Cocaine Addiction Information & Resources

Not that long ago, many people thought cocaine was not addictive, and they thought its use was not particularly harmful. When America went through an enormous increase in cocaine use in the 1980s, the country woke up to the fact of its addictiveness and the harm associated with its use. With the shocking death of young basketball star Len Bias, Americans also suddenly realized that cocaine use could be fatal.

Types of Cocaine

In America, there are two main types of cocaine: powder or cocaine hydrochloride and crack cocaine. Both types of cocaine have very short effects, each lasting less than an hour. Powder cocaine can be snorted or dissolved and injected. Crack cocaine is produced by cooking powder cocaine with baking soda until it forms dry, hard rocks. These rocks are then smoked in a pipe. While both types of cocaine are highly addictive, crack cocaine is even more quickly and intensely addictive and is associated with a dramatic reduction in the quality of a person’s life.¹

Effects of Cocaine

People who use cocaine do so for its euphoric, energizing effects. A person under the influence of cocaine will feel an increase in confidence, excitement and talkativeness. They will be sharply alert, which is why some people use this drug along with alcohol as it prevents the sleepiness and fatigue that often results from alcohol consumption.

Similarly, some people mix the use of cocaine with opioids like prescription painkillers or heroin, to prevent the dopiness that accompanies opioid use.

If a person consumes cocaine steadily, they will build up a tolerance. A dosage of the drug that once created that excited, euphoric effect will no longer do so. They will need larger quantities of the drug. Cocaine increases the heart rate while constricting veins and arteries. The stressful effect of cocaine on the heart often causes problems like heart attacks, cardiac arrest, strokes, seizures and death. Gastrointestinal problems can result from the drug’s constriction of the vascular system.²

If a person has enough money, they may binge on cocaine, staying high for days. Some will continue until they collapse from exhaustion or run out of the drug. Binging and prolonged use causes emotional and behavioral effects such as irritability, anxiety, paranoia and aggressiveness. Addiction to cocaine is accompanied by very strong cravings for more of the drug which is one of the biggest challenges of trying to get sober.