Cocaine is a fast-acting nervous system stimulant, extracted from the leaves of coca bush, a high altititude plant which grows in the Andes of Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.

It usually comes as a fine white powder (a salt, cocaine hydrochloride) which is snorted in lines and rapidly absorbed through the nasal membranes.

Many users also dab it on their teeth and gums. Cocaine has local anaesthetic properties that numb the mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina, rectum, and eye - if directly applied. Novocaine, of dentist's syringe fame, is a synthetic cover-version of cocaine.

Street price varies between £35 and £60 per gram, depending on area and supplier.

top

purity
To get from the highlands of Columbia to your back pocket, cocaine has passed through many pairs of swarthy, unwashed pairs of hands, and is diluted down at each stage to increase profit.

For that reason, the average gram 'wrap' is usually between 20 and 65% actual cocaine. The rest is probably corn starch, vitamin c powder, sugar, talcum powder, Italian baby milk powder or local anesthetic (to simulate the numbing effect).

Fear-mongers peddle the myth that coke is regularly cut with anthrax, bleach or strychnine. Frankly, this is untrue.

top
 

crack
Cocaine processed with baking powder (sodium bicarbonate) is "crack", a smokeable version of cocaine with a shorter but more intense hit (around five minutes).

It's called 'crack' after the sound it makes when you light it. It's not cheap (about £100 per gram) and can quickly induce a psychological dependency.