HHE 378 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Cocaine Intoxication, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cocaethylene

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: General Health Studies
• Course: HHE 378
• Professor: Michelle Harcrow

Document Summary

Forms of cocaine: coca paste, crude (raw) extract created during the manufacture of cocaine, can be mixed with tobacco and smoked, cocaine hydrochloride, most common form of pure cocaine, stable, water-soluble salt. Mechanism of action: chemical structure does not tell us how or why cocaine affects the brain, cocaine blocks reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Cocaine administration: chewing or sucking coca leaves, slow absorption and onset of effects, snorting: absorption through nasal mucous membranes, rapid absorption and onset of effects. Injected intravenously: rapid and brief effects, smoked, rapid and brief effects. Cocaine elimination: cocaine is metabolized by enzymes in the blood and liver, cocaine has a half-life of about one hour, half of it breaks down in an hour, cocaine metabolites have a half-life of about 8 hours. Potential beneficial uses: synthesized drugs, like novocain, have largely replaced cocaine for medical use, cocaine remains in use for surgery in the nasal, laryngeal, and esophageal regions.