Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 63 COCAINE & CRACK (cont’d) Effects and Risks The major ways of taking cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking (including freebase and crack cocaine). Health risks of use exist regardless of whether cocaine is inhaled (snorted), injected, or smoked. A regular cocaine snorting habit is evident by a red, chapped, runny nose. A person may lose his/her sense of smell and develop sinus infections. The wall that separates the nostrils may develop a hole and bleed often. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very quickly and results in an intense and immediate high, it appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly when smoked rather than snorted. Sharing crack pipes can lead to the transmission of diseases like Hepatitis C through saliva or blood and the injection of cocaine places the user at risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other injection equipment are shared. Signs & symptoms of cocaine & crack use A person on cocaine may feel agitated and nervous. Cocaine can also produce euphoria (“high”) and can make a person feel mentally alert, energetic and talkative. The senses of sight, sound, and touch are heightened. A person may feel more calm and in control. However, all of these effects do not last long. When the “high” wears off, the person may feel anxious or depressed and have intense cravings for the drug. Some people stay “high” by using the drug for hours or days. Short-term use of cocaine can produce many other effects: • postponement of physical and mental fatigue • reduced appetite • increased blood pressure and heart rate • exaggerated reflexes • rapid breathing • dilation of pupils • dry mouth • anxiety • paranoid thinking In addition, a person could potentially experience: • severe agitation • paranoid psychosis • nausea and vomiting • elevated body temperature and cold sweat 1. National Institutes of Health – NIDA 2. June 2022, Cocaine Toxicity, John R. Richards, Jacqueline K. Le , National Library of Medicine 3. National Institutes of Health – NIDA 4. Cocaine (Canadian Drug Summary), Canadian Centre on Substance Use & Addiction 5. Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CADS) 2021 FENTANYL Street names include: Apache, China girl, China white, dance fever, Friend, Green beans, Goodfella, Jackpot, Murder 8, Poison, TNT, as well as Tango and Cash. Fentanyl is much stronger than most opioids – 40 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous if used non-medically – even a small amount can cause an accidental overdose and death. Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opiate analgesic that is similar to but much more potent than morphine. As the most potent opiate pain relief medication available, it is typically prescribed to treat patients with severe pain, or to manage pain after surgery. It is also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates. Like heroin, morphine, and other opioid drugs, fentanyl works by binding to the body’s opiate receptors, highly concentrated in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. When opiate drugs bind to these receptors, they can drive up dopamine levels in the brain’s reward areas, producing a state of euphoria and relaxation. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are controlled under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Activities such as sale, possession and production are illegal, unless authorized for medical, scientific or industrial purposes. continued
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