First introduced in the USA in the 1880s as a surgical anesthetic, cocaine soon became a common household drug. It was also used in Coca-Cola and a variety of wines. People didn't start snorting cocaine until the early 1900s. Nowadays there are still lots of people using cocaine and many voices criticize this usage. So can you smoke cocaine or not? Keep reading to find the answer.

Can You Smoke Cocaine?

Let's be straight: No, you can't smoke cocaine. The reason is that cocaine has a number of negative effects on your brain, heart and emotions. If you start smoking it for fun, you will soon become addicted to it. Even if you use cocaine occasionally, you still run the risk of sudden death. It is due to these effects on your body and mind that you should not smoke cocaine.

In the United States alone, more than 14% of adults have tried cocaine in some form. It is obtained from the leaves of the Erythroxylum coca bush. Different chemical processes turn it into two different forms. It is available in powdered form, which is a more purified form and dissolves in water. It is also called "blow" or "coke" on the street and is injected or snorted. Crack cocaine is another type of cocaine made through a chemical process. It's called "crack" or "rock" on the street and is smoked.

Side Effects of Smoking Cocaine

Since you have known the answer to "Can you smoke cocaine?" is negative, now let's look at the side effects of smoking cocaine, which will make you understand that getting away from cocaine is the best choice.

Cocaine affects your brain first, but soon affects your whole body as it travels through your blood. Cocaine sends people to emergency rooms more than any other illegal drug. It harms your heart, brain, lungs and blood vessels. Here are some detailed side effects associated with cocaine.

• Blood System: Snorting cocaine will increase your heart rate and blood pressure, and constrict your arteries. This exerts pressure on the walls of your vessels and may result in a heart attack. Its regular use may also cause a deadly abnormal heart rhythm disorder, called arrhythmia.
• Brain: Cocaine can also constrict blood vessels in your brain. This may lead to strokes. This can affect young people even if they don't have other risk factors for strokes. Cocaine may also cause seizures and trigger violent behavior.
• Gastrointestinal Tract: Regular use of cocaine may constrict your blood vessels that supply blood to the gut. This will cause oxygen starvation, which in turn will lead to ulcers or even perforation of your intestines and stomach.
• Kidneys: Cocaine can cause kidney damage, and its regular use will trigger rhabdomyolysis, a process that may lead to sudden kidney failure. Cocaine can also accelerate the long-term kidney damage in people with hypertension.
• Respiratory System: Snorting cocaine is extremely harmful for your nose and sinuses and its regular abuse can actually lead to nasal perforation. If you smoke it, this will irritate your lungs and eventually cause permanent lung damage.
• Sexual Dysfunction: Although many people think it's an aphrodisiac, it can actually impair sexual function, especially if you're abusing cocaine for quite some time now. It may also cause issues like impaired or delayed ejaculation.

How Does Cocaine Make You Feel?

Now you have the answer to your question "Can you smoke cocaine?" and it's also important to know how it actually makes you feel, which mainly depends on how much of it you use, how often you use it and what form you select. It is more likely to make you feel confident, energetic, talkative, alert, excited and less sleepy. However, it may also make you feel nervous, agitated, and irritable. Once you have enough of it, you may also feel paranoid. You may also become more sensitive to its negative effects, such as psychosis, anxiety and seizures.

The worst phase is when the cocaine high fades. This may lead to a big low and make you feel depressed, anxious, hungry, tired and even suicidal. You may also develop a craving and tolerance for the drug. It means you may have to take more cocaine to come out of the low and get high, but this is only going to aggravate the whole thing once the high fades again.

It is also important to understand that the effect of cocaine won't last long. Smoking cocaine will make you feel high in seconds, which only last for 10 minutes or so. But the side effects will torture you for hours, days or weeks. If you are a regular user, permanent damage is very likely.