CocaineCocaine is a drug derived from the leaf of the Erytroxylon cocoa plant, which grows mainly in Peru and Bolivia. Cocaine also known as coke, C, snow, flake, nose candy, puff or crack is generally sold on the street as hydrochloride salt (a water-soluble salt). Cocaine is a fine white crystalline powder often diluted with similar-looking substances such as talcum powder, sugar or amphetamines. The powder can be snorted into the nostrils or can also be rubbed into the mucous membranes of the mouth, rectum or vagina. To quickly experience the effects of cocaine and increase its intensity, users sometimes dissolve it in water and inject it into a vein. The drug can be smoked in a purified form through a water pipe (freebasing) or in a concentrated form (crack) shaped into pellets or stones and placed in special smoking equipment. Despite today's abuse of this addictive drug, cocaine was intended for medical purposes. Pure cocaine was first extracted and identified by German chemist Albert Niemann in the mid-19th century and was introduced as a tonic/elixir in patent medicines to treat a variety of real or imagined illnesses. Subsequently, it was used as a local anesthetic for eye, ear, and throat surgery and continues to have limited use in surgery today. Cocaine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that increases alertness and provides intense feelings of pleasure. Because of its powerful euphoric and energizing effects, many people in the late 19th century took cocaine, although some doctors acknowledged that users quickly became addicted to it. In the 1880s, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud caused a stir with a series of articles praising cocaine's potential in treating depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction. Skepticism, however, soon replaced this excitement, as documented reports of fatal cocaine poisoning, alarming mental disorders, and cocaine addiction began to circulate. By 1902, 92 percent of all cocaine sold in major U.S. cities was in the form of an ingredient in tonics and potions available in local pharmacies. In 1911, the Canadian government legally restricted the use of cocaine and its popularity waned. The 1920s and 1930s saw a decline in its use, especially after amphetamines became readily available. Cocaine's resurgence in popularity, which began in the late 1960s, coincided with the decline in amphetamine use. Along with the sensations of pleasure also come negative effects. The effects of any drug depend on the amount taken at one time, the user's past experience with the drug, the way the drug is taken, and the circumstances under which the drug is taken..