What is cocaine?
Cocaine is a drug made from the leaves of the coca plant. This plant is processed in different ways to make different types of cocaine.

Cocaine is a stimulant drug. This means it speeds up the brain and nervous system.

Types of cocaine
1. Cocaine hydrochloride
This is the white powder type of cocaine most common in Australia. In this form it is sniffed through the nose (‘snorted’) or injected. It cannot be smoked because burning destroys it.
2. ‘Freebase’ cocaine
This is a chemically changed type of cocaine (alkaloidal cocaine). It can be smoked and this makes the user feel ‘high’ quickly.
3. ‘Crack’ cocaine
Crack is a type of freebase cocaine sold in the form of small crystals or ‘rocks’. It is usually smoked.

Crack is rare in Australia at this stage.
People who sell cocaine often mix or ‘cut’ the powder with other things that look the same, to make the drug go further. Some mixed-in substances can have unpleasant or harmful effects.

It is difficult to tell what the drug actually contains.

Effects
What cocaine does to you depends on:

• how much you take
• the type of cocaine you take
• your height and weight
• your general health
• your mood
• your past experience with cocaine
• whether you use cocaine on its own or with other drugs
• whether you use alone or with others, at home or at a party, etc.

Immediate effects
Small amounts
When you have a small amount of cocaine, the effects can last from a few minutes to a few hours.
You may:

• feel good and confident
• be excited or upset
• take more risks than usual
• be less hungry
• feel alert and energetic
• feel aggressive
• want to have sex.

Effects on your body may include that:

• your heart beats faster
• your body temperature rises
• the pupils in your eyes get bigger
• you move more quickly than usual.