing these effects and binge for 12-36 hours, or until the individual's resources give out. To keep this from happening, the individual can be given a variety of drugs, ranging from desipramine hydrochloride, amantadine, bromocriptine, flupenthixol decanoate, and buprenorphine.