Understanding the Potential for Cocaine Abuse and Addiction
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I began engaging in cocaine use in college, which led to an intense cocaine addiction during my early adulthood. The cocaine high was something that consumed my mind and was all I cared about. Like many cocaine users, I began using powder cocaine before graduation to crack cocaine.
If someone you care about is struggling, you are likely asking, “How long does a cocaine high last?” How can my loved one give up so much for this powerful powdered substance?
Let me start off by saying that my life was a complete mess before I discovered Rehabs Of Armerica. Up until that point, my drug abuse was in control of every aspect of my life. I had tried many other drugs in the past, but cocaine became my number one until I finally sought treatment a few years ago. I had no clue how much cocaine would control my life until I was knee-deep into my substance use disorder.
If this sounds familiar from your life, or the life of a loved one struggling with cocaine, it does not have to dictate your reality, help can be found. In fact, help is here.
In the following blog, I will lay out the dangers associated with cocaine abuse, and what you can do to overcome being addicted to such a powerful stimulant drug. Cocaine addiction is brutal, but recovery is possible with the right mindset and the right set of tools.
Grappling With Cocaine Addiction
The high of cocaine is enough to make anybody addicted. This is especially true with a drug like crack cocaine, where the high is much more intense. How long does a cocaine high last? It depends on many factors, including the quality of the cocaine and the form in which it is used.
Powder cocaine takes a little bit longer to take effect, but the effects can last up to two hours or more when people snort cocaine. With crack cocaine, the high is immediate, but it doesn’t last as long. This is why crack cocaine is responsible for so many addictions. You are constantly chasing that first high.
Drinking and Cocaine: My College Daze
My cocaine use developed because of my college lifestyle. It’s no secret that there is a lot of partying in college, and drugs like cocaine are very popular among younger people. The effects of cocaine allow you to stay up later and party longer. My drug abuse in college quickly escalated from drinking to cocaine use, and eventually crack made its way into my life.
When I would go to parties in high school, there wasn’t much more than drinking and smoking marijuana. When I got into college, snorting cocaine was a normal occurrence. I began taking cocaine my freshman year and was smoking cocaine by my junior year. My drug addiction continued after college and quickly spiraled out of control.
Chasing The Crack Cocaine High
Cocaine affects your body and mind in a very aggressive manner. It’s wild how different cocaine powder is from the rock version of crack. Both are very dangerous and can lead to an overdose, but I found that crack cocaine made me much more desperate. I would do anything to get my hands on crack, including robbery.
Cocaine is derived from the coca plant, which is commonly found in South America. Cocaine is smuggled into the United States and cut with a lot of different drugs to maximize profit. As you may already know, cocaine is a Schedule II substance according to the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) guidelines and remains highly illegal.
When Things Get Rocky: Picking Up the Crack Pipe
But legal or not, people always want a more powerful version of a high. This is how crack cocaine came into being. Crack cocaine is created by cooking powder cocaine with baking soda, which forms a solid substance that is usually always smoked.
Cocaine does a lot of damage to your mind, but it can also do a lot of physical damage as well. There are many lingering effects of long term cocaine addiction, including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular effects. When I began abusing cocaine, those first few highs were unlike anything I can describe. I had no idea at that point how long cocaine would have a negative effect on my life.
When Drug Abuse Becomes Addiction
The cocaine high that I was constantly chasing required me to constantly do more and more. I was pushing the envelope with cocaine every day. Even the drug addicts I was associating with were telling me I was doing too much cocaine. After several years of daily cocaine abuse, the drug began taking an obvious toll.
Mixing drugs is typical for younger people, but mixing cocaine with the wrong substance can be fatal. A cocaine overdose alone can be fatal, but because it is an upper, mixing it with downers like opiates or other substances that depress nervous system function can be a deadly game to play.
People who use cocaine are at an increased risk of many physical ailments, including heart problems. Of course, I learned this after I got clean, but I sort of sensed it the whole time my heart felt like it might leap out of my chest any time I was on a particularly gnarly coke binge.
Chasing the White Dragon: Coming Close to Death with Crack
I smoked so much crack during one of my binges that I went into cardiac arrest. Even when I was in the hospital recovering, I was wondering when I was going to be able to get my next fix. I was given a drug test at the hospital and was informed that there were a lot of treatment options out there, all of which I ignored.
Despite continuing my substance abuse, I never forgot what they said to me about the dangers of my cocaine addiction. It wasn’t too long after that that I decided to try and get clean. Even though this toxic chemical had a firm grip on my life, I still had the desire to one day get clean.
Accepting Help and Finding the Right Treatment
A quick internet search showed me an endless amount of treatment programs. This gave me hope that recovery was possible for me but was a little intimidating too. That’s where Rehabs Of Armerica stepped in with same day rehab placement help.
The long-term effects of cocaine had turned me into a shell of myself, but I still had the ability to find light in the darkness. With a little bit of a push from my family members, I finally decided to seek treatment following a three-day-long cocaine binge.
I didn’t know what to expect with addiction treatment. I was so worried about being judged for my condition. Instead, I found compassion and acceptance from all different directions. My cocaine withdrawal symptoms were intense when I first got to detox, but my care team kept me from returning to my cocaine use.
I wanted to quit the first day and go get high, but they stuck by me and guided me through the process, and helped me even when I was struggling hard. The comedown was tough, but it was all worth it to get to where I find myself today.
Love And Support Through the Sobriety Community
In my experience with sobriety, nothing is sugar-coated. You are given all the information you need to succeed, while also being warned about the potential for relapse. Addiction isn’t usually something that can be cured. However, it is something that can be maintained with the right attitude and a good support system.
Every high I ever had from cocaine can’t compare to the natural high of being around like-minded individuals in recovery. I was overwhelmed by all the judgment-free people that I encountered through recovery. Cocaine makes life a living hell, which is something that I try to convey to anybody who is struggling.
Reach Out Now for Cocaine Recovery Options!
I speak as much as possible in support groups about the effects of cocaine use and how it can lead you into a downward spiral. I have plenty of days where I feel weak and worry about relapse. That doesn’t mean it has to be a reality, and every day sober is truly a gift I never thought I’d be able to say I own.
None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t done that internet search and gotten help through Rehabs Of Armerica. If you or somebody you love needs a lifeline to get off coke for good, why not reach out now and get options for a life beyond your wildest dreams?
Nicole R. is an experienced and accomplished writer with special interests in the fields of Anthropology, English, and behavioral health, and has written countless articles for newspaper publications, institutional research journals, and Find Addiction Rehabs.
Her alma matter is Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Nicole hopes to spread awareness of and combat the stigmatization surrounding addiction and substance abuse treatment through her writing and work in the field.
