How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Body?

If you’ve asked yourself, “How long does cocaine stay in your body?”, it could be coming from a subconscious place of worry or regret or a palpable realization that using cocaine was a mistake.   

And there’s good reason to feel that way since it’s well-known that cocaine is one of the most harmful drugs affecting the lives of millions of people. If you’ve used it once or twice, you might be feeling some ill effects and wondering if it’s a sign of something more serious. If you’ve become a regular user, you might have an inkling that you’re getting hooked on the drug and be worried about what will happen if you continue using it. 

Or you might question, “How long does it take to pass a drug test after using cocaine?”, concerned about failing a drug screening for a new job that could adversely impact your livelihood in addition to your health and well-being.  

These questions point to an awareness and an obvious sign that you’re open to looking at your cocaine use and how the body processes it — important realizations to quitting before cocaine use becomes problematic and seeking help if it does.   

What Is Cocaine? 

Powerful is a word commonly used to describe cocaine, a stimulant produced from the leaves of the South American coca plant. Cocaine is typically found in three forms: 

Powdered cocaine, known for its fine, white appearance, is crushed down from hydrochloride salt and can be injected into a vein, snorted through one’s nostrils, or rubbed onto the gums. 

• Crack cocaine (named for the sound the cocaine rock makes while being heated) can be smoked in freebase pipe form. 

• Cocaine paste can also be smoked. 

Cocaine works by influencing the brain’s limbic system, which regulates pleasure and motivation and activates your brain’s dopamine receptors. “This dopamine surge, simultaneous with the euphoric effects of the drug, teaches the brain that this reward is desirable and to seek it again,” notes the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  

A cocaine high is fleeting (five minutes to half an hour) but intense, marked by feelings of euphoria, alertness, and confidence.  

Is Cocaine Addictive?  

One reason why repeated, chronic cocaine use makes it so addictive is the tangible changes it makes to the brain. In a normal functioning brain, dopamine is like a chemical messenger sending signals from neuron to neuron, explains the NIDA.  

But cocaine acts as a kind of disruptor. It interrupts and interferes with this process, attaching itself to your brain’s dopamine receptors and flooding them with a surge of the hormone (more than your brain would normally produce) responsible for the drug’s high that leads users to want more of it. 

However, the more one takes any addictive drug, cocaine included, the more the body and brain become used to it, leading you to take more of it, more frequently, to match those initial highs when you were new to cocaine.  

This tolerance leads to dependence, when you depend on a drug to function. Addiction takes hold when you can’t stop using a drug — even if you want to — without the onset of severe, sometimes life-threatening, withdrawal symptoms. “Many (people) report that as tolerance develops, they fail to achieve the positive effects they experienced when they first began using the drug; thus, they begin to use cocaine with greater frequency and in larger doses,” says the National Drug Intelligence Center. 

Can You Overdose on Cocaine?   

A cocaine overdose can happen even if it’s your first time trying it, and overdoses are often fatal. Cardiovascular symptoms are often present, like an irregular heartbeat, chest pain, hyperventilation/fast breathing, and an elevated body temperature. During a cocaine overdose, you might also experience stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, and uncontrollable convulsions. 

“Individuals who use the drug may become restless, irritable and anxious,” says the Drug Intelligence Center. “Use of powdered cocaine also can result in constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. Heart attack, respiratory failure, stroke and seizure also may result from cocaine use.” 

Additionally, your risk of cocaine overdose magnifies when mixing it with other substances, like alcohol or opioids. “People combine these drugs because the stimulating effects of cocaine are offset by the sedating effects of an opioid; however, this can lead to taking a high dose of the opioid without initially realizing it,” says the NIDA. “Because cocaine’s effects wear off sooner, this can lead to an opioid overdose.” 

Statistics About Cocaine Use in America  

Statistics show that about 2.2 million people use cocaine regularly, with more than half -1.5 million people — meeting the diagnostic criteria for cocaine use disorder. And while cocaine use has actually declined among American adults within the last 25 years, its use among adolescents is rising, as cocaine abuse remains a pressing problem.  

Some fast facts about cocaine: 

• In 2017, 20% of more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths involved cocaine. 

• The likelihood of developing cocaine dependence from first-time use is 7.1%, compared to just 2% for users of tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana. 

• Additionally, 15% of cocaine users are likely to develop cocaine use disorder within 10 years compared to 8% of cannabis users and 12% to 13% of people who drink. 

• There’s a hereditary risk for developing CUD — an estimated 65% in women and up to 79% in men. 

• Cocaine use is linked to co-occurring mental disorders — 45% of users reported having a mood disorder and 31% an anxiety disorder. (Cocaine use triples one’s risk for depression, doubled for anxiety.) 

• Studies show that adults not enrolled in college full-time are twice as likely to abuse cocaine than full-time students — a difference of 11.1% to 5.3%. 

• 21% of people diagnosed with cocaine use disorder continue to use the drug weekly — after five years, that number rises to 25%.