Hello guys this is Blondie signing in,
Since crack cocaine was my drug of choice I only though it was fair that I started where my destruction started. To overcome my addiction I thought it was necessary to investigate its organ. Here is what I found. According to Drug Free World drugfreeworld.org/drug acts/cocaine/a-short-history.
Cocaine was discovered thousands of years ago. It was used for a variety of purposes. Religion, medical and recreational. The first people known to use this drug were the South American Indigenous people. They would chew the coca leaf fir its vital nutrients. The leaf also provided numerous alkaloid. Researchers believe that a kind of anesthetic, which the South Americans proclaim the leaf would give them strength and energy. When the Spanish arrived in South America they colonized the region. This was the first attempt to bring Christianity to the indigenous people. However, the church found the drug to be the work of the devil and attempted to band the drug in 1551. However, the Spaniards saw the profitable advantage of the drug and made the drug legal. However they taxed the drug heavily, which made it a great benefit to them, and not so good for the framers that grew the plant.
In the19th century the substance was isolated and the cocaine powder was derived. The medical community discovered that the drug could be used for medical purposes. One of the medical discoveries was that cocaine was excellent for reliving pain. However it was also discovered that cocaine was addictive as a result there were cases of over doses and even death.
Pharmaceutical companies started to experiment with the drug and developed cocaine for its other properties. Dr. Sigmund Freud wrote a paper on cocaine titled Uber Coca. Freud praised the wonder drug and began using it himself. He later discovered he had become addicted and spend twelve years trying to free himself from his addiction. I can relate.
From the early 20th century discourses began illustrating the lengths between cocaine race and crime. However it was established by false propaganda that the black community was the source of these crimes because of the use of the drug. In the 1900’s the journal of the American Medical Association published a report stating that a new form of coke was addicting the black community in the South. The story was soon picked up in the newspapers all over the country, which began accusing blacks of raping white women and the terrifying improvement of marksmanship with pistols among black addicts. In 1914 the Harrison Narcotics Act was established to outlaw the use of cocaine.
In spite of its bad reputation and criminalization during the early 20th century cocaine remain a consistent part of western life. The usage not only remain common but it inter graded itself into popular culture as a glamorous past time for the rich and famous. This reputation was in part because this drug was very expensive. Therefore later it was discovered by cutting the drug with other substance and cooking it into a rock it could now be sold to the masses. That was the beginning of the crack epidemic, which started in the 1970’s. There were drugs laws established to control the crack epidemic; however the laws for black Americans were far more severe than those in the white community.
While researching the affects of cocaine you must examine the harm this drug does to your body. Users risk HIV infection, hepatitis, nose collapse, brain chemistry changes, high blood pressure, strokes and other harmful medical conditions. In my next post I want to share some of the issues I faced the first year of my recovery. If anyone can relate or wish to share their experience please feel to share. This platform is not AA or NA. Your recovery involves everyone around which includes outside the rooms. . Those who never heard of AA or NA and to be quite frank they don’t care if you drink or use drugs. You got family, so call friends, probably no friends, bosses, teachers, children and yourself, and God’s know what else waiting for you to fail. Where do you get the strength to carry on? Call someone, text someone give someone a Mental Hug.