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Signs of Cocaine Use: How to Recognize Drug Abuse
Key Points
- Cocaine is an illicit drug that carries serious risks.
- The signs of cocaine use can be subtle, but they worsen as abuse continues.
- Signs and symptoms of cocaine use may overlap, but there are important differences between cocaine use and cocaine addiction.
- Cocaine addiction can be difficult to overcome, but help is available.
Cocaine is a commonly abused illegal stimulant drug. Known as coke, snow, blow, and crack – a smokable version of powder cocaine – cocaine is often viewed as a harmless party drug, but the truth is anything but. Cocaine is a highly addictive and dangerous substance that can have serious risks, including overdose, addiction, and mental and physical health problems.
If you think a loved one is using cocaine, it’s crucial to know the signs and symptoms to help them get treatment. Early treatment for drug abuse or addiction can help prevent the dangerous consequences of cocaine use.
What Is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a white, crystalline powder derived from coca leaves. The cocaine base, crack, looks like small, irregularly shaped white rocks. In either form, cocaine can bring an intense euphoria with powerful addiction potential.
Though cocaine used to have medical uses, it’s since been replaced with safer drugs. Nearly all cocaine use is illicit. The drug is classified as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has a high potential for abuse with limited medical uses.[1] Cocaine goes by street names like blow, coke, coca, crack, crank, flake, rock, snow, and soda cot, though some of these refer specifically to the smokable crack cocaine form as opposed to the powder form, which is injected or snorted.
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Signs and Symptoms of Cocaine Use
Cocaine produces a short-lived, intense high, typically lasting a few minutes to an hour. A cocaine high causes euphoria, alertness, high energy, and hypersensitivity to sight, sound, and touch due to its stimulant effects on the central nervous system.
There are many signs of cocaine use, including:[2]
- Dilated pupils
- Sniffing
- Social isolation
- Nosebleeds
- Hoarseness
- Chronic sinus infections
- Weight loss
- Bizarre, erratic, or violent behavior
- Irritability
- Anxiety or panic
- Paranoia
- Tremors and muscle twitches
- Increased need for privacy
- Poor hygiene
- Changes in sleeping and eating patterns
- Financial difficulties
You may notice other indicators, such as burn marks on the lips or fingers from smoking crack, track marks from injection, or drug paraphernalia like burnt spoons, needles, or pipes.
Short-term cocaine use produces effects like:[2]
- Increased heart rate
- High body temperature
- High blood pressure
- Panic
- Vertigo
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- No sense of smell
- Loss of appetite
Long-term cocaine use can cause:[3]
- Lasting high blood pressure
- Chronic sinus infections
- Damage to the membranes in the nose
- Dramatic weight loss
- Heart attacks
- Blood clots
- Headaches
- Heart attacks
- Seizures
- Strokes
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Auditory or visual hallucinations
- Impaired cognitive function
- Lung damage with crack cocaine
Cocaine Withdrawal
Every time someone uses cocaine, the body builds a tolerance. They eventually need more and more of the drug to get high. Many people start building tolerance after their first use. This builds high tolerance quickly, leading to physical dependence – when the body becomes used to the presence of a drug and needs it to function. If you stop using cocaine abruptly, withdrawal symptoms occur.
The symptoms of cocaine withdrawal include:[4]
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Trouble concentrating
- Drug cravings
- Nightmares
- Chills
- Nerve pain and muscle aches
Symptoms usually begin 6 to 12 hours after last use. The first stage is the crash, which causes fatigue, depression, anxiety, and cravings. Then withdrawal symptoms get worse, lasting for weeks with intense cravings, challenges feeling pleasure, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and agitation.[5] The symptoms gradually lessen over several months, but it can be difficult to get through the withdrawal period without relapsing to relieve the discomfort.
Signs of Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine has high addiction potential because of its effects on the brain. It causes intense pleasure and activates several different chemical messengers, including the body’s naturally occurring opioids. It also affects dopamine, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter, teaching the brain that the reward is desirable and encouraging repeated use.[6] In addition, the intense but short-lived euphoria leads people to use cocaine over and over, often in increasing doses, to maintain the high.
Cocaine addiction is more than physical dependence, however. It’s a compulsive use of cocaine despite the problems it causes. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, cocaine addiction is a stimulant use disorder with the following criteria:[7]
- Unsuccessful attempts to reduce or stop using cocaine
- Using cocaine in higher amounts or for longer periods than intended
- Spending a lot of time obtaining, using, or recovering from cocaine use
- Experiencing strong cravings for cocaine
- Having problems in daily life due to cocaine use
- Recurrent use of cocaine despite problems at work, home, or school
- Using cocaine despite physical or mental health effects
- Developing a tolerance for cocaine
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms from stopping or reducing cocaine use
Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine addiction can be difficult to overcome, but help is available. Though withdrawal isn’t usually life-threatening, it can have intense symptoms that may cause relapse just to find relief. This can continue the addiction cycle.
The first step in cocaine addiction treatment is often medical detox. This treatment provides a medical team to manage withdrawal symptoms, monitor your health, and prevent complications, keeping you as safe and comfortable as possible while the drug clears your system.
Detox can help with the challenges of withdrawal, but it’s not enough to treat addiction on its own. There’s a powerful psychological aspect to addiction, and a comprehensive treatment program addresses these contributing factors to support long-term sobriety. Treatment plans are individualized but may include a combination of individual therapy, group counseling, support groups, holistic therapies, and behavioral therapies that have proven successful in treating addiction.
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Know the Signs of Cocaine Use
Though it’s often viewed as harmless, cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that can have serious risks. It’s important to learn the signs of cocaine use, abuse, and addiction so you can help yourself or a loved one get help for drug abuse.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Signs of Cocaine Use
The signs of coke use can vary, but you may notice signs like excitability, dramatic mood swings, sniffing, nosebleeds, weight loss, talkativeness, changes in sleep patterns, appetite, or weight, increased isolation and secrecy, or social withdrawal.
When someone starts abusing cocaine, there may be behavioral signs like stealing or lying, giving up hobbies, financial problems, poor personal hygiene, social isolation, and violent or aggressive behaviors. Physically, someone abusing cocaine may have dramatic weight loss, frequent sinus infections, and indicators like track marks from IV use or burns on the lips and fingers from smoking a crack pipe.
Cocaine addiction is distinct from cocaine use in that it’s an inability to control drug use, no matter the problems it causes at work, home, school, or with interpersonal relationships. There are strict diagnostic criteria for cocaine addiction, however, and the diagnosis requires a healthcare professional.
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