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

Who Answers?

10 Consequences of Cocaine Abuse

About Cocaine

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Research, cocaine is a highly addictive and a commonly abused illegal drug. Cocaine is a stimulant, and is currently a Schedule II substance. Stimulant drugs heighten a user’s body’s activity, including increasing their energy, alertness, heart rate, and blood pressure.

The most commonly used form of cocaine is a white powder that comes from the leaves of the Erythroxylon Coca plant. The white powder is typically delivered into a person’s body by snorting it through their nostrils, although cocaine can be smoked or injected.

Cocaine is also defined as a club drug since many people abuse this stimulant while they are at clubs or at parties. Although most people first begin to abuse cocaine as a one-time event, cocaine is addictive and prolonged use of the drug can lead to many health problems including brain damage, stroke and heart attack. In addition, cocaine abuse not only affects the user’s physical health but also their behavior and their mental health.

Ten Consequences of Cocaine Abuse

cocaine addiction effects and consequences

Abusing cocaine can strain your relationships, cause anxiety and depression, and have a number of other consequences.

There are numerous consequences that stem form cocaine abuse, and every person will suffer from different negative consequences from their drug use. Below is a list of the ten most common consequences that occur from cocaine abuse…

1. Chances of Heart Attack Increase: A person who abuses cocaine risks the chance of having cardiac arrest due to their heart rate increasing. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who use cocaine can suffer from heart attacks, which may cause sudden death. Deaths related to cocaine are often a result of the heart stopping followed by an arrest of breathing.

2. Increased Blood Pressure: When it is in a person’s body, cocaine will increase their blood pressure, which can result in other health problems.

3. Stroke: Cocaine also increases the risk of a user having a stroke, which can be fatal.

4. Anxiety: Cocaine is a stimulant, so anxiety is a common side effect of the drug.

5. Depression: After cocaine leaves a person’s system, their dopamine will be depleted resulting in them feeling sad, fatigued, and depressed.

6. Seizures: Unexpected seizures occur from a person’s body temperature rising when they are on cocaine.

7. Financial Loss: Cocaine is expensive and a person who abuses the drug frequently will experience some type of financial loss.

8. Addiction: Cocaine is addictive and if a person continues to abuse the drug, the may develop the chronic brain disease of addiction, which they will battle with of the rest of their life.

9. Loss of Friends and Family: Many people who abuse cocaine pull away from their close friends and family.

10. Permanent Brain Damage: Prolonged use of cocaine can permanently damage a person’s brain chemicals.

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Finding Help at Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs

Dual diagnosis treatment programs help individuals who have a substance abuse problem as well as a mental illness A high percentage of people who abuse drugs or alcohol have been linked to having at least one mental disorder Almost thirty percent of people who suffer from a mental disorder begin to use drugs or alcohol….

Life with a 12-year-old alcoholic

Jane (not her real name) was faced with the shock discovery that her young son was drinking heavily when somebody knocked on her door to tell her he had collapsed in the street. At the age of 12, Alan, (not his real name) had drunk himself unconscious and was being revived by paramedics after attending….

Could this pill Cure alcoholism?

Doctor drinking himself into an early grave tells of his ‘fairy tale’ recovery Alcoholism affects one in 20 adults and is notoriously difficult to treat. Leading American cardiologist Dr Olivier Ameisen was a compulsive drinker for years until he was ‘cured’, he says, by a drug commonly prescribed for muscle spasm. His claims have created….

Warning over alcohol intake surge

The amount Britons drink has surged in recent decades, fuelled by plummeting prices and more women bingeing on alcohol. Awareness groups have warned for some time that consumption of alcohol is rising and that the number of booze-related deaths will continue to increase unless action is taken. Alison Rogers, chief executive of the British Liver….

Common Misconceptions About Addiction and Treatment

Substance abuse is commonly perceived as a weakness of the mind, body or spirit but misconceptions like this cannot be more wrong. Unfortunately, many common misconceptions persist in the eyes of addiction and even more so when it comes to treatment. Many people think that addiction is a flaw of character when if fact this….