What makes powder cocaine so dangerous a drug is that, unlike with crack, many habitual users can function normally for a long time before the effects of the abuse become obvious. The long-term physiological effects are devastating and deadly, while the psychological effects can lead to serious cocaine dependency and mood disorders.
Short-term Effects of Cocaine Use
Cocaine is a stimulant, to which people can have different reactions. It has both short-term, or immediate, effects as well as long-term. The physiological short-term effects include increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, dilated pupils, increase in body temperature and constricted blood vessels. Although it is not common, first time users have died from adverse reactions to the short-term effects of cocaine. Most often cocaine-related deaths result from cardiac arrest or seizures, leading to respiratory arrest.
The euphoric short-term effects are hyperstimulation, mental alertness, decreased appetite and reduced fatigue. This leads the user to feeling more energetic. He may feel able to do more prolonged physical activities, increase his productivity at work, as well as be more sociable. This is why some professionals such as doctors, lawyers and those with high-stress financial jobs turn to cocaine. In the short-term, they can carry on normal fast-paced lives. With prolonged use, though, the short-term effects of cocaine diminish and users must take more and more in search of the high that they first experienced with snorting cocaine. This is referred to as attempting to “chase the high”.
Pete (real name withheld) was an aging punk rocker. Although he had snorted a lot of cocaine in his hey-day, he had not done any in many years. Children, money and a different lifestyle saw to that. When his band got together for a reunion gig, the cocaine came out. Haunted by his past enjoyment of the powder, Pete could not resist the temptation to join in with his friends.
“I was enjoying the moment and the camaraderie with my old friends, as I hadn’t seen them in years,” says Pete. “Then someone told me that I had some blood under my nose. It wasn’t just a little dried blood, but a full out nosebleed. When I was younger, I may not have thought anything of it, but into my forties, it scared me.”
Long-term Effects of Cocaine Abuse
Pete’s experience was due to an adverse reaction to the short-term effects and was enough to scare him into staying away from cocaine. John (real name withheld) cannot say the same. Despite the fact that the long-term effects of cocaine have taken a toll on his body, he cannot give up his drug of choice. He often experiences shortness of breath and has required more than one operation to repair the damage that cocaine has done to his nasal septum.
“I think about how bad it is for me sometimes,” he says with a shrug. “But somehow I always come back to it. I like that it helps me be more sociable and that it makes me feel able to do just about anything.”
Although, it may make him feel more talkative, the people John socializes with are also cocaine users. He is unaware that his habit of brushing his finger under his nose and darting his eyes around are telltale signs to all that he is a habitual user. His professional friends have long abandoned him, unable to cope with his moodiness and anxieties and he has not been able to keep a job in years.
Cocaine’s long-term physiological effects include irregular heart rhythm, heart attack, respiratory distress and failure, headaches, seizure and strokes, any one of which can lead to death. Common psychological effects are irritability, moodiness, paranoia, restlessness and severe mood disturbances. These effects are difficult to hide from work and loved-ones, leading to loss of work and family.
Given that both exercise and cocaine raise a person’s heart rate, combining to two seems ill advised. Mixing alcohol with cocaine most often gives the user the false impression of being immune to the effects of alcohol, which can lead to drunk driving.
Cocaine Abuse Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation programs are available all over North America, many of which are done on an outpatient basis, allowing users to get help without needing to go into residence at a drug rehabilitation facility. As a stimulant, cocaine does not have any FDA-approved drugs for rehabilitation, although the National Institute on Drug Abuse is working to find one. As such, rehabilitation programs rely on behavioural therapies to help users to beat their addiction to cocaine. Recovery programs such as Cocaine Anonymous offer support from other users for those trying to abstain.
Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that, once it takes a hold, is difficult to resist. With the damage that it can do to both the body and the mind, it is imperative that users get help immediately. For many, the mental addiction can be stronger than the physical one, as users chase a high that they will never again experience, no matter how much cocaine they put up their noses.
The author of this article speaks from personal experience.
Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Report Series; Cocaine: Abuse and Addiction
Dani Stern - I have been working in media relations for more than ten years, with a specialty in covering consumer events and trade shows. My focus has ...
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