What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, native to South America. It is classified as a Schedule II drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse. Cocaine use can lead to severe psychological or physical dependence that requires cocaine addiction treatment.
Cocaine is usually found in powder form, appearing as a crystalline white powder that sometimes has a faint pinkish or yellowish tint. Cocaine is typically compressed into bricks when it is smuggled, so powdered cocaine may be found in chunks that need to be broken up before use.
The Effects of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine
Cocaine that is smoked, either freebased or as crack or injected as a solution hits the bloodstream very rapidly causing a marked increase in heart rate and blood pressure accompanied by a euphoric rush. When cocaine is snorted, the effects are almost as immediate, but a bit less intense and a bit longer in duration.
Cocaine duration of effect (initial high):
- Crack or freebase (smoked): 5-15 minutes
- Injected solution (intravenous): 5-15 minutes
- Snorted powder (intranasal): 15-30 minutes
Once the initial cocaine “high” wears off a person will continue to feel some of the stimulant effects, but the euphoric rush begins to wane. This phenomenon is what typically drives cocaine users to use more of the drug soon after the first dose. Because the other stimulant effects are still in play though, it is also what puts cocaine users in danger of a heart attack or sudden stroke.
How Addictive Is Cocaine?
The neurobiological effects of cocaine are complex, but like any drug that causes the brain’s reward pathways to flood with dopamine (a pleasure-inducing neurotransmitter), cocaine has a high potential for abuse and addiction. The fact that the duration of effect of the euphoric high cocaine produces is so short only adds to cocaine’s addictive potential.
While physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms aren’t as intense as some drugs, like opioids or benzodiazepines, they are still a factor in addiction and the psychological dependence on cocaine is very powerful. Cocaine addiction has destroyed countless lives and broken millions of families.
Simply put, there is no “safe amount” of cocaine to use. Aside from very limited medical use as a local anesthetic, cocaine is not considered to have any legitimate medical use, nor any “safe” form of recreational use.
Make no mistake. Cocaine addiction destroys lives.
Signs That Someone Is Using Cocaine or Crack
Below are some of the signs and symptoms that you would see in a person who has recently used cocaine and may still be under its effect. One or two of these signs in isolation don’t necessarily indicate cocaine use, of course.
Physical Symptoms of Cocaine Use:
- Increased heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Dilated pupils
- Increased body temperature
- Restlessness or hyperactivity
- Decreased appetite
- Tremors or muscle twitches
- Nasal congestion or runny nose (if snorted)
- Burn marks or blisters around the mouth (if smoked)
Psychological Symptoms of Cocaine Use:
- Excessive talking
- Excitability or euphoria
- Impaired judgment
- Paranoia or anxiety
- Aggressive behavior
- Increased confidence or grandiosity
- Hallucinations or delusions (in high doses)
Long-Term Health Effects of Cocaine Abuse
Long-term use of cocaine can lead to a variety of health issues, including heart disease, stroke, gastrointestinal complications, and mental health problems like anxiety and paranoia. Cocaine abuse can also lead to overdose, which can result in seizures, cardiac arrest, and death.
Injecting cocaine comes with the additional risks of IV-borne diseases like hepatitis and HIV as well as cellulitis, and abscess/infection. Smoking freebase cocaine or crack causes lung damage as well as burns to the lips or mouth.
Cocaine use is especially dangerous for people with heart irregularities, arrhythmia, other heart defects, or cardiac disease. Because many people are unaware they have heart irregularities, it is not unusual for people who are at high risk to have heart attacks or strokes while using cocaine.
What’s The Difference Between Cocaine and Crack?
The difference between cocaine and crack cocaine is that powder cocaine hydrochloride is a water-soluble salt that can be absorbed through the nasal tissues or dissolved into water and injected. Crack cocaine, on the other hand, is a smokable form of cocaine that is believed to have been invented in the U.S. in the late 1970s to early 80s. It was developed to create an easily smokable, less expensive form of cocaine.
Before crack cocaine, the primary ways to use cocaine were intranasally (snorting), injecting cocaine in solution (dissolved in water), or freebasing. Being water soluble, cocaine can also be absorbed through permeable tissues, like inside the mouth and gums.
Cocaine has a very high melting point, so in its usual powder form, it cannot be easily smoked. It must first be freed from its hydrochloride base, hence the term freebasing. The only way to do this was to use flammable liquids and a torch. This process required special equipment and materials and could be very dangerous. Users often got burn injuries from the practice (as famously happened to comedian Richard Pryor).
Crack cocaine is cocaine that has been chemically processed to turn it from a salt into a base. This makes it easy to smoke with an ordinary lighter and no flammable liquids are needed. Crack is made by dissolving powdered cocaine with a solution of water and ammonia or baking soda. The mixture is boiled until a solid paste forms.
The paste-like material is then removed from heat and dried, sometimes by baking it on low heat. The resulting material is a yellowish-white, brittle material which is broken into chunks. This is crack cocaine, ready to be smoked.
Legal Status of Cocaine
Cocaine is illegal in the United States, most of Europe, Asia, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. As of the date this article was published, a few countries have decriminalized small amounts of cocaine for personal use. They include the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Brazil.
However, the commercial sale, distribution, and import (smuggling) of cocaine is still illegal in these places. Decriminalization typically means a person caught with a small amount for personal use will not serve time in prison, but they may receive a citation and a small fine.
Decriminalization should not be seen in any way as an endorsement of cocaine use or a sign that it is somehow “safe”. Rather it is a sign that courts and the criminal justice systems are overburdened with more serious drug and violent crimes.
Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine addiction can have devastating effects on the user’s personal life and impact their loved ones as well. Behavior changes, financial and legal problems. The list of consequences of cocaine addiction is a long one. The good news is that no one needs to be sentenced to a life of being addicted to cocaine.
You or your loved one can beat cocaine addiction and enjoy a thriving, happy life in recovery. It is entirely attainable and realistic. Believe it. We won’t claim that overcoming an addiction to cocaine is easy — it certainly isn’t. But with the right kind of addiction treatment and support, it’s far easier than it is trying to quit “cold turkey” or going it alone and relying on willpower.
Trying to beat addiction on your own is a mistake. Every single time. Why make it harder on yourself than it needs to be? The truth is that people who attend a high-quality dual-diagnosis treatment center like Redemption Recovery have a far greater chance of success in recovery. Recovery is a process that continues for life and the best way to approach it is with a better understanding of yourself and a set of powerful strategies and tools. That’s exactly what we instill in every person we treat here.
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