Why is cocaine bad for you, but raw, natural coca leaf is not?
In: Chemistry
Something else key here is the rate of absorption. Things that are inhaled or injected are absorbed into the bloodstream and get into the brain much faster and without as much breakdown as other routes of administration like oral (which can get broken down by enzymes in the saliva, stomach, and other parts of the digestive system and then may also still has to travel through tissue) or transdermal (which is very slow). This is why what we think of as “the most addictive” drugs or “drugs of abuse” are smoked (inhaled) or injected. It’s all about the speed at which the drug can get into the brain.
Large quantities of drug getting in the brain fast will activate reward and other “addiction” pathways. Large quantities of drug getting into the brain slowly doesn’t really do that.
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