Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Is Cocaine Addictive?

Cocaine is one of the most highly addictive drugs in existence. It increases energy and alertness and produces such an intense euphoria that, once tried, many find hard to resist.

Cocaine Addiction

We’ve all heard about the rat studies where rats are given the choice between food and cocaine and they always choose the cocaine to the extent that they starve themselves to death. The same thing happens to cocaine addicts as they destroy themselves both physically and psychologically. The dependency on cocaine causes them to lose their dignity, their self respect, self control, and their ability to live life with any sense of normalcy. To so many, it becomes a costly, vicious, cycle that leaves the addict in desperation while chasing the next high becomes their priority.

How is Cocaine Abused?

Cocaine normally comes in a white powder which is snorted or diluted for injection. Another form of cocaine which plagues society is crack cocaine which is a form of cocaine that has been “cooked” into a hardened substance and then smoked.

Smoking crack or injecting cocaine opens the door to a wider potential for adverse health risks including poisoning from dangerous chemicals, infections, and diseases from sharing dirty needles and other paraphernalia.

Physical Effects of Cocaine

Cocaine is an addicting drug.

Cocaine is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that increases dopamine, the neurotransmitter related to pleasure. This increase and accumulation of dopamine is what gives users the intense euphoria they so much crave. Cocaine makes a person hyperactive and increases energy, alertness, and talkativeness while also increasing heart rate and blood pressure which can be dangerous.

The data from the 2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report on drug related emergency department visits showed that cocaine was involved in 505,224 or 40.3% of the visits involving illicit drugs. It has been linked to a number of serious physical side effects including:

Dependency and addiction
Withdrawals
Cardiovascular problems
Respiratory problems
Neurological problems
Digestive problems
HIV, AIDs, hepatitis c, and other diseases
Seizures
Coma
Overdose
Death

Psychological Effects of Cocaine

With repeat usage, the CNS becomes impaired to the point that the person is unable to manage their thoughts, behaviors, or emotions. It will rely on the use of cocaine to balance the lack of normal dopamine production and to induce any feelings of “normalcy.” Cocaine addicts often have co-existing substance abuse problems and/or mental health problems. Long term or chronic use causes psychological impairments such as:

Anxiety, depression, or bi-polar disorders
Paranoia psychosis
Restlessness or irritability
Insomnia
Anger or Aggression
Drastic mood changes
Irrational behaviors to obtain cocaine
Auditory hallucinations or tactile hallucinations (“coke bugs”)

More Treatment & Detox Articles

How do You Get a Loved One to Go into Drug Treatment?

Getting a loved one to seek help and accept treatment for a drug addiction can be all but an easy task to complete, especially when the addict thinks that there “isn’t anything wrong.” It’s the telltale sign, the always heard excuse of an addict—there’s nothing wrong, they aren’t addicted, they don’t NEED help, etc. So….

Treatment of ADHD

ADHD is an “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”, which greatly affects a child’s ability to concentrate on a particular work, making him impulsive and hyperactive. The ADHD is a common “psychiatric disorder” found in children and if not treated timely then this disorder has long-term effects into the “adolescence and the adulthood” of the child. Therefore,….

Your ADHD child and school

ADHD is a mental disorder, which largely affects the small children. Children with ADHD tend to be very impulsive, hyperactive and are not able to concentrate well on their work. Therefore, Children with ADHD show poor performance at school, which can hamper their academic performance. Usually small kids do behave in similar pattern as that….

Major Report Finds Screening and Early Intervention Program Used in Diverse Health Care Settings Dramatically Reduces Illicit Drug Use among Patients

Report found a 67.7 percent reduction in illicit drug use over a six month period among people receiving these services The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program can reduce illicit drug use among patients seeking medical care in a wide variety of health care settings such as hospitals, physician offices, and community….

Binge drinking raises stroke risk

Binge drinking more than triples a man’s risk of dying from a stroke. Researchers studied 6,291 Korean people aged 55 years or older to examine the association between binge drinking and risks of mortality due to all causes of death with a focus on cerebrovascular disease. It was noted that 59 percent of adults reported….