Analysis for( drugs and body class) - Essay Example

The use of cocaine Introduction Cocaine is a bitter, white, odorless, crystalline drug that has been ified as a Schedule II drug by the United States (Platt, 15). Cocaine is extracted and refined from the coca plant. There are many nicknames used to refer to cocaine, examples are: snow, blow, toot, leaf, flake, freeze, happy dust, nose candy, Peruvian, lady and white depending with the street one comes from and how the drug makes the users feel. It is a highly as addictive stimulant that produces profound feelings of pleasure.

Platt stated that the drug originated from the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountain and now it is available in most towns and suburbs at very expensive prices (16-17). Cocaine was banned in the United States when the cases of cocaine related deaths became over 5000 in 1914 (Platt, 17). This is because people were snorting cocaine and this had an effect on their body by causing nasal damages. Cocaine has its important aspects since it helps to reduce pain for patients undergoing surgery. Cocaine is used as an anesthetic in eye surgery and used to treat morphine addiction.

The paper discusses how the 1980s glamorized the use of cocaine.The use of cocaine in the 1980s The use of cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it had become famous for its uses and since it is a highly addictive stimulant that produces profound feelings of pleasure. Platt stated that cocaine was popularized by dealers and glamorized by the Hollywood media in the 1980s despite its devastating effects in the society. Cocaine is introduced to the body using various ways depending with how the individuals wanted to satisfy their body systems.

Cocaine can be snorted, injected in body, smoked, or eaten (Platt, 20). Cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it is a powerful stimulant and directly affects the brain. Platt stated that the drug introduces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain. The use of cocaine makes the user a slave to drug since it makes the individual want more drugs to gratify the body’s needs. Cocaine was expensive but people still bought the drug to make their bodies’ active, decrease fatigue and to increase concentration in various activities like learning abilities.

In the movie Al Pacino Scarface, a story is told of Alpacino the Cuban refugee who goes to Miami with nothing and rises up to become a powerful drug top dog. The movie shows how people are addicted to cocaine and are involved in dangerous criminal activities like drug trafficking to satisfy their needs. Other movies that portray the use of cocaine include; Trainspotting Danny Boyle, 1996, The Boost Harold Becker, 1988, Altered States Ken Russell, 1980 and Drugstore Cowboy Gus Van Sant, 1989. All these movies show that taking drugs is dangerous to people’s health and can lead to confused behavior, hallucinations, and death to extreme levels.

Conclusion Cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s for its effects on people’s attitudes and behaviors but the truth of the matter is that cocaine abuse in any form is dangerous and leads to destruction. Individuals may enjoy the feeling of being alert and increased concentration in their activities but cocaine is addictive and will make them want more hence they will lose everything they have worked for by being taken to prison for using illegal drugs or die because of excessive use of the drug.

Works citedPlatt, Jerome J. Cocaine Addiction: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1997. Print.