Cocaine is a sort of anti-depressant. When used as unrefined coca leaf, it's relatively safe. Three Catholic Popes have partaken of coca leaf tea on visits to South America [0] -- it helps people deal with altitude sickness while they adapt. Coca leaf extract was used in the original Coca-Cola formula. The stimulant was removed in 1903 [1], leaving just the coca leaf flavoring and some of the plant's other beneficial compounds.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/09/its-not-cocain...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola#Coca_%E2%80%93_cocai...

There are drugs that are mood-elevating substances sort-of similar to cocaine, but without the euphoria and crash. They are available as prescriptions and in the market (slightly less pure, but good enough for my dog). This class of drugs mostly fell out of favor as their patents expired and the drug industry came out with newer patent-protected generations of drugs.

I met a fellow who tried cocaine in college. He said, "been there, done that, don't need to use again". People who get hooked on cocaine are those who are severely depressed -- they like cocaine because it helps them feel normal.

I've never used cocaine myself, but I've watched the use crack cocaine. Too much makes the user temporarily psychotic, which is why it's now an illegal substance. I learned from a Hacker News comment/submission a while ago that cocaine causes its harm by shredding the mitochondria. [searching] Ahh, found it, this one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10956058