Cocaine and Amphetamines are two types of drugs which are widely used in the world, but the reasons for their purposes differ in a big way. That is the main difference between these two terms where cocaine is a drug which is considered one of the most addictive and dangerous and is derived from Coca plant, this is used for illegal purposes. Amphetamine is a synthetic form of mood changing medicine which is used legally as a drug to treat children for ADD and adults for narcolepsy and is mostly regarded safe by medical experts in comparison to cocaine.
Comparison Chart
| Basis of Distinction | Cocaine | Amphetamines |
| Definition | A narcotic extracted from coca leaves; used as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure; can become powerfully addictive. | A central nervous system stimulant that increases energy and decreases appetite; used to treat narcolepsy and some forms of depression. |
| Origin | Coca plant | Khat and ephedra plants |
| Medical Uses | Anesthesia | To treat children for add and adults for narcolepsy. |
| Symptoms | Loss of contact with the real world, intense feeling of happiness or sadness, mood swings, restlessness, irritation. | Change in behavior such as anger, irritation, confusion and lack of memory. |
| Types | Basuco, blow, coke, or crack. | Methamphetamine, Adderall, and dextroamphetamine |
| Status | Illegal | Legal |
What is Cocaine?
This a drug which is considered one of the most addictive and dangerous and is derived from Coca plant. It can also be prepared by industrial purposes and is used for medical purposes as well, but most of its uses are illegal. The word originated from the English language itself from Coca and Ine and was stated as the leading name in the mid of the 19th century. The most common way of using it as a drug is to inhale it or to inject it into the body through the syringe. It does not have sound effects on a human. Although initially a person feels unyielding and confident and gets pleasure and peace with the help of the drug when it becomes an addition they can suffer from issues such as loss of contact with the real world, intense feeling of happiness or sadness, mood swings, restlessness, irritation and even loss of memory. The heartbeat of a person who consumed cocaine stays fast, and there is constant sweating and can even result in the death of a person. An individual who consumes it starts to feel the effect within 90 seconds and this state can last up to 90 minutes depending on the concentration of the drug. It affects the brain directly and has few uses in medicine because of its potency. It is made from the leaves of the cocoa plant which is found in South America and is sold at very high rates, it is estimated that around 500 kilos of it is produced every year and people are able to earn around $500 billion through smuggling.
What is Amphetamines?
This is another type of drug which is also considered one of the most potent and can be defined as a synthetic form of mood changing medicine which is used illegally as a drug to treat children for ADD and adults for narcolepsy. There are many symptoms which can give an idea that a person is consuming this medication. The main ones include the change in behavior such as anger, irritation, confusion and lack of memory. A person also stays depressed and is not able to make sound judgments when under the influence of this drug. It can also cause heart attacks, seizures, and coma for people who consume it in large quantity. The effects depend on other factors as well, such as what is the mental state of a person, how much drug they have consumed and the concentration of the drug. They are formed by altering the hydrogen atoms from the structure with other substitutes. They are found in several types such as stimulants, empathogens, and hallucinogens. The first alternatives which are used as a drug include ephedra and khat plants which have been used for over a millennium for medicines and other methods. It is the drug which is used more than cocaine for medical purposes and is used to treat people for issues as minor as flu and cold. They have been used for over 500 years in China as a medicinal plant with the active ingredient used to treat people suffering from many diseases, it was first synthesized in the year 1887 and became a proper medicine in 1930’s.
Key Differences between Cocaine and Amphetamine
- Cocaine can be defined as a narcotic extracted from coca leaves; used as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure; can become powerfully addictive while Amphetamines is a central nervous system stimulant that increases energy and decreases appetite; used to treat narcolepsy and some forms of depression.
- The main types of Amphetamines include Methamphetamine, Adderall, and Dextroamphetamine while the main types of cocaine include basuco, blow, coke, or crack.
- Legal uses of Amphetamines include treating children for ADD and adults for narcolepsy while there are very few medical uses of Cocaine.
- Cocaine is considered the most harmful drug while Amphetamines is relatively less dangerous.
- Main symptoms of using cocaine include loss of contact with the real world, intense feeling of happiness or sadness, mood swings, restlessness, irritation and loss of memory while the main symptoms of using amphetamine include a change in behavior such as anger, irritation, confusion and lack of remembrance.
- Cocaine is obtained from the coca tree while amphetamines are obtained from ephedra and khat plants.