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When they first use a drug, people may perceive what seem to be positive effects. Over time, if drug use continues, other pleasurable activities become less pleasurable, and the person has to take the drug just to feel “normal.” They have a hard time controlling their need to take drugs even though it causes many problems for themselves and their loved ones. Some people may start to feel the need to take more of a drug or take it more often, even in the early stages of their drug use. In addition to its immediate effects, cocaine appears to create long-lasting changes in the structure and function of the brain. Over time, these changes affect gene expression and nerve cell structure.

Are there medications to treat substance use disorders?

Coincident with the changing supply of cocaine in the U.S., cocaine-related emergency-departments (ED) visits and overdose deaths have been increasing. Evidence indicates that opioids, especially synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl, have been involved in many of these ED visits and deaths, with 74.2% of cocaine-related overdose deaths involving opioids in 2018 (Cano et al., 2020). For ED visits, between 2006 and 2016, rates involving cocaine with opioids increased 14.7% per year whereas rates involving cocaine without opioids increased 11.3% per year from 2006 to 2012 and then remained stable from 2012 to 2016 (Hoots et al., 2020).

Short-term health effects of cocaine include:

These include physical, behavioral, and psychological effects of cocaine on the body and mind. Cocaine stimulates a flood of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, creating intense feelings of euphoria and pleasure. One of the biggest dangers of cocaine is how easily it can develop into addiction. The drug can change the brain after just one use, catalyzing strong cravings. Hence, what begins as casual cocaine use can quickly increase to regular usage and then to a substance use disorder. While marijuana and alcohol are more commonly used among young adults, cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction in young adults are steadily trending upward.

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• Importantly, we did not find an increase in the prevalence of past-year cocaine use disorder or past-year cocaine injection.
• They are now the highest they have been in a decade, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
• As a result, people take stronger and more frequent doses to feel the same high they did initially and to obtain relief from withdrawal.
• Networks of neurons send signals back and forth to each other and among different parts of the brain, the spinal cord, and nerves in the rest of the body (the peripheral nervous system).
• Cocaine is the most commonly reported illicit stimulant used in the U.S., yet limited research has examined recent changes in cocaine use patterns and co-occurring substance use and mental health characteristics among adults using cocaine.
• They may also mix it with other drugs such as the stimulant amphetamine, or synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

This method is rarely used as it takes cocaine longer to have an effect when digested. However, it is sometimes mixed with other drugs, such as MDMA, for a more intense high. While the above are the most common forms of how cocaine is used nida cocaine abuse, users have experimented with other forms of administration.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

As a result, people take stronger and more frequent doses in an attempt to feel the same high, and to obtain relief from withdrawal. Because the dangers of cocaine are so significant and the withdrawal symptoms from cocaine abuse can be severe, including depression and suicidal ideation, it’s essential to seek professional help in order to safely detox from the drug. Subsequently, treatment can support young adults to understand the mental health issues driving their cocaine abuse, and help them to develop healthy coping mechanisms. Our findings provide new insights into populations to prioritize for prevention, treatment, and response efforts.

• First, NSDUH data are self-reported and subject to recall and social desirability biases.
• For this analysis, the public-use dataset was used and further limited to adults (≥18 years old) (SAMHSA CBHSQ, 2020).
• When snorted (intranasal use), cocaine powder is inhaled through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues.
• While marijuana and alcohol are more commonly used among young adults, cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction in young adults are steadily trending upward.

How is cocaine use disorder treated?

When examined by frequency-of-use category, the prevalence of adults reporting 1–29 days of cocaine use was higher in 2018–2019 (73.26%) compared to 2006–2007 (65.58%); the prevalence of adults reporting 30–99 days was lower in 2018–2019 (5.73%) compared to 2006–2007 (11.03%). The prevalence of those reporting more than 100–199 days or more than 200 days did not change significantly over the time period. Cocaine is a potent and addictive central nervous system stimulant and is the most commonly used illicit stimulant in the U.S. (Zimmerman, 2012; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA, 2020). According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment, cocaine is increasingly available in U.S. drug seizures, especially since 2013. Availability, coca cultivation, and cocaine production remain at elevated levels and have led to further expansion of the domestic cocaine market (Drug Enforcement Administration DEA, 2019).

For example, adults 18–25 years of age and 26–34 years of age are primarily driving the increases in cocaine use seen in this study, and it is possible that some of the increase in use is related to initiation among these younger aged adults. In support of this idea, the 2019 NSDUH report finds that adults 18–25 years of age make up the largest proportion of those reporting past year initiation of cocaine use (SAMHSA, 2020). It is also possible, given the high rates of past-year use of other substances noted in our study, that these adults are adding cocaine to the other substances they more routinely use and so their use of cocaine is infrequent. In either case, these younger age groups present an important opportunity for targeted strategies to discontinue early use and early interventions to prevent subsequent development of a use disorder, in both college and non-college settings. While research is limited, prevention strategies include screening and brief interventions in school or healthcare settings, skills training, and individually tailored, electronically delivered interventions (Stockings et al., 2016; Davis et al., 2017).

How can people get treatment for cocaine addiction?

As a result, young adults who suffer from an anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or low self-esteem may use cocaine as a way to feel more comfortable in social or sexual situations. Mutual help groups are peer-led recovery organizations that provide fellowship and support to people with substance use disorders by connecting them to peers who are in recovery. These include 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and others such as SMART Recovery, Women in Sobriety, and Life Ring. When someone has a substance use disorder and a co-occurring disorder or health condition, it is usually better to treat these health issues at the same time rather than separately. Research suggests that this can make all the treatments more effective and improve health outcomes. No matter the method of use, taking cocaine can lead to long-term physical and mental health issues, as well as dependence and addiction.

Snorting cocaine gets the drug into the system quickly, but it is slower to take effect, compared to when it is smoked or injected. Powder cocaine is often laid out on a clean, smooth surface (such as a mirror or phone screen) and cut into lines with a fine-edged instrument, like a bank card or razor blade. How cocaine is abused often depends on the type of cocaine in question. Pleasurable experience, a burst of dopamine signals that something important is happening that needs to be remembered. This dopamine signal causes changes in neural connectivity that make it easier to repeat the activity again and again without thinking about it, leading to the formation of habits.

When people smoke cocaine (inhalation), they inhale its vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is almost as rapid as by injection. Even casual cocaine use can be severely detrimental both physically and mentally. In addition, there are both short- and long-term effects of cocaine. Sometimes drug dealers mix it with flour or corn starch to increase profits. Large amounts of cocaine can lead to bizarre, unpredictable, and violent behavior. This three-pound mass of gray and white matter sits at the center of all human activity—you need it to drive a car, to enjoy a meal, to breathe, to create an artistic masterpiece, and to enjoy everyday activities.

The primary method of ingesting cocaine is to snort it, often through a straw, rolled-up paper (such as a dollar bill), or off of a key or spoon. Other methods for taking cocaine include smoking and injecting, though the latter is less common. Cocaine is most known for being snorted when in its white powder form. However, there are many forms of the drug that are abused in a variety of ways, all with their own negative consequences.

These methods are said to be ways of getting cocaine into the system faster or producing a more intense high. Cocaine hydrochloride is one of the only forms of cocaine that is soluble in water, so it can be injected directly into the bloodstream. However, this form of administration is rarely used for cocaine on its own, as it takes longer, is more invasive and difficult, and has few additional benefits to snorting cocaine. It was once thought that surges of the neurotransmitter dopamine produced by drugs directly caused the euphoria, but scientists now think dopamine has more to do with getting us to repeat pleasurable activities (reinforcement) than with producing pleasure directly.

Read more about substance use disorders and addiction on the NIDA web site. Additional efforts to support prevention and response capacity in communities, expand linkages to care and retention for substance use and mental health, and enhance collaborations between public health and public safety are needed. Cocaine is the most commonly reported illicit stimulant used in the U.S., yet limited research has examined recent changes in cocaine use patterns and co-occurring substance use and mental health characteristics among adults using cocaine. For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be likened to the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone.

The brain regulates your body’s basic functions, enables you to interpret and respond to everything you experience, and shapes your behavior. In short, your brain is you—everything you think and feel, and who you are. Brain imaging studies of people with addiction show physical changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control.12 These changes help explain the compulsive nature of addiction.

The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, NSDUH data are self-reported and subject to recall and social desirability biases. Second, because the survey is cross-sectional and different persons were sampled each year, inferring causality from the observed associations between the predictors examined and self-reported past-year cocaine use is not possible. Third, NSDUH does not include homeless persons not living in shelters, active duty military, or persons residing in institutions such as those who are incarcerated; thus, substance use estimates in this study might not be generalizable to the total U.S. population.