Drink Coffee and Destroy

Hola!  My name is Jillian.  Orion asked me to post a paper I wrote about
stimulants, like coffee.  It mostly goes over coffee and cocaine.
I named it "Drink Coffee and Destroy" after a Bouncing Souls tour name.  
Ok, here's the show consisting of 3 parts: stimulants, cocaine, the caffeine.  
Enjoy.

Stimulants

Most college students would agree that they lack an adequate amount of sleep. Most have some form of a sleeping disorder, or pull many all-nighters, or have skewed sleeping patterns; maybe even a combination of these. So what helps many of them get through their classes and day? Coffee, or caffeine to be more specific. Caffeine is classified as a stimulant, which is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system. Caffeine can be ingested through many substances like energy drinks, tea, chocolate, soda, and coffee. 166 million Americans drink coffee on an almost daily basis making it one of the most popular drugs in the U.S. (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 95).

A less popular stimulant would be cocaine. This drug makes a lot of money for those who grow and traffic it, as well as breaks the bank and homes for others who abuse it. Last year, “5.6 million Americans used cocaine, including crack” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 95). Cocaine is made from the coca leaf and has many street names, some of which are coke, blow, nose candy, and big C (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 96).

Both of these are a type of drug, classified as a stimulant. Stimulants work by forcing the brain’s natural chemicals to be released or blocked from reuptake and the reward pathway to be stimulated (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 94). Simply put, these types of drugs stimulate the central nervous system. Side effects of stimulants are: heightened sense of awareness and alertness, increase heart rate, energized muscles, insomnia, high blood pressure, decreased appetite, and with some drugs there are feelings of euphoria (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 34). If used or abused, stimulants will eventually deplete energy sources and induce paranoia (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 94). Stimulants are a very quick fix that people will use to get through their day, a rave, or an all-nighter. Too much of them can mean serious consequences for the circulatory system and in the long run can lead to tolerance and addiction.

There are different kinds of stimulants that people take for desired effects. For example, a college student would most likely try coffee to stay up all night before they try speed. Different stimulants have different ranges of effects. For example, amphetamines are longer lasting than cocaine and highly toxic to the body. Amphetamines have many names they go by, some synthetic ones include: Adderall, Didrex, Vicks, and Desoxyn. Other amphetamine congeners are: Redux (which is no longer sold in the U.S.), Tenuate, Ritalin, Cylert, Zantryl, and Ionamin (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, pp. 95-96).

Over-the-counter stimulants are legal to buy, but are often misleading in their labels. They usually contain caffeine, ephedrine, phenlyephrine, or pseudoephedrine. Some of the trade names are: Super Toot, Dexatrine, Acutrim, Herbal Ecstasy, Cloud Nine, and Nirvana. They sometimes are also referred to as legal speed and herbal X. When these are ingested in excess amounts, toxic levels arise harming the cardiovascular system (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p.p 95-97).

Nicotine is also classified as a stimulant and is the main active ingredient in cigarettes. Nicotine has two effects; first it stimulates the mind then relaxes it. Nicotine is also a toxic alkaloid and is highly addictive. It can come in many forms such as chewing tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and snuff. There are many companies that produce nicotine product, some examples are Marlboro, Pall Mall, Skoal, and Newport (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, pp. 95-96).

There are also miscellaneous plant stimulants. “Extracts of plants, such as khat, yohimbe, betel nuts, and ephedra, are used worldwide in addition to coffee, tea, and colas” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 94). There are no trade names to these plant extracts but there are many street names such as: marg, maag, cat, qat, goob, la salade, bathtub speed, and wild cat (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p.p 95-97).

Cocaine is discussed in more detail later in this paper. It does not have trade names, “but is manufactured and sold legally for medical purposes as a topical anesthetic” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 96). Caffeine, which is also further discussed, has many trade names like Hershey, Coca-Cola, Alert, Lipton, and Red Bull. Some street names, which are very popular in media are java, latte, coke, and chai.

Cocaine

The history of cocaine can be dated back to the Spanish conquistadors that colonized Peru. They would chew the coca leaf as commonly as Americans drink coffee nowadays. The leaf simply chewed only contains about .5% to 2% cocaine (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p.13). Fast forward to 1859 when “Albert Niemann isolated the alkaloid cocaine from the coca leaf” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 18). This gave the drug the similar effect as several cups of espresso. When refining became possible, the effects became more intense to be like the feelings cocaine gives today. Professionals started recognizing cocaine for its medical use as a topical anesthetic and a medicinal tonic (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 18).

Along with these professionals, Freud completed his research on cocaine and published it in On Coca in 1884. He found cocaine to have seven practical uses in the medical world. These are: “as a mental stimulant, as a possible treatment for digestive disorders, as an appetite stimulant in cases of wasting diseases, in the treatment of alcohol and morphine addiction, as a treatment for asthma, as an aphrodisiac, and as a local anesthetic” (Karch, 1998, p. 45). These uses were accepted and psychiatrists began to prescribe cocaine for morphine addiction. The problem was that these morphine addicts were turning around and injecting the cocaine instead of ingesting it (Karch, 1998, p. 46).

In 1914 the Harrison Narcotic Act “controlled the sale of opium, which could then be monitored by the government” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 20). This new law took cocaine off the market for medicinal purposes at every drug store. Its prohibition made the illicit drug trade spring to life. In the twentieth century, virtually all cocaine is grown in South America and 65% of the cocaine that enters the U.S. crosses over from Mexico.

Cocaine is known to be an illicit drug. People can possibly die their first time if they are not careful or have the wrong body chemistry for it. It can be very unpredictable and scary to try. Cocaine works in the body by blocking neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed, which increases there concentration at the synaptic gap which intensifies their effects (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 104). Cocaine is has a very short half-life, it lasts about 30-90 minutes. Because of this, the crash usually comes on fast and hard when all the neurotransmitters have been depleted by enzymes. There are four main neurotransmitters affected by cocaine.

One is Dopamine, which stimulates the brains reward/pleasure pathway. However, it also “over stimulates the brain’s fright center, causing the paranoia” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, pp. 104-105) which is a common side effect of cocaine. Another neurotransmitter that is affected is catecholamine. Catecholamine “increases confidence and energy and cause a euphoric rush that seems extremely pleasurable” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 105). Serotonin can raise self-esteem perception which usually will increase sexual activity. Lastly, Acetylcholine “increases alertness, memory, learning, and aggression” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 105). When a person uses cocaine, they can feel any number of these mental and physical effects. The range of intensity can vary as well.

The before mentioned crash is basically the opposite of these feelings, which is why the user will keep injecting to avoid coming down from the high. These negative feelings can include: exhaustion, lethargy, anhedonia, low blood pressure, severe emotional depression, insomnia, agitation, muscle tremors, memory lapses and mental confusion (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 105). These are not all of the symptoms of a cocaine crash, but they serve as a good example of the seriousness of a crash.

Addiction to cocaine can be fast and unforgiving. The initial effects of cocaine have been described as “dangerously attractive” (Spillane, 2000, p. 35). Since the crash is so miserable, it is hard for cocaine users to not take another hit to mask their internal and external pain. Another reason for addiction is the amount it takes to feel the same high as the first time; it always increases resulting in higher, more dangerous doses. Cocaine “reduces the amount of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens” ( Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 108) after repeated uses. This is like gaining tolerance for the drug because this then “diminishes the rewarding effects of the drug” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 108).

Cocaine addicts will start living for their high. The length of the high and how much it takes to reach that familiar pleasing feeling is few and far between. In the meantime, depression and pain fill the time, so it is expected that the cocaine users are always looking for money to buy cocaine, or someone to give them cocaine. This behavior can often lead to neglect of family and career.

There is an unusual effect of long term coke use, this is formication. It is the feeling of having bugs crawl under the skin. This is usually a withdrawal symptom of cocaine. The sensation of these little bugs may be unimaginable. Itching and skin irritation as a result from itching may occur. (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 108) These bugs have been deemed, “meth bugs” or “snow.” People “have been known to scratch themselves bloody” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 108).

In review, cocaine is a highly addictive illicit drug. A hit of cocaine acts as a pain killer and delivers a euphoric feeling. However, a hit only lasts for a short amount of time and the crash is devastating and causes physical pain. People become addicted quite fast due to the brain developing a tolerance for it rather quickly. Once an accepted drug used for medicinal purposes, now it is a hardcore drug that is shunned by the main society.

Caffeine

What would we do without coffee? Many Americans feel as though they need it to get through work, the morning, or the night. People praise coffee. It keeps people alert and awake even when they are lacking sleep. The Bouncing Souls named their tour “Drink Coffee and Destroy,” because they wrote most of the music while energized by coffee. It isn’t hard to believe that caffeine is the world’s number one drug, surpassing alcohol and nicotine because of its good standing in society (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, xi). Coffee is one of the few socially acceptable drugs in the world, and needing a cup or more to function isn’t necessarily considered bad.

Coffee’s origin is in the wild growing fields in Ethiopia. At first the cocoa beans were chewed or infused in water. Then in the Middle Ages, people started experimenting and roasting and grinding up the beans. This made them more potent and tasty (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 11). In the 1400s “coffee and tea were perceived as drugs and medications and then as social lubricants” ( Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 14). Coffee became very popular in Europe in the thirteenth century. Starting in wealthy classes, coffee’s popularity eventually worked its way down the middle and lower classes after prices dropped (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 14).

Coffee wasn’t always looked on as a positive drug. “Many cultures banned it as an intoxicating drug” (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 130). It was thought to be a gateway drug to other harder drugs. The profit however, is too great to have placed a prohibition on it. Today, in America specifically, normal coffee drinkers are averaged to drink about 20 pounds of coffee a year. There are about 21,400 coffee beverage retailers in 2005 (Inaba & Cohen, 2007, p. 131).

Caffeine effects the brain by blocking adenosine’s receptor cites. Adenosine is the neurotransmitter responsible for mood-depressing, hypnotic, and hypotension feelings (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 224). When coffee blocks these receptors, the body feels less tired and in a better mood. The FDA is constantly doing more research on coffee. Some years it is good for health in moderation, sometimes it is not. “The Sciences’ National Research Council and the U.S. Surgeon Generals office agreed that no risk to health had been shown for moderate coffee intake” (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 270).

Negative effects of caffeine include birth defects and possible genetic damage. Two problems arise during the gestation period of pregnancy. One is that caffeine metabolism slows greatly during this time and another is that the fetus’s body cannot metabolize coffee at all. Also, “caffeine may be an intercalator; that is, it any impose itself into DNA sequence” (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 282). With caffeine imposing itself on DNA and the fast that it has DNA enzymes attached, these two factors could lead to genetic damage (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 282).

Other effects that coffee has, that could be taken as good or bad is weight loss. It has some different effects on the body that cold promote weight loss. For one, it increases the amount of circulating free fatty acids and promotes the oxidation of FFAs (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, pp. 286-287). Caffeine also raises the metabolic rate while working as an appetite suppressant (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 287). Coffee can also increase a person’s effort in the gym because they have a false sense of energy, making them work out longer. With these factor combined, it is possible that a person could experience weight loss. Losing a dangerous amount of weight simply from coffee is unlikely, so it is harmless in this area.

In 1962, the International Olympic Committee put a restriction on caffeine. Their athletes are limited to 15mg/litre of caffeine that can be present in their urine (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 288). Athletes have been using caffeine to try and enhance their performance and workouts. There are three reasons why this is not crazy. One, as mentioned earlier, increases the bodies efficiency in fat burning capabilities. Two, caffeine can “reduce the rate of glycogen consumption—that is, it increases the efficiency with which the body burns sugars” (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 289). Lastly, caffeine can lower an athlete’s perceived exertion because they feel less fatigue (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 289). All of these properties of caffeine are still being researched; however, it is certain that coffee makes people feel less fatigue. That is usually the point of drinking coffee.

While less fatigue helps students stay up late and write, it may also help them think. Coffee has a range of cognitive effects. To list a few: heightened memory recall, lower risk of depression around coffee drinkers, improved moods and self confidence, excessive amounts can lead to anxiety, trouble sleeping, and long-term memory studies are still being researched (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, pp. 292-302). Some students think caffeinated studying is better because the they feel alert and awake. Improved memory doesn’t hurt homework either.

Ever heard of a caffeine headache? They are quite popular when people who normally drink a cup of coffee everyday try to stop drinking the stuff. “Common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include: sleepiness, drowsiness, work difficulty, irritability, decreased sociability, blurred vision, and impaired concentration” (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 304). These symptoms can be treated with more caffeine and made worse by exerting physical energy.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is too much caffeine. Ingesting too much could possibly lead to “anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal disturbances, irregular heartbeats, tremors, excessive urination, headaches, and irregular breathing” (Bealer & Weinberg, 2001, p. 309). Having symptoms like these can be referred to as caffeine intoxication.

Even though coffee is consumed in America in large amounts each day, America imports most of its supply. The only two places that grow coffee in the U.S. are Hawaii and Puerto Rico (Nehlig, 2004, p. 138). World coffee production is estimated to be around 110-120 million bags per year. Coffee represents 75% of all caffeine consumption in America (Nehlig, 2004, p. 138). Americans like coffee, lesson learned.

In conclusion, coffee is a widely acceptable drug. It is ingested mainly to increase alertness and awareness. The effects of coffee can last a long time, but it all depends on the coffee drinker and their personal tolerance to caffeine. Many Americans rely on coffee to wake up and function through out their day. Coffee has been used for centuries before today and will continue to be the world’s most popular drug for a long time.

References

Bealer, B. K., Weinberg, B. A. (2001) The World of Caffeine. New York: Routledge

Cohen, W.E., Inaba, D.S. (2007). Uppers Downers All Arounders (6th ed.). Medford, Oregon: CNS Publications, Inc.

Karch, S. B. (1998) A Brief History of Cocaine. Boca Raton: CRC Press

Nehlig, A. (2004) Coffee, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain. Boca Raton: CRC Press

Spillane, J. F. (2000) Cocaine. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press