Side effects - at all neurotoxic?

[shanesmith7]

swim has never tried a stimulant other than caffeine (never adderall, methylphenidate, coke, meth, or e) swim is deathly afraid of permanantly changing his brain chemistry or apoptosis (programmed brain cell death). swim understands how cocaine works and feels more comfortable with the inhibited reuptake of a neurotransmitter than the process of producing more of it.

swim wouldn't ever snort or inject coke, though the concept of coca tea intrigues swim as he is very much into natural drugs and against most synths. also the cocaine content appears to be far too low to cause any neurotoxic effects on the cns. do swiys have any links suggesting this or any theories? thanks

[Benga]

unfortunately use of coca still calls for proper objective, scientific studies.
you're right in mentioning the low cocaine concentrations, though this is probably not the only mecanism at play in coca use's supposed, empirically observed innocuity.
one should not expect cocaine like effects from coca even with a high coca doses.

b

[Potter]

Would like to point out 5,000 years of historical use in the Andes has not produced any significant deviancy from non-coca using populations. The Divine Leaf of the Gods may have studies, I'll take a look later, for now I'm heading to an orchid show and need all my wits about me to keep from going broke.

[aristotle1990]

Originally Posted by Potter

Would like to point out 5,000 years of historical use in the Andes has not produced any significant deviancy from non-coca using populations. The Divine Leaf of the Gods may have studies, I'll take a look later, for now I'm heading to an orchid show and need all my wits about me to keep from going broke.

(I'm sorry I can't post links to back up what I say. Originally, "Not true" in the first paragraph and "neurotoxic" and "neuroprotective" in the third paragraph linked to sources. PM me if you want the links.)

Not true, actually. (Note, however, that this effect is probably from not eating while on coca, not from coca itself.) Also, 5,000 years of use is no guarantee of harmlessness, for several reasons. Let's say that chronic coca leaf usage lowers or raises your IQ by several points over the course of ten years. This would be extremely hard to detect in countries like Peru and Bolivia, where the people who chew coca are mostly manual laborers. Or perhaps it results in renal failure at the age of 70. Well, if everyone dies at 50, this would likewise be impossible to identify.

Remember, coca leaves are pharmacologically active primarily because they contain small amounts of cocaine. Chronic users of coca leaf are chronic users of cocaine. That's not to say that a small amount of cocaine taken daily has long-term negative health effects; in fact, it might well have positive health effects. The point is not to delude yourself into thinking that coca is somehow more "natural" or "healthful" because it was used traditionally in the Andes. Tobacco was used traditionally in the Americans, and as everyone knows, smoking tobacco is not very good for you.

The answer to the first poster's question is that cocaine is generally not considered neurotoxic (do a Google search for "cocaine neurotoxic" and "cocaine not neurotoxic"). In fact, chronic usage is possibly neuroprotective. (With respect to dopamine receptors, at least.) Chewing coca leaf in moderation for years, much like drinking coffee, is probably not too bad for you; however, studies on the long-term health effects of coca chewing, unlike those on coffee consumption, are scant. And using even a somewhat neurotoxic drug like methamphetamine in low doses once or twice is not going to hurt you.

Of course, I need not point out the many, many negative health effects of abusing cocaine. Although many of those you will find listed on websites result from the method and quantity in which the powder is used, others do not (like artery constriction, which leads to a whole host of side effects; "cocaine causes constriction of blood vessels and significantly reduces cerebral blood flow"). Moral of the story? Chew coca, but don't snort cocaine. Drink coffee, but don't snort caffeine.

[Benga]

indeed, the fact that coca contains a good concentration of cocaine does not imply that health risks can be paralleled. The alkaloidal makeup of coca is complex, and so are the mechanics of the traditional administration routes. there is a form of blancing effect at play---also illustrated by the fact that increasing coca doses does not bring coca effects closer to those of cocaine, even though cocaine concentrations should be increasing, and thus giving more of a cocaine "high". This is not the case. Coca also has a mild calming / sedating effect.
heavy users of coca simply do not seem to present the usual complications associated with cocainism, and regular coca users are actually reported to have a longer longevity than non users----- yet neurotoxicity is a complex issue in such a context.