THC & Cocaine

THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) / Marijuana

Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette or in a pipe. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs in the body.

THC acts on specific sites in the brain called cannabinoid receptor. They start off a series of cellular reactions that lead to the “high” that users experience when they use the drug. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors while others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception and coordinated movement. Marijuana intoxication can caused distorted perceptions impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving and problems with learning and memory.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html

Cocaine

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive central nervous system stimulant. This drug usually makes the user feel euphoric and energetic, but also increases body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. Users risk heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, seizures, abdominal pain and nausea.

Cocaine also causes dopamine release. Cocaine blocks removal of dopamine from the synapse so that it builds up. This leads to over stimulation of the postsynaptic neurone. The synaptic effect of cocaine results from its ability to sustain the level of dopamine in the synapse. Since dopamine is the neurotransmitter in the ‘reward pathway’, the longer it stays in the synapse the better you feel.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages/cocaine.html