Cocaine: The Potent Powder “Use your head little soldier, keep the coke out your system...that won’t do away with the pain” (Master P). In the memoir, A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah, young Sierra Leonean soldiers, including the author himself, regularly abuse the stimulant cocaine for its crucial benefits on the merciless and demanding battlefield. Cocaine is “an addictive drug derived from coca or prepared synthetically” (Dictionary), producing a powerful high by acting on the brain, then traveling to the bloodstream and affecting the entire body (WebMD). Cocaine is a highly potent stimulant, yet continued to remain popular among soldiers due to its sought after gratifying short term effects, despite the dangerous long term effects
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The euphoric high induced by the stimulant is followed by unfavorable feelings of irritability, paranoia, restlessness, and anxiety (WebMD). Tolerance to the drug is likely to develop, meaning higher and more frequent doses are needed to register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use. Large amounts of cocaine may intensify the high, however it can lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior (Drug Abuse). The chase for the addictive high robbed Ishmael of his already fading childhood, and “instead of playing soccer in the village square, [he] took turns at the guarding posts, smoking marijuana and sniffing brown brown, cocaine mixed with gunpowder,” which was always readily available (121). Along with undesirable effects on the brain, cocaine comes with harmful effects on the body. Several medical complications associated with cocaine abuse include heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and nausea, and sudden death can occur on even the first use (Drug Abuse). When mixed with other drugs, cocaine has a more powerful and uncontrollable effect, as Ishmael experienced: “the first time I took all these drugs at the same time, I began to perspire so much that I took off all my clothes. My body shook, my sight became blurred and I lost hearing for several minutes” (121). As Ishmael experienced, …show more content…
The stimulant gave the young boys the critical advantages of being able to sleep and eat less, and transforming into ruthless killing machines. Although cocaine was terrible for the children’s physical and mental health, it ultimately kept them alive during battle. After the soldiers endured the brutal withdrawal symptoms and were released from the rehabilitation center, it would be their decision to reclaim their stolen childhood, or relapse into the deadly grip of cocaine
The euphoric high induced by the stimulant is followed by unfavorable feelings of irritability, paranoia, restlessness, and anxiety (WebMD). Tolerance to the drug is likely to develop, meaning higher and more frequent doses are needed to register the same level of pleasure experienced during initial use. Large amounts of cocaine may intensify the high, however it can lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior (Drug Abuse). The chase for the addictive high robbed Ishmael of his already fading childhood, and “instead of playing soccer in the village square, [he] took turns at the guarding posts, smoking marijuana and sniffing brown brown, cocaine mixed with gunpowder,” which was always readily available (121). Along with undesirable effects on the brain, cocaine comes with harmful effects on the body. Several medical complications associated with cocaine abuse include heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and nausea, and sudden death can occur on even the first use (Drug Abuse). When mixed with other drugs, cocaine has a more powerful and uncontrollable effect, as Ishmael experienced: “the first time I took all these drugs at the same time, I began to perspire so much that I took off all my clothes. My body shook, my sight became blurred and I lost hearing for several minutes” (121). As Ishmael experienced, …show more content…
The stimulant gave the young boys the critical advantages of being able to sleep and eat less, and transforming into ruthless killing machines. Although cocaine was terrible for the children’s physical and mental health, it ultimately kept them alive during battle. After the soldiers endured the brutal withdrawal symptoms and were released from the rehabilitation center, it would be their decision to reclaim their stolen childhood, or relapse into the deadly grip of cocaine