Take any drug rehabilitation centre literally anywhere in the world and there is a good chance that a proportion of its patients will be being treated for cocaine abuse of one form or another. Worryingly, cocaine use seems to be on the rise, though the British health authorities have found that treatment for cocaine abuse has a high success rate. But what exactly does cocaine do to you?

Well, essentially its high is what attracts users. It has a similar high to the stimulant group known as amphetamines with a stronger effect that does not last as long. It has a tendency to make users feel almost hyper, more confident and generally feel good – temporarily. As a stimulant, it also raises the heart rate and body temperature. It also reduces your appetite.

If these were the only effects then there would be no problem would there? Well the main issue with cocaine is its addictiveness. It changes brain patterns and this can lead to a psychological addiction that many people end up struggling with for a long time. Physically it can cause problems, with the withdrawal symptoms being very bad. It leads to users feeling very low and feeling very ill, which means that they take more to combat these effects.

The day after is not something to look forward to either, with people feeling like they have flu after a long session, and many people use this feeling as a reason to go and take some more, which invariably does not help matters. It is also a massive risk to take cocaine as if you have a heart condition that you don’t know about, you may end up suffering a heart attack as it increases your heart rate. There is also a feeling of massive confidence after taking cocaine, which means that there is a chance that the user could take risks they would not normally have done.

So while the high might seem like fun, it comes at a cost. And this is why cocaine remains a Class A drug within the UK. Its addictive nature leads many users into a long term battle with the substance or into rehabilitation. Is a ten minute high really worth all that?

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