Cocaine Definition, Uses & Addiction

The 2021 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concludes 4.8 million people age 12 and older used cocaine in 2020. In comparison, the same survey results show 52.8 million people age 12 and older used marijuana and 1.1 million people used heroin. At the same time, you might develop what’s called sensitization to the drug. That means it takes less of it to cause negative effects like anxiety and convulsions. Many people start to build a tolerance after their first use of cocaine. There are about 750,000 cocaine-exposed pregnancies each year.

Getting help at an inpatient treatment program for cocaine addiction will significantly help your chances of recovery. The relapse rate for cocaine addiction is around 25% for individuals who complete a hospital-based withdrawal program, but it can be much higher for individuals attempting to recover on their own. These statistics emphasize the importance of getting professional treatment, not leaving treatment too soon, and staying in touch with peers and therapists who can support the ongoing recovery journey. A meta-analysis of multiple studies reported by Bahram Armoon, PhD, found that female abusers, especially of cocaine, showed an increased risk for suicide attempts. Men are usually significantly more likely to consider or attempt suicide than women. But being a cocaine abuser doubled the risk for attempted suicide, as did a history of sexual abuse.

This practice may be employed during security checks at border crossings. Insufflating (snorting) cocaine commonly causes increased mucus production due to irritation and inflammation of the nasal passages. This irritation leads to symptoms such as a runny nose, nasal congestion, and excessive or thickened mucus. Anyone who is in cocaine health risks recovery from a cocaine addiction should make plans for a follow-up routine that will keep them moving forward in the right direction after completing a treatment program.

What are treatments for cocaine use disorder?

• For centuries the Indians of Peru and Bolivia have chewed coca leaves mixed with pellets of limestone or plant ashes for pleasure or in order to withstand strenuous working conditions, hunger, and thirst.
• Anyone who is in recovery from a cocaine addiction should make plans for a follow-up routine that will keep them moving forward in the right direction after completing a treatment program.
• Insufflating (snorting) cocaine commonly causes increased mucus production due to irritation and inflammation of the nasal passages.
• It’s important to remember addiction is a chronic disease.
• For millions during that cocaine epidemic, cocaine’s promise of pleasure, sophistication, and confidence gave way instead to anxiety, depression, overdoses, and addiction.

Many people who are addicted to cocaine go through a phase called withdrawal when they first do this. Withdrawal can be difficult, so it may be best to do it with the help of a medical professional. Since it’s an illegal drug, you can never be sure about the quality of cocaine. To make more money, dealers may “cut” the drug with other substances, like flour, baking soda, cornstarch, or talcum powder.

In the early 1900s, cocaine was a common ingredient in herbal remedies for all sorts of illnesses. Surgeons used it to block pain before local anesthetic were available. Cocaine also blocks sodium channels, thereby interfering with the propagation of action potentials;236120 thus, like lignocaine and novocaine, it acts as a local anesthetic.

Short-term effects

Cocaine addiction can become a thing of the past if an individual is ready and willing to seek and accept help when it is offered. Even as total overdose deaths plateaued, cocaine-related mortality continues to rise, a sign that cocaine’s resurgence is real and far from benign. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), cocaine-involved overdose deaths reached about 29,000 in 2023 — a stark increase over previous years. Nearly 80% of those deaths involved opioids, primarily illicit fentanyl. Cocaine, especially crack cocaine, is strongly addictive for several reasons. For one thing, the high feels very pleasurable, especially when you first try it.

Overdose Mortality and the Fentanyl Connection

Many issues play a role, including other mental health disorders,  your background, and your environment. Among U.S. youth, the perceived risk of cocaine use has declined. A 2024 cross-sectional study found that only about 16% of respondents mentioned “harm to health” when discussing cocaine on social media.

• Cocaine tricks the brain’s pleasure receptors into releasing unnaturally large amounts of feel-good chemicals.
• There are about 750,000 cocaine-exposed pregnancies each year.
• They can also add other drugs like amphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, or procaine.
• Withdrawal can be difficult, so it may be best to do it with the help of a medical professional.
• Most aftercare plans will include regular check-ins with a psychiatrist or counselor, and 12-step meetings or other peer support groups.
• Benthamiana also naturally contains nicotine, separating the cocaine from nicotine and related alkaloids would be challenging.

Reduced drug use is a meaningful treatment outcome for people with stimulant use disorders

The risk of an individual becoming addicted to cocaine is relatively high. Classified as a Schedule 2 drug by the DEA, cocaine addiction is a risk for just about anyone who abuses the drug. In fact, studies show the risk of an individual becoming addicted to cocaine after just one use is 5% and this risk increases with each subsequent use of the drug. Upon the recent death of the luminous Diane Keaton, forever “Annie Hall,” I found myself reflecting on the cocaine epidemic epitomized by that movie, because, now, cocaine is back, but more lethal, and often mixed with fentanyl. Although most overdose deaths involve opioids, 182,502 persons died of overdoses involving stimulants (with or without other drugs) in the United States during January 2021–June 2024, accounting for 59% of all overdose deaths.

With cocaine use disorder, you may become both physically and mentally dependent on the drug. If you stop using it, you’ll likely have withdrawal symptoms. Even if you stop using it for a long time, you could still have cravings for the drug. This cycle can lead to cocaine use disorder, in which you have trouble controlling how much and how often you use the drug even when it has negative effects on your life.

These patients rarely presented with straightforward cocaine intoxication; their clinical pictures were complex, often dominated by opioid overdose or cardiac complications. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that’s extracted and processed from coca plant leaves in South America. Healthcare providers may occasionally use cocaine as anesthesia. More commonly, people use cocaine to boost feelings like being energized, happy and alert. Cocaine is a very addictive substance, meaning people seek out the drug and use it even though they know the choice comes with negative consequences. There are treatments for cocaine use disorder (cocaine addiction), but people often relapse and use it again.

Using cocaine during pregnancy can cause problems for both the parent and the developing baby. Your chances of getting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are higher if you use cocaine. The drug can also speed up the progress of an HIV infection. Some research has suggested that cocaine damages the way immune cells work in your body, which could make HIV worse. A cocaine binge is when someone uses cocaine repeatedly in higher and higher doses.

The reasons for this increased cocaine surge are complex — reduced aerial eradication, shifting rural policies, and drug traffickers using new maritime routes and semi-submersible craft. U.S. authorities, including the DEA and Customs and Border Protection, reported record seizures of cocaine in 2024–2025. The cause of “cocaine nose” can be traced to the chemical process that occurs when cocaine hydrochloride is insufflated (snorted).

They can also add other drugs like amphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, or procaine. Cocaine is typically used orally, intranasally, intravenously, or by inhalation. When snorted (intranasal use), cocaine powder is inhaled through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Dissolving cocaine in water and injecting it (intravenous use) releases the drug directly into the bloodstream and heightens the intensity of its effects.