Cocaine in the context of Psychostimulant

Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names (such as in the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Ernest being a given name that sounds exactly like the adjective earnest).

Word play is quite common in oral cultures as a method of reinforcing meaning. Examples of text-based (orthographic) word play are found in languages with or without alphabet-based scripts, such as homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese.

Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or consumed as tea, with slower absorption than purified cocaine and no evidence of addiction or withdrawal symptoms from natural use.

The coca plant is a shrub-like bush with curved branches, oval leaves featuring distinct curved lines, small yellowish-white flowers that develop into red berries. Genomic analysis reveals that coca, a culturally and economically important plant, was domesticated two or three separate times from the wild species Erythroxylum gracilipes by different South American groups during the Holocene. Chewing coca in South America began at least 8,000 years ago, as evidenced by coca leaves and calcite found in house floors in Peru's Nanchoc Valley, suggesting early communal use alongside the rise of farming. Coca use was subject to widespread use under Inca rule. The Incas deeply integrated coca into their society for labor, religion, and trade, valuing it so highly that they colonized new lands to cultivate it. Despite later Spanish attempts to suppress its use, even they relied on it to sustain enslaved laborers. Coca leaves have been traditionally used across Andean cultures for medicinal, nutritional, religious, and social purposes—serving as a stimulant, remedy for ailments, spiritual tool, and source of sustenance—especially through chewing and tea.

Smoking is a human behavior which involves the combustion of a substance, usually plant material, and the inhalation of resulting fumes. Today smoking is mostly practiced by rolling the dried leaves of the tobacco plant into a cigarette. Other forms of tobacco smoking include the use of a smoking tobacco with a pipe or cigar, or using a bong. Cigarette smokers almost always inhale the smoke; most pipe and cigar smokers do not inhale.

Smoking is primarily practiced as a route of administration for psychoactive chemicals because the active substances within the burnt, dried plant leaves (or other chemical) can vaporize into a gaseous state and be delivered into the respiratory tract, where they are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs and can reach the central nervous system. In the case of tobacco smoking, these active substances are a mixture of aerosol particles that include the pharmacologically active alkaloid nicotine, which stimulates the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, and other non-psychoactive chemicals that result from combustion. Other notable drugs inhaled via smoking include tetrahydrocannabinol (from cannabis), morphine (from opium) cocaine (from crack), and methamphetamine. Designer drugs, or "research chemicals", can also be smoked.

The Pruszków mafia (Polish: mafia pruszkowska or gang pruszkowski) was a Polish criminal organization originating from Pruszków in the 1990s and one of the most infamous in the country's modern history. It was active in the vicinity of the city of Warsaw. The group is known for being involved in large car-theft rings, drug trafficking (including cocaine, heroin, hashish and amphetamine), kidnapping, extortion, weapon trafficking (including AK-47s) and murder. Even though law enforcement dealt a severe blow to the organization in 2000 with Jarosław "Masa" Sokołowski taking the stance of crown witness. Despite rumors sparked by the release of a few high-ranking members in 2017 the group has not been significantly active since, with many of the freed bosses re-arrested on subsequent charges. Remnants of the group are thought to be involved in car theft and drug distribution but retain no real influence in the area.

Gregory House is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the American medical drama series House. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians and is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in Princeton, New Jersey. House's character has been described as a misanthrope, cynic, narcissist, and curmudgeon.

In the series, the character's unorthodox diagnostic approaches, radical therapeutic motives, and stalwart rationality have resulted in much conflict between him and his colleagues. House is also often portrayed as lacking sympathy for his patients, a practice that allows him time to solve ethical enigmas. The character is partly based on Sherlock Holmes. A portion of the show's plot centers on House's habitual use of Vicodin to manage pain stemming from leg infarction involving his quadriceps muscle some years earlier, an injury that forces him to walk with a cane. This dependency is also one of the many parallels to Holmes, who is portrayed as being a habitual user of cocaine and other drugs.

Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants (drugs that induce a feeling of relaxation and calmness), stimulants (drugs that induce a sense of energy and alertness), and hallucinogens (drugs that induce perceptual distortions such as hallucination).

In popular practice, recreational drug use is generally tolerated as a social behaviour, rather than perceived as the medical condition of self-medication. However, drug use and drug addiction are severely stigmatized everywhere in the world. Many people also use prescribed and controlled depressants such as opioids, opiates, and benzodiazepines. What controlled substances are considered generally unlawful to possess varies by country, but usually includes cannabis (though some areas have legalised cannabis use), cocaine, opioids, MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, psychedelics, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. As of 2015, it is estimated that about 5% of people worldwide aged 15 to 65 (158 million to 351 million) had used controlled drugs at least once.

Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions of drug misuse are used in public health, medical, and criminal justice contexts. In some cases, criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when some persons are under the influence of a drug, and may result in long-term personality changes in individuals. In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, the use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.

Drugs most often associated with this term include alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, methaqualone, and opioids. The exact cause of substance abuse is sometimes clear, but there are two predominant theories: either a genetic predisposition or most times a habit learned or passed down from others, which, if addiction develops, manifests itself as a possible chronic debilitating disease. It is not easy to determine why a person misuses drugs, as there are multiple environmental factors to consider. These factors include not only inherited biological influences (genes), but there are also mental health stressors such as overall quality of life, physical or mental abuse, luck and circumstance in life and early exposure to drugs that all play a huge factor in how people will respond to drug use.

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system (CNS) activity. Psychoactive and psychotropic drugs both affect the brain, with psychotropics sometimes referring to psychiatric drugs or high-abuse substances, while “drug” can have negative connotations. Novel psychoactive substances are designer drugs made to mimic illegal ones and bypass laws.

Psychoactive drug use dates back to prehistory for medicinal and consciousness-altering purposes, with evidence of widespread cultural use. Many animals intentionally consume psychoactive substances, and some traditional legends suggest animals first introduced humans to their use. Psychoactive substances are used across cultures for purposes ranging from medicinal and therapeutic treatment of mental disorders and pain, to performance enhancement. Their effects are influenced by the drug itself, the environment, and individual factors. Psychoactive drugs are categorized by their pharmacological effects into types such as anxiolytics (reduce anxiety), empathogen–entactogens (enhance empathy), stimulants (increase CNS activity), depressants (decrease CNS activity), and hallucinogens (alter perception and emotions). Psychoactive drugs are administered through various routes—including oral ingestion, injection, rectal use, and inhalation—with the method and efficiency differing by drug.

The illegal drug trade in Peru includes the growing of coca and the shipment of cocaine to the United States. In an example of the balloon effect, dramatic falls in coca cultivation in the late 1990s saw cultivation move to Colombia.

Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug relegalization, and drug decriminalization. Proponents of drug liberalization may favor a regulatory regime for the production, marketing, and distribution of some or all currently illegal drugs in a manner analogous to that for alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.

Proponents of drug liberalization argue that the legalization of drugs would eradicate the illegal drug market and reduce the law enforcement costs and incarceration rates. They frequently argue that prohibition of recreational drugs—such as cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and hallucinogens—has been ineffective and counterproductive and that substance use is better responded to by implementing practices for harm reduction and increasing the availability of addiction treatment. Additionally, they argue that relative harm should be taken into account in the regulation of drugs. For instance, they may argue that addictive or dependence-forming substances such as alcohol, tobacco and caffeine have been a traditional part of many cultures for centuries and remain legal in most countries, although other drugs which cause less harm than alcohol, caffeine or tobacco are entirely prohibited, with possession punishable with severe criminal penalties.

A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug production are often controlled by drug cartels, organised crime and gangs. Some drug-related crime involves crime against the person such as robbery or sexual assaults.

A drug test (also often toxicology screen or tox screen) is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug testing include detection of the presence of performance enhancing steroids in sport, employers and parole/probation officers screening for drugs prohibited by law (such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin) and police officers testing for the presence and concentration of alcohol (ethanol) in the blood commonly referred to as BAC (blood alcohol content). BAC tests are typically administered via a breathalyzer while urinalysis is used for the vast majority of drug testing in sports and the workplace. Numerous other methods with varying degrees of accuracy, sensitivity (detection threshold/cutoff), and detection periods exist.

A drug test may also refer to a test that provides quantitative chemical analysis of an illegal drug, typically intended to help with responsible drug use.

The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the main company is Merck KGaA in Germany. The company is divided into three business lines: Healthcare, Life Sciences and Electronics. Merck was founded in 1668 and is the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally.

Merck operates in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It has major research and development centres in Darmstadt, Boston, Tokyo and Beijing, as well as other Research and Development units in Taiwan, France, Israel, South Korea, India, and the UK. Merck pioneered the commercial manufacture of morphine in the 19th century and for a time held a virtual monopoly on cocaine.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consciousness, fever, weakness, numbness, and sometimes seizures. Neck stiffness or neck pain are also relatively common. In about a quarter of people a small bleed with resolving symptoms occurs within a month of a larger bleed.

SAH may occur as a result of a head injury or spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Risk factors for spontaneous cases include high blood pressure, smoking, family history, alcoholism, and cocaine use. Generally, the diagnosis can be determined by a CT scan of the head if done within six hours of symptom onset. Occasionally, a lumbar puncture is also required. After confirmation further tests are usually performed to determine the underlying cause.

Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of psychoactive drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, mood, and physical performance. Some stimulants occur naturally, while others are exclusively synthetic. Common stimulants include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine (including crack cocaine), amphetamine/methamphetamine, methylphenidate, and modafinil. Stimulants may be subject to varying forms of regulation, or outright prohibition, depending on jurisdiction. Most stimulants are highly addictive and damage health when addicted.

Stimulants increase activity in the sympathetic nervous system, either directly or indirectly. Prototypical stimulants increase synaptic concentrations of excitatory neurotransmitters, particularly norepinephrine and dopamine (e.g., methylphenidate). Other stimulants work by binding to the receptors of excitatory neurotransmitters (e.g., nicotine) or by blocking the activity of endogenous agents that promote sleep (e.g., caffeine). Stimulants can affect various functions, including arousal, attention, the reward system, learning, memory, and emotion. Effects range from mild stimulation to euphoria, depending on the specific drug, dose, route of administration, and inter-individual characteristics.

Alkaloids are a broad class of naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids.

Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, or solvent extractions followed by silica-gel column chromatography. Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacological activities including antimalarial (e.g. quinine), antiasthma (e.g. ephedrine), anticancer (e.g. homoharringtonine), cholinomimetic (e.g. galantamine), vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine), antiarrhythmic (e.g. quinidine), analgesic (e.g. morphine), antibacterial (e.g. chelerythrine), and antihyperglycemic activities (e.g. berberine). Many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic (e.g. psilocin) and stimulant activities (e.g. cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, theobromine), and have been used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Alkaloids can be toxic (e.g. atropine, tubocurarine). Although alkaloids act on a diversity of metabolic systems in humans and other animals, they almost uniformly evoke a bitter taste.