Author: Charles Frank

What is Cocaine? National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

The risk of addiction is even higher with crack cocaine because its effects are more immediate and more intense. To find a treatment program, browse the top-rated addiction treatment facilities in each state by visiting our homepage, or by viewing the SAMHSA Treatment Services Locator. If you or somebody you know is engaging in substance use, there’s no time to lose. Recovery from substance abuse is possible, and it’s the best possible outcome after substantial drug use. Mental health and psychiatric effects may persist due to chronic cocaine and opioid abuse.

It’s definitely one of the worst cutting agents to have in coke. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that usually kicks in after 30 seconds and lasts for 20 minutes. Its numbing effects have made it an ideal buffing agent for coke. A lidocaine-laced blow can cause acute toxicity, and cause seizures and convulsions. Just 5mg/kg of cocaine and lidocaine can create a seizure that is identical to taking 20mg/kg of coke.

Use in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, may lead to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This can result in a period of paranoid psychosis, in which the user loses touch with reality and experiences auditory (hearing) hallucinations. Shover said that death certificate data has its limitations, but medical examiners are taking note of what may have caused the fatality. The tactic is called speedballing, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and can cause an intense high, which can also be very dangerous. “It’s not just an opioid crisis, although all the strategies we’re trying to deal with opioid overdose still apply,” she adds.

This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses. Long-term effects of use can lead to tolerance, high doses and the need for more frequent use to attain the same level of pleasure during the initial period of use. Long-term, cocaine use can lead to an increased risk for becoming malnourished due to loss of appetite. The occurrence of Parkinson’s disease has been reported as well.

It’s Bad News Either Way

Data sources include Micromedex (updated 3 Mar 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 4 Mar 2024), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2024) and others. The full extent of the effects of cocaine use on the unborn or newborn child are difficult to predict. Multiple factors can play into this outcome, such as use of other illegal drugs, maternal sexually-transmitted diseases, extent of prenatal care, and socioeconomic factors, among others. Yes, cocaine abuse can lead to an overdose and serious or deadly side effects after your first use or anytime thereafter. There is no specific medication that can reverse a cocaine overdose.

Fentanyl has become ubiquitous in recent years, in part, because it’s cheap to make and highly addictive. It is frequently mixed with or sold lieu of heroin, and is sometimes pressed into counterfeit pills sold as Xanax or other prescription drugs. But some question why it would be combined with cocaine, since the two drugs have opposite effects. The 27-year-old said in the nightlife scene he’s a part of, people don’t typically use opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, but they do dabble in cocaine and other drugs. Methamphetamine is chemically similar to amphetamine salts in Adderall, though meth enters the brain in a higher percentage than Adderall.

1. The combo leads to the production of a metabolite called cocaethylene, which is considerably stronger than cocaine or alcohol alone.
2. Other more dangerous adulterants, such as the stimulant amphetamine or synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, may also be used to cut the drug.
3. Cocaine — aka coke, blow, and snow — is a powerful stimulant made from the leaves of the coca plant.
4. Topical cocaine may be administered by using cotton applicators or packs, installed into a cavity, or as a spray.
5. Because it has a tendency to decrease appetite, many chronic users can become malnourished.

Pardo says some dealers might be getting fentanyl in their cocaine supply by accident. Several medications have been investigated for their safe use in treating cocaine addiction. The effect, or ‘high’ with snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, but does not occur as quickly as smoking or injecting it. A particularly concerning and common drug interaction between alcohol and cocaine has been reported. People who use cocaine in any form may “binge” — taking the drug repeatedly within a short time and at increasingly higher doses — to maintain their high. Weintraub and Shover said it’s unlikely that people will stop illicit drug use anytime soon, so it’s important that the overdose antidote Narcan is made widely available in places where people use drugs.

Risk Of Overdose Death

This position helps keep their airway open and can prevent choking in case they begin to vomit. Injecting it carries the highest risk of bloodborne infections, but you can also contract infections by smoking and snorting coke. This means you need more of a substance to get the same effect you once did. Healthline does not endorse the use of any illegal substances, and we recognize abstaining from them is always the safest approach.

Mixing cocaine and molly can significantly increase the risk of dehydration, jaw clenching, blood pressure, seizures, paranoia and heart problems. People may mix drugs to experience the effect of both at the same time. For example, some people use cocaine to combat the confusion and drowsiness from alcohol. When cocaine enters the body, it affects multiple organs and processes.

To recover from this artificial boost, users will feel an array of negative reactions. The good news — or semi-good news — is that addicts won’t feel the extra side effects that come with cutting agents. They also won’t have to deal with the potential dangers involved with mixing several drugs together. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that is not only stronger than heroin but also 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. This synthetic opioid is often prescribed to treat advanced stages of cancer. Unfortunately, only a small quantity can cause a fatal overdose.

Marijuana showed a considerable decline in 2021 of 6.7 percentage points in annual prevalence, respectively, for the three grades combined. The COVID-19 pandemic is postulated to have affected the declines in drug use overall seen among youth. Cocaine is available in the U.S. as a prescription solution for local mucosal anesthesia, and for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries, but is rarely used because of safer alternatives have been developed. Because it has a tendency to decrease appetite, many chronic users can become malnourished. If used in a binge fashion, with frequent, repeated use over a short period of time, panic and paranoia may set in, with psychosis and auditory hallucinations possible.

The Art of Cutting Cocaine

It is normally used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but can produce a high similar to cocaine if abused. The combined effects of these drugs increase risk to the heart and cardiovascular system. MDMA (sometimes referred to as molly) is a stimulant that also possesses traits of hallucinogens.

Cocaine and meth together greatly increase the risk of heart problems, sleep disturbances and mood and thought symptoms. When purchased on the street, is usually ‘cut’ with adulterants such as cornstarch, baking soda, talcum powder, flour, lactose sugar, or other local anesthetics such as lidocaine or benzocaine. This increases the weight and allows the seller to make more profit on the street. Another group of people who are affected are people intending to use stimulants on their own but who don’t realize their supply has been laced with or contaminated with potent drugs like fentanyl. Awareness of effective medical treatments for opioid addiction, including drugs like suboxone and methadone, has increased over the years.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have tracked an alarming rise in deaths involving cocaine and synthetic opioids in recent years. If you or someone you know is struggling to stop using cocaine or other stimulants, please call The Recovery Village Palm Beach at Baptist Health to ask about cocaine addiction treatment. The effects of abusing stimulants are difficult to notice at first, but they can cause permanent damage and lead to life-altering consequences. Call The Recovery Village Palm Beach at Baptist Health to speak with a representative about treatment options. Polysubstance abuse occurs when people mix more than one drug of abuse at a time.

Ultimately, a combination of both treatments may be the most effective option. Longer-term research is finding that exposure in utero and environmental factors may also lead to deficits in cognitive abilities, information processing, memory, and ability to complete tasks in childhood. More research is needed to understand the childhood long-term effects of exposure in pregnancy. Studies have shown that infants born to women who use cocaine during pregnancy may be delivered prematurely, have low birth rates, may have smaller head circumference, and be shorter in length.

According to data collected by New York City, 44% of the 1,300 overdoses in 2016 involved fentanyl. It even kills in the same way by stopping a user’s respiratory system. Those overdosing from fentanyl will basically look like they’re drifting off to sleep. The only difference is that they’ll stop breathing once they’ve dozed off.