cocaine

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Structural formula
Structural formula of cocaine
General
Surname cocaine
other names
  • Cocaine
  • Methyl (1 R , 2 R , 3 S , 5 S ) -3- (benzoyloxy) -8-methyl-8-azabicyclo [3.2.1] octane-2-carboxylate ( IUPAC )
  • Ecgonyl benzoate
Molecular formula C 17 H 21 NO 4
External identifiers / databases
CAS number
EC number 200-032-7
ECHA InfoCard 100,000,030
PubChem 446220
DrugBank DB00907
Wikidata Q41576
Drug information
ATC code
Drug class
Mechanism of action
properties
Molar mass
Melting point
solubility

In water:

  • 1.8 g · l -1 (base, 22 ° C)
  • 71.4 g · l -1 (hydrochloride, 25 ° C)
Refractive index

1.5022 (base, 98 ° C)

safety instructions
Please note the exemption from the labeling requirement for drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, food and animal feed
GHS labeling of hazardous substances
06 - Toxic or very toxic

danger

H and P phrases H: 301-311-317-319-331
P: 261-280-301 + 310-305 + 351 + 338-311
Toxicological data
As far as possible and customary, SI units are used. Unless otherwise noted, the data given apply to standard conditions . Refractive index: Na-D line , 20 ° C

Cocaine or cocaine (also benzoylecgonine methyl ester ) is a powerful stimulant and anesthetic. It is used worldwide as an intoxicating drug with high psychological, but no physical, addictive potential. Chemically and structurally, it belongs to the tropane alkaloids and is a derivative of benzoic acid and ecgonine , a substance contained in the leaves of the South American coca bush . In contrast to the less water-soluble free base , the more soluble hydrochloride is often used .

history

The first coca bushes came to Europe from South America in 1750. The first scientific description of the symptoms caused by chewing coca leaves (increased activity, euphoria, suppression of feelings of hunger and thirst) was made in 1836 by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig . In the winter of 1859/1860 Albert Niemann isolated the active components of the coca bush in Friedrich Wöhler's laboratory in Göttingen . He gave the alkaloid called cocaine . However, it is controversial whether Niemann, who had also discovered that cocaine numbs the tongue, was actually the first to succeed in isolating cocaine. This achievement is also attributed to the German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke , who is said to have isolated a substance he named erythroxyline from the coca bush as early as 1855. The neurologist and pathologist Paolo Mantegazza , who teaches at the University of Pavia , is said to have succeeded in this as early as 1858 (according to other sources in 1859).

From 1879 cocaine was used to treat morphine addiction , for example in the Bellevue Sanatorium under Robert Binswanger . In the same year, the surgeon Vassili von Anrep (1852–1927) , who came from the Baltic States and worked at the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg , reported on the analgesic effects of cocaine he had observed in the laboratory of the Jenens pharmacologist Roßbach. In 1862, the drug manufacturer Merck in Darmstadt began commercial cocaine production. 3.6 grams cost 16 marks back then. Even Sigmund Freud received the experimental use of cocaine from Merck . It came into clinical use as a local anesthetic in Germany around 1884 , around the same time that Sigmund Freud wrote about its effects in his work Über Coca :

“The psychological effect of the Cocainum mur. In doses of 0.05 to 0.10 grams, there is an exhilaration and persistent euphoria that is in no way different from the normal euphoria of healthy people. The feeling of alteration that accompanies the cheer up by alcohol is completely absent, and the urge to act immediately, which is characteristic of the effects of alcohol, is also absent. One feels an increase in self-control, feels more vigorous and able to work; but when one is working, one also misses the noble excitation and enhancement of the mental powers evoked by alcohol, tea or coffee. You are just normal and you soon find it difficult to believe that you are under any kind of influence. "

In cooperation with Sigmund Freud , the ophthalmologist Carl Koller used the local anesthetic effect in ophthalmology to numb the cornea around 1884 . Koller is considered to be the founder of local anesthesia .

During that time, the specialist press kept reporting new therapeutic applications for cocaine, such as the Lancet 1885: The drug had been successfully used against his hay fever by a renowned doctor at Westminister Hospital. Bellevue Hospital Medical College has had good experience in treating spastic asthma by injecting cocaine directly into the nose. A little later that year, the New York Times ran its first headline critical of cocaine: Poisoned by Cocaine. The American chemist Robert Ogden Doremus reported to the Medico-Legal Society on November 18, 1885 of a woman who had used cocaine for toothache and died from it. His colleague Holcourt advised that cocaine be clearly labeled as poison in drug stores. In addition, at the event there was talk of a cat "who died within 12 minutes" of an overdose.

In 1898, the later Nobel Prize winner Richard Willstätter first described the molecular structure of cocaine (as well as of atropine) during his doctoral thesis at the University of Munich. In 1923 the pure substance cocaine was synthesized by R. Willstätter, D. Wolfes and H. Mäder.

The first formulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola contained an extract from coca leaves until 1906 (and this is how it got its name), so that one liter of Coca-Cola contained around 250 milligrams of cocaine. Coca-Cola still contains  ingredients from coca leaves , albeit not alkaloids . In other respects too, cocaine use was widespread and legal in Europe in the last third of the 19th century. The dangerousness of the substance was only gradually recognized.

Occurrence and extraction

Coca plant near La Cumbre, Colombia Erythroxylum coca
Aerial view of a cocaine laboratory in the Brazilian Amazon

The content of alkaloids in the coca bush (bot. Erythroxylum coca Lam.) Is 0.5 to 1%. The main component is (-) - cocaine. Cocaine is the methyl ester of levorotatory benzoylecgonine . In addition, cinnamylcocaine , benzoylecgonine, truxillins and tropacaine are included as minor alkaloids.

The coca plant as a source of cocaine is grown in South America ( Bolivia , Peru and Colombia ) at an altitude between 600 and 1000 m. The plants of origin are differentiated as follows:

  • Bolivian or Huanuco Coca: E. coca var. Coca
  • Amazon coca: E. coca var. Ipadu
  • Colombian coca: E. novogranatense var. Novogranatense
  • Trujillo Coca: E. novogranatense var. Truxillense

To obtain cocaine under laboratory conditions, the leaves of the coca bush are chopped up and soaked. The alkaloids are extracted with solvents and the extract is saponified (ester cleavage). The ecgonines are then esterified to cocaine with benzoyl chloride and methanol . In this way, other contained alkaloids are also converted into cocaine. The yield increases many times over.

The extraction of cocaine is usually carried out on site as an acid / base extraction in plastic barrels, bathtubs or dug holes in the ground. Here are technical chemicals (kerosene, battery acid) with unsafe levels of purity used, which is among the reasons for the various impurities of the illegal cocaine. The extractants include, among others: calcium oxide , calcium hydroxide , ammonia , kerosene , hydrochloric acid , sulfuric acid and acetone . The resulting coca paste has an active ingredient content of 60% to 80%. In order to separate cinnamoyl cocaine and other impurities, the coca paste dissolved in sulfuric acid is mixed with potassium permanganate .

pharmacology

Cocaine hydrochloride for medical use.

Cocaine is a reuptake inhibitor of the dopamine , noradrenaline and serotonin receptors . It prevents the transport and thus the re-uptake of these neurotransmitters into the presynaptic cell, which leads to an increase in the transmitter concentration in the synaptic gap and thus an increased signal generation at the receptor and, among other things, leads to an increase in the sympathetic tone. At higher doses, symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety and paranoid moods can occur. The duration of intoxication depends on the form of consumption and the psychological constitution as well as the amount and duration ingested.

Effect in the central nervous system

Cocaine causes mood lightening, euphoria , a feeling of increased efficiency and activity as well as the disappearance of hunger and tiredness in the central nervous system .

Effects on peripheral nerves

Cocaine is the oldest known local anesthetic . Because of its potential for dependence, the legal framework and the toxicity, it is now practically no longer used. However, cocaine served as the lead substance for many synthetic local anesthetics such as lidocaine , benzocaine , procaine , tetracaine or mepivacaine . The use of cocaine for operations on the head is still permitted according to the German Narcotics Prescription Ordinance.

Analytics

The reliable qualitative and quantitative determination in hair, nail , urine or blood samples succeeds after appropriate sample preparation by chromatographic procedures mostly in the coupling with the mass spectrometry . When examining hair or nail samples, however, the possibility of external contamination must be considered. Current studies are attempting to assess cocaine consumption by determining it in municipal wastewater .

Highly sensitive immunoassays are also available for analysis. Using this procedure, 65 different euro banknotes were examined for cocaine in Berlin . In all cases exposure to cocaine could be proven with certainty.

Forms of consumption

The active ingredient cocaine can be consumed in several forms in different ways. These different modes of cocaine administration differ in the time to the onset of the effect, the duration of the feeling of intoxication, the mean acute dose, the maximum levels of active substances in the plasma, the active substance content in the consumed material and the bioavailability.

Cocaine hydrochloride can be consumed orally , intranasally (sniffing, "pulling") or intravenously . Coca paste, the free base of cocaine (freebase) and crack are smoked.

Smoked cocaine works within 8–10 seconds for 5–10 minutes and causes a significantly higher concentration of active ingredients than other forms of consumption. In the case of intravenous consumption, there is a 30-45 seconds between ingestion and the onset of action, the effect lasts 10-20 minutes. Oral or intranasal consumption has a much weaker effect, but it lasts for 30–45 minutes. The onset of action occurs after 10–30 minutes of oral consumption, intranasally after 2–3 minutes.

Coca leaves are chewed in countries like Peru or Colombia and also traditionally boiled to tea, which is said to have health-promoting effects in a variety of areas. The amounts absorbed in this way do not lead to the “kick” that comes with cocaine abuse. The import of coca tea into Germany is illegal as it is a violation of the Narcotics Act .

Risks

Side effects

Comparison of the harm potential of common psychotropic substances and cocaine in Great Britain (based on David Nutt , 2010).

Cocaine causes an increase in the breathing and pulse frequency, possibly breathing irregularities ( Cheyne-Stokes breathing ) and at the same time a constriction of the blood vessels and thus an increase in blood pressure. This can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and even heart attacks. Smoking also increases the risk of a cerebral infarction , as the increased blood pressure and narrowing of the blood vessels make it more likely that an artery in the brain will burst .

The disturbance of the feelings for hunger, thirst, sleep and wakefulness can lead to severe deficiency symptoms in this area; the feeling of fear can also be disturbed. Regular consumption can deplete the body's reserves. Massive sleep deprivation due to cocaine use can lead to paranoid hallucinations , persecution anxiety, temporal and spatial disorientation , increased nervousness and aggressiveness.

When you smoke cocaine, the mucous membranes , lips , oral cavity and bronchi are damaged. Chronic consumption through the nose can damage the nasal septum and even perforate it.

After the effects have subsided, depression-like states (“crash”) often occur . With intensive forms of consumption, this can lead to a strong urge for immediate further consumption.

The real danger with smoking lies in the overdose . When sniffing cocaine, the life-threatening dose is 1.2 to 1.4 grams, and when injecting cocaine between 0.75 and 0.8 grams. When consuming freebase or crack, the life-threatening dose is variable and unpredictable. The risk of overdosing is particularly high due to the rapid absorption of the highly concentrated and usually pure substance.

One can speak of poisoning when the drug user no longer feels any positive effects. The first visible indications are dilated pupils , slight cramps , coordination disorders , massively increased body temperature and hand tremors. Further indications are increased anxiety, being driven, paranoia , aggressiveness, hallucinations , nausea, vomiting, cardiac arrhythmias .

Dangers for pregnant women

In pregnant women, due to the higher blood pressure and the narrowing of the vessels, the risk of the placenta becoming detached from the uterus prematurely, and thus premature or miscarriage . By the restricted blood flow due to the vasoconstriction may fetus also oxygen deficiency suffer.

Possible harm to the unborn child due to the mother's cocaine consumption: Defects in the central nervous system, heart defects such as cardiac arrhythmias, vascular constrictions and malformations in the urogenital tract (kidneys, urinary diversions, genital organs), cerebral cysts and cerebral hemorrhage after birth, malformations due to vascular constrictions. After birth, behavioral problems can occur in children and the head circumference can be smaller than would be expected on average.

Cocaine psychosis

Cocaine psychosis can develop, which is characterized by paranoid delusional disturbances in perception. Dermatozoa madness is a characteristic symptom, and the person concerned believes that insects are crawling under his skin. These conditions can remain chronic.

Dependency

Comparison of the harmful effects of 20 psychoactive substances on the basis of survey data among psychiatrists specializing in addiction disorders and independent experts. Cocaine ranks as the drug with the second highest physical harm and the second highest addiction potential.
Comparison of the addiction potential and the relationship between the usual and fatal dose of various psychoactive substances and cocaine according to RS Gable .

Depression can occur after intoxication with cocaine . This condition often causes these users to quickly resort to the drug again in order to escape the "cocaine depression". This mechanism is dangerous because it can quickly lead to addiction.

The extreme feeling of elation and the rapid fading of the effect increases the drug's potential for dependence considerably.

Under certain circumstances, psychological dependency can arise after the first cocaine use. There is no physical dependency.

A specific feature here (even more pronounced when smoking the cocaine base crack ) is "episodic greed": Even inexperienced users can feel a strong desire to consume more when the drug effects wear off. In extreme cases, this consumption dynamic can result in so-called “binges” (episodes with consumption occurring at short intervals) that last for many hours or even several days. A specialty of long-term cocaine abuse is the occurrence of the so-called dermatozoal madness , the conviction that insects move under your own skin. In addition, cocaine addiction is often associated with a deterioration in the consumer's conscience - this against the background that the self-esteem-increasing effect in combination with the dynamics of consumption fades social awareness (which is why cocaine is sometimes referred to as an "ego drug").

Cocaine substance cravings / relapses

Cocaine substance cravings are mostly triggered by key stimuli (smells, music, pictures), by certain situations ( stress , moods, places) and almost always by previous consumption of alcohol or other psychotropic substances .

The triggers change over time (during active use and especially during treatment).

The effects also change over time (during active consumption and during treatment). The positive effects of cocaine are increasingly in the background with dependent use. The aim of treatment is to recognize your own high-risk situations or thoughts about cocaine at an early stage and to take appropriate preventive measures.

Relapses in those who want to abstain are mostly not due to a lack of motivation to abstain, but rather to carelessness or a lack of planning. Results from brain research also show that substance cravings for cocaine in former addicts can be triggered by appropriate key stimuli even after years of abstinence. H. the desire for substance can only partially be influenced at will.

Cocainism

As cocainism the use of cocaine is known by direct absorption into the body. Cocaine is mostly absorbed through the nose (sniffing; in the jargon of the scene “draw a line”), but oral, inhalative (smoking) or intravenous intake is also possible. Intravenous use is characterized by a feeling of elation, which is described as the "ultimate emotion". As a result, the potential for dependency is considerably higher than with the other forms of consumption. Also because of the deep depression after the euphoria , the desire for the next "shot" is enormous. The dangers associated with intravenous consumption, such as infectious diseases or overdosing, are no longer perceived. Intravenous cocaine use is often accompanied by physical and social neglect. An average dose of 20 to 50 milligrams leads to about 20 minutes (by sniffing in the shortest possible time, when injecting immediately and many times more intensely) after ingestion, an increased urge to talk, greater general efficiency, increased self-esteem, euphoria, urge to move, improved concentration and Alertness and a lowering of sexual and social inhibitions.

Treatment of cocaine addiction

Since the 1990s, along with a drastic fall in cocaine prices, there has been an increase in cocaine use across all social classes and age groups in major European cities. The existing addiction support systems in Europe were and are in part only inadequately adapted to this development and this situation. Most outpatient and inpatient services are tailored to the treatment of opioid addicts .

Compared to opioid addicts, purely cocaine addicts form a target group with different needs. As a rule, they are in significantly different socio-economic situations (socially integrated and financially more secure) than opioid addicts.

The treatment has to be inpatient. The reason for this is that the risk is otherwise too high that those affected will relapse. In addition, a conversation is usually held with those affected so that the doctors can get an idea of ​​the patient.

There are now three phases in the following treatment:

  1. The crash phase. After a few hours to days, a strong depressive mood dominates, depression, self-doubt, tiredness, sleep disorders and lack of energy.
  2. The withdrawal phase. A pronounced need for cocaine becomes noticeable for a period of a few weeks. In addition, there remains a depressed, listless and self-doubting mood.
  3. Deletion phase. In the last phase, there are more and more nightmares related to drugs and intoxication. In addition, there may still be strong cravings for cocaine.

After withdrawal, further medical treatment is imperative to avoid relapse. Medicines can also be used for this.

mortality

The statistical risk of dying from a cocaine overdose for cocaine users is one-twentieth that of heroin users of dying from a heroin overdose . A cocaine overdose is the cause of death in less than 2% of all drug deaths in Germany. The risk of dying from mixed intoxication involving cocaine is much greater. About 9% of all drug deaths in Germany are due to such mixed intoxication.

In Germany, a total of 27 deaths were counted in 2010 that were directly related to the sole use of cocaine. Cocaine, along with other drugs, was also involved in 90 other deaths. In 2013 a total of 16 deaths in direct connection with cocaine and crack (combined) were counted in Germany, in 30 additional cases cocaine or crack were involved in addition to other drugs. The Federal Government's Drugs Commissioner did not publish any corresponding figures for 2014.

Of particular importance here is mixed intoxication with heroin and cocaine on the one hand and lidocaine or tetracaine and cocaine on the other. The contamination of cocaine with lidocaine is a life-threatening problem, as a study from 1999 by three forensic institutes in Berlin on the toxicological evaluation of the local anesthetics lidocaine and tetracaine in drug-related deaths found. The local anesthetics lidocaine and tetracaine, which are very cheap compared to cocaine, are often added to cocaine. This increases the profit margin of the actors involved in trading. Both the State Criminal Police Office in Berlin and the Federal Ministry of Health are therefore urgently warning pharmacists against the uncritical dispensing of lidocaine. One of the main reasons for the cut-off of lidocaine is the local anesthetic effect of this substance, which can easily be used to simulate cocaine in a tongue test, for example. Lidocaine or tetracaine cuts are particularly problematic if cocaine is neither snorted nor smoked but injected intravenously. In Berlin, there were frequent deaths in which very high blood concentrations of lidocaine or tetracaine metabolites were found to be the cause or the main cause of death. Ultimately, the paralysis of the central nervous system or the blockage of the cardiac excitation system led to death. See also section Hazards from extenders

People with undetected, inherently harmless heart defects can die after a single use of cocaine.

Special features of individual forms of consumption

Risk of infection with nasal application

When using snuff tubes together, nasal application of cocaine can lead to the transmission of pathogens. This is especially true for long-term users, as they are more likely to have injuries to their nasal mucous membranes than occasional users. The shared use of sharp-edged sniff tubes (e.g. cut-off plastic straws) represents a particularly high risk of infection, as there is a particularly high risk of injury to the nasal mucous membranes. Therefore, the rules of safer sniffing should be followed during the sniffing process. Safer sniffing (sometimes also called “safer sniffing”) means always using a clean sniffing tube when sniffing drugs (nasal application of psychotropic substances ) and never sharing it with others. Safer Sniffing is a strategy to curb the spread of infectious diseases, especially hepatitis C . Safer sniffing is a safer use measure .

Mixed use with other drugs

Cocaine reduces the subjectively perceived effects of other drugs such as alcohol . A cocaine user is more likely to get alcohol poisoning than someone who drinks alcohol without using other drugs.

The combined consumption of cocaine and alcohol leads to the formation of the substance cocaethylene in the body via transesterification in the liver . Cocaethylene is the ethyl ester of benzoylecgonine (while cocaine is the corresponding methyl ester) and inhibits the re-uptake of dopamine in the same way as cocaine with longer duration of action. There is a significant increase in the effect of cocaine on vital functions, an increase in the urge to be active and a reduction in alcohol intoxication. Some studies suggest that cocaethylene is more harmful to the heart than both substances (alcohol and cocaine) on their own.

If cocaine is sniffed after using cannabis , a higher blood level of cocaine is achieved than after snorting cocaine in an empty state. This leads to longer-lasting phases of euphoric emotional sensations, which are also perceived a little more intensely than after mono-use of cocaine. It should be noted, however, that the mixed consumption of cannabis and cocaine also leads to a greater increase in heart rate and blood pressure than the mono consumption of these substances. This additive effect is particularly pronounced in situations of tension and stress. For people with a previously damaged cardiovascular system, mixed consumption results in additional risks that go beyond the sum of the individual risks.

Association with previous use of other drugs

In animal experiments it is relatively easy to determine whether the consumption of a substance increases the later attractiveness of another substance for animals. However, in people where such direct experimentation is not possible, longitudinal studies can be used to determine whether the likelihood of using one substance is related to prior use of other substances.

In mice, nicotine increased the likelihood of later use of cocaine, and the experiments allowed concrete conclusions to be drawn about the underlying molecular changes in the brain. The biological imprint in mice corresponded to epidemiological observations that nicotine consumption in humans is linked to an increased likelihood of later cannabis and cocaine use.

Particular problem of cocaine illegality

Hazards from (unknown) extenders

The problem with illegal drugs in general is that they are usually only offered on the black market in extended form. More information can be found in the introductory section.

There is therefore a risk that it contains an unknown extender, which under certain circumstances can be harmful or even fatal. Allergic reactions through to allergic shock to the admixtures are also known.

Cocaine to which lidocaine or tetracaine has been added is particularly problematic when the mixture is injected intravenously. It can lead to paralysis of the central nervous system and blockage of the cardiovascular system and can therefore be fatal. In Berlin alone there were a total of 46 deaths related to lidocaine and 13 further deaths from tetracaine between 1995 and 1998.

In Europe towards the end of 2004, so far unique, life-threatening contamination with atropine occurred.

In recent years, levamisole has increasingly been added as an extender. The drug, which is normally used as a worming agent, is already added in the producing countries, as it is available on the farms there, looks like cocaine and is supposed to slightly prolong its effect. In April 2011, more than 80% of all samples from the American drug control agency contained levamisole. This substance is associated with high health risks. Agranulocytosis , which is often fatal, can occur in people who are carriers of the histocompatibility antigen HLA-B27 . The most dangerous side effects are the aplastic anemia and vasculitis , and also by the reduction of levamisole to Aminorex that pulmonary hypertension . Cocaine users should be tested for HLA-B27.

Dangers from unknown purity

Furthermore, an accidental overdose with severe health or fatal consequences can occur if the cocaine is of a higher degree of purity and thus a higher cocaine content than expected or used by the user.

Dosage forms

Cocaine sulfate ("cocaine paste")

Cocaine sulfate is actually an intermediate in the manufacture of cocaine hydrochloride. It arises from the processing of the harvested leaves of the coca bush with the addition of water and sulfuric acid. Further treated with calcium oxide , it is called Oxi .

In South America, however, cocaine sulfate is often smoked mixed with tobacco, as it is much cheaper than other forms of cocaine. Common names there are "pasta", "basuco", "basa", "pitillo", "paco", "paste".

Cocaine base ("Freebase")

Cocaine base is the base form of cocaine as opposed to cocaine hydrochloride. While the latter is very soluble in water, cocaine base is insoluble in water and therefore not suitable for sniffing, eating or injecting. Cocaine base is on the one hand also an intermediate product in the production of cocaine hydrochloride, on the other hand it is common to convert cocaine hydrochloride purchased on the black market back to base by heating in ammonia water, since cocaine in base form can be smoked much more effectively than cocaine hydrochloride.

Cocaine hydrochloride

Cocaine hydrochloride

Cocaine hydrochloride , the salt that cocaine forms with hydrochloric acid , is the most common form of cocaine on the black market and also what is commonly understood as cocaine. The hydrochloride is readily soluble in water and therefore suitable for sniffing, eating or injecting. It is not very suitable for smoking because it only evaporates at high temperatures (195 ° C) and a large part of it burns. That is why cocaine base or crack is usually produced for this purpose .

Crack

Crack

Boiling cocaine hydrochloride with sodium hydrogen carbonate creates a mixture of table salt (NaCl) and cocaine hydrogen carbonate, which is called " crack ". Cracks are grains ("rocks") that evaporate as a free base at 96 ° C with a cracking ("to crack") or crackling ("to crackle") sound. Crack is made by mixing cocaine salt with sodium hydrogen carbonate ("baking soda") and heating it. In the USA, baking powder is used for this, which there consists exclusively of sodium hydrogen carbonate. Crack is addictive much faster than conventional cocaine and is therefore the drug with the highest psychological dependence potential.

Black cocaine

While the above Forms that are suitable for consumption or are created during the production of cocaine, “black cocaine” (“Coca Negra”) is a special form that has recently been used for smuggling. Cocaine is mixed with cobalt and iron chloride. In this (non-consumable) form, cocaine is no longer recognized by the usual tests. The cocaine is then re-extracted in the target country. Probably the first time cocaine was discovered in this form during a confiscation in 1998 in Germany, whereupon a large amount of black cocaine was found at Bogotá airport , which was already prepared for transport to Africa.

Purity levels

Cocaine available on the black market is rarely pure, but rather diluted with various substances. The average levels of cocaine hydrochloride in the kilogram range are around 85% (proportion of cocaine hydrochloride), amounts between one gram and one kilogram are around 60% and amounts smaller than one gram are around 35%. The average purity content of samples containing cocaine base is almost 75% (proportion of cocaine base). It is noteworthy that in Germany the purity content in the kilogram range for cocaine hydrochloride has remained practically stable over the last ten years, that of the quantities in the range between one gram and one kilogram has decreased by around 10% and that of the small quantities by less than one Grams has decreased by about 20%.

Pure cocaine (with more than 90% active ingredient content) is available in small quantities on the black market, but it is very rare. As with heroin consumption, there is therefore the risk that the consumer will have got used to a substance with a low purity content and - without knowing it - suddenly consume significantly more potent drugs with a high content of active ingredients. Thus, the consumer runs the risk of suffering serious health damage from an overdose or, in extreme cases, even dying, even if this risk is far less pronounced with cocaine than with heroin.

Milk sugar is mainly used as an extender . 51% of all cocaine samples in 2004 contained lactose. The following are also used as extenders: mannitol (18%), inositol (6%), glucose (4%), sucrose (4%), fructose (approx. 1%) and starch (approx. 1%).

The addition of further pharmacologically active substances, which specifically “imitate” certain specific effects of cocaine in order to make the subjectively perceptible quality of the stretched cocaine appear better again, is quite common. For example, the local anesthetic lidocaine is often added to cocaine. According to the Federal Drug Report 2004, lidocaine could be detected in 28% of all cases. The deworming agent levamisole , which was found in over 80% of all samples in America in 2011, has become very popular in recent years . Other common additives with a pharmacological effect are: phenacetin (36%), caffeine (7%), procaine (2%), benzocaine (1.4%) and paracetamol (1.4%). Rare additives (less than 1%) are diltiazem , tetramisole , amphetamine , ibuprofen , acetylsalicylic acid , ascorbic acid , ephedrine , hydroxyzine , MDMA , methamphetamine , pholedrine , tetracaine , articaine , diacetylmorphine , ketamine , atropine and phenmetrazine .

Distribution / consumer groups

Cocaine sellers in Berlin, 1929

Between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, cocaine became increasingly widespread among heroin addicts, where it was mainly used intravenously. This is mostly associated with the spread of methadone programs, as methadone lacks the “kick” that many get with cocaine. The co-use of cocaine poses a major problem for drug help because the methadone-substituted continue to go on the scene to get the drug, which makes it difficult to break away from the old environment, which is essential for successful therapy. In some cities, especially in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg , many “junkies” have switched from heroin to crack consumption since the late 1990s .

Researchers claim to have observed a “cocaine epidemic” that broke out in the early 1970s in some European metropolises (e.g. Rotterdam) and later also in major German cities such as Munich . As early as the 1980s it was established that cocaine is by no means a drug that is only widespread in the “glamor milieu” (entertainment industry). In Rotterdam there was a significant proportion of consumers from the working class and unemployed, while z. In Munich, for example, a comparatively large number of users came from the salaried environment (survey from 1986/87).

Cocaine is one of the most popular “trendy drugs” in the world. It is presumably the illegal drug with the highest “ lifetime prevalence ” after cannabis (this is measured according to the number of people who have taken the drug at least once). Accordingly, there are a relatively large number of people who occasionally use cocaine. The boundaries to regular use and then to addiction are fluid, and especially in connection with the specific effects that enable many to integrate the drug into a regular life, many of the "cocaineists" are initially not aware of the negative effects of use - not to mention the potential physical harm that can be severe even when compared to other drugs with regular use.

According to official figures, the spread of cocaine as a “party drug” is in the middle compared to other illegal drugs. The European Drug Report 2015 refers to a partial analysis of the Global Drug Survey , a non-representative online survey, according to which among 25,790 people between the ages of 15 and 34 in ten European countries who regularly take part in "club events" received a 12 -Monthly prevalence for cocaine is 22%. Even if this number is not representative, it is well below the values ​​measured for other drugs in the same analysis for cannabis (55%) and MDMA / ecstasy (37%), but slightly ahead of speed (19%) and clearly ahead of ketamine (11%), mephedrone (3%), synthetic cannabinoids (3%) and GHB / GBL (2%). A wastewater study carried out by the University of Lausanne only for Switzerland and published in 2015 showed that the consumption of cocaine is significantly higher on weekends than on weekdays. This effect is not as strong as with MDMA / ecstasy and amphetamine / speed, but is significant in contrast to methamphetamine and heroin, where almost no differences between the days of the week could be determined. By far the highest per capita consumption among Swiss cities was calculated for Zurich, as was the case for most other illegal drugs.

According to estimates, the annual consumption in Germany is 20 tons of cocaine. In an international comparison, consumption is therefore in the midfield. The largest per capita consumption was found in the USA. According to the 2011 annual report of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), the estimated number of users in Europe (age group 15–64) is 14.5 million over a lifetime and just under 4 million over the last 12 months Measurements show that around 38.5 million people whose wastewater contains the Rhine near Düsseldorf use 11 tons of pure cocaine per year. Current data on the Berlin party scene were recently presented by a Charité working group .

From March 2016 to January 2018, an increase in the cocaine concentration in wastewater samples from Innsbruck was determined. Innsbruck is the only city in Austria that was examined as part of a study comprising 56 European cities. Internationally, the cities of Antwerp , Zurich and Barcelona have had the highest per capita values ​​per waste water for years .

Scene names

Common scene names in German-speaking countries: Snow, White Gold, Coke, Baseball, Coca, Cocktail, Coke, Cola, Charlie, Free Base, Persil, Puder, Schöne, Schubi, Toni, Roxane, Marschierpulver (Austria).

Common scene names in the USA: Coke, Blow, Llello (Cuban / Spanish; spoken: "Yay Yo"), Nose Candy, Snow, Dust, (Colombian Marching) Powder.

price

A self-propelled submersible vessel with cocaine value of 352 million dollars which in the Pacific from a P-3C Orion discovered and the USS De value (FFG 45) applied was

The black market price for one gram (usually stretched) cocaine in retail sales in Europe is between 40 and 90 euros. In Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg and Frankfurt the price averages 60 euros per gram. The price for a dose of 60–100 mg is between 3.60 and 6 euros.

The black market price for one kilogram of cocaine (usually pure, i.e. 80–90%) wholesaled cocaine is around 17,000 to 78,000 euros in Europe.

Average wholesale prices by country:

  • Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania = approx. 20,000 € / kg
  • Germany, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova = approx. 25,000–40,000 € / kg
  • Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Serbia = approx. € 30,000 / kg
  • Italy, Norway, Austria, Finland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Albania = approx. 37,000 € / kg
  • Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Estonia = approx. 42,000–78,000 € / kg

Legal position

Germany

Cocaine - methyl (3 β - (benzoyloxy) tropane-2 β -carboxylate) - is a marketable and prescription narcotic drug in the Federal Republic of Germany due to its listing in Annex III to Section 1 (1) BtMG . This does not apply to d- cocaine - methyl (3 β - (benzoyloxy) tropane-2 α -carboxylate) -, which is listed in Appendix II to Section 1 (1) BtMG ( marketable but not prescription narcotic). Dealing with cocaine as well as d- cocaine without permission is generally a criminal offense. Further information can be found in the main article Narcotics Act (Germany) .

The same applies to the coca bush (plants and plant parts of the plants belonging to the species Erythroxylum coca - including the varieties bolivianum, spruceanum and novogranatense).

Possession of less than 5 g of pure cocaine is considered a so-called "small amount" and there is the possibility of discontinuing proceedings according to § 31a BtMG.

For surgery requirements, the doctor may prescribe cocaine as a solution up to a content of 20% or as an ointment up to a content of 2% ( Section 2 of the Narcotics Prescription Ordinance).

In the customs tariff, “Cocain” (as the customary spelling there) has the TARIC code 2939910000 (“Cocain, raw”) and 1211300000 (“Coca leaves”). There are no general import bans under customs law, only export restrictions within the framework of general embargoes. Since cocaine is a normal commodity under customs law, import duties (currently 0%) and import sales tax (19%, as it is not mentioned in Annex II of the UStG ) are due when they are brought into the German customs area . In addition to the narcotics-related offenses or regulatory offenses described in the BtMG, the transferor who does not report the goods is also regularly guilty of tax offenses or tax offenses, as the tax liability also arises if the underlying legal transaction is illegal or immoral.

Austria

In Austria cocaine is an addictive substance within the meaning of the Narcotics Act . According to § 27, the acquisition, possession, transport, import and export, offering, surrender and supply of a small amount of cocaine is punished with a prison sentence of up to one year or 360 daily rates. An excessive amount of cocaine begins at 15 g of pure substance. According to Section 28, this is punished with a prison sentence of up to 3 years.

Switzerland

According to the Swiss Narcotics Act , cocaine is considered a narcotic. According to Article 19, possession, storage, manufacture, transport, import and export and the public invitation to consume are subject to imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine. According to Article 19a, consumption is punished with a fine.

United States

The manufacture, distribution and sale of cocaine products is restricted by the " Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs ", the " United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances " and the " Controlled Substances Act ". Cocaine is classified as a Class II drug (high potential for abuse, partially proven medical benefit, high likelihood of psychological or physical dependence, prescription) according to the categorization of the American drug enforcement agency (DEA) .

Peru, Bolivia

In Peru and Bolivia, indigenous peoples are allowed to grow coca for traditional uses, while the manufacture, sale and use of cocaine are prohibited.

Cocaine as a subject in song lyrics

  • “My soul loosens, flies there. Cocaine, cocaine./ Don't want to stay, don't want to flee. Cocaine, cocaine. "
Cocaine by Konstantin Wecker , Uferlos (1993)
  • "I'm empty again ... I'm cocaine again ... I want more, more and more - my home is that more ..."
Cocaine from Extrabreit from the LP return of Fantastic 5
  • "You can coke as much as you want and you never get my self-confidence."
Land in sight of glass house
  • “My uncle went from alcohol to cocaine - now he wants to evade cocaine with schnapps. Cocaine, all around my brain - he has been delirious since yesterday, tomorrow he will switch back to the drug. "
Cocaine from Hannes Wader
  • “The whole of Vienna also uses cocaine, especially during the ball season. You can see the whole of Vienna is so wonderful, there, there. Cocaine and codeine, heroin and mozambine make us go, go, go. "
All of Vienna by Falco , solitary confinement (1982)
  • Mother, the man with the coke is here , Falco (1995)
  • "In my life you are the director - you are my engine and my energy - but what you give is only borrowed - you are like cocaine, build me up and turn me on."
Cocaine by Boris Bukowski , Intensive (1987)
  • “You are the most beautiful child - of all! Evil is also good in me. "
Kokain von Rammstein , The Model (1997)
  • "Some get a kick from cocaine / I'm sure that if / I took even one sniff / That would bore me terrifically, too / Yet, I get a kick out of you"
I get a kick out of you by Cole Porter from the musical Anything Goes (1934)
  • "If you want to hang out / you gotta take her out / Cocaine."
Cocaine by JJ Cale , Troubadur (1976)
  • "That dirty Cocaine"
Cocaine by Eric Clapton , One More Car, One More Rider (cover version by Cale).
  • "When the wind blows and the rain feels cold / with a head full of snow"
Moonlight Mile by Rolling Stones , Sticky Fingers (1971)
  • "The pockets full of money because of cocaine"
Cocaine by Bonez MC & RAF Camora (2018)

See also

literature

General / pharmacology
  • Henry Hobhouse: Six plants change the world. Cinchona bark, sugar cane, tea, cotton, potato, coca bush. 4th edition. Klett-Cotta, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-608-91024-7 .
  • Christian Rätsch, Jonathan Ott: Coca and cocaine. AT-Verlag, Aarau / Switzerland 2004, ISBN 3-85502-707-2 .
  • Christian Rätsch: Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. AT-Verlag, Aarau / Switzerland 2004, ISBN 3-85502-570-3 .
  • Doris Schwarzmann-Schafhauser: Cocaine. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 772.
  • Katrin Steinke, Elena Jose, Hans-Ullrich Siehl, Klaus-Peter Zeller, Stefan Berger: Cocaine. In: Chemistry in Our Time. 47, 2013, pp. 56-60, doi: 10.1002 / ciuz.201300614 .
Patterns of consumption and addiction issues
  • H. Stöver, M. Prinzleve (Ed.): Kokain und Crack. Pharmacodynamics, dissemination and offers of assistance. Lambertus, Freiburg 2004, ISBN 3-7841-1494-6 .
  • CD Kaplan, D. Korf, C. Sterk: Estimating Cocaine Prevalence and Incidence in Three European Community Cities. Commission of the European Communities, Luxembourg 1987.
  • N. Stone, M. Fromme, D. Kagan: Achievement drug cocaine. Beltz, Weinheim / Basel 1990, ISBN 3-407-55735-3 .
  • Uwe E. Kemmesies, Bernd Werse: Between intoxication and reality. Drug use in the middle-class milieu. VS Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-531-14187-2 .
Political and economic aspects of the cocaine trade

Web links

Commons : Cocaine  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Cocaine  - on the news
Wiktionary: Cocaine  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

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  3. ↑ a b Entry on cocaine hydrochloride in the ChemIDplus database of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM)
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  8. ↑ Appendix III BtMG
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  38. ↑ NA Abdelshafi, U. Panne, RJ Schneider: Screening for cocaine on euro banknotes by a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay. In: Talanta. Volume 165, Apr 1, 2017, pp. 619-624. PMID 28153307
  39. ↑ Bolivia: Travel and Safety Advice . Federal Foreign Office , as of October 15, 2013.
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