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Risks of Cocaine Use

Cocaine is an addictive, extremely dangerous drug that can be fatal with just one use. It is a powerful stimulant, causing an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Even one use can result in a heart attack or stroke. Its capacity to cause addiction is so strong that you can become dependent upon it after trying it the first time. Some side effects will differ according to the method of administration, but most of the risks are common to all methods.

  1. Methods of Use

    • The three methods people use to get cocaine into their body are snorting, smoking and injecting. Injecting or smoking will produce more rapidly felt effects than snorting. The faster-acting methods of administration will produce a greater degree of euphoria, but it will be of shorter duration. Snorting will produce a 15- to 30-minute high, but the other two methods will result in a five- to 10-minute high. If cocaine addicts want the euphoria to continue, they need to re-administer the drug, leading to a dangerous binge.

    Effects of Different Methods of Use

    • Cocaine users will experience some side effects that differ according to their method of use. The injection method will increase the risk of AIDS and other blood-transmitted disorders. Snorting the drug can produce difficulty swallowing and can cause the nose to run constantly; this method of inhaling cocaine can eventually lead to the loss of the sense of smell and cause a hole to form in the septum that separates the left and right nostrils. Those who ingest it might incur gangrene of the bowel, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports.

    General Side Effects

    • In addition to its dangerous stimulant and addiction effects, cocaine can cause headaches, blurred vision and gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain and nausea. It reduces the appetite, causing habitual users to become thin and undernourished. Other serious complications include seizures, respiratory failure and coma.

      Mental symptoms include paranoia, a condition where the person is not in contact with reality. Other mental problems include irritability, restlessness and mood disorders. Auditory hallucinations might occur as well. Large amounts can produce violence and erratic behavior.

    The Addiction Process

    • Once taken into the body, cocaine will quickly produce a feeling of energy and euphoria, but these effects will also diminish quickly. After the positive effects lessen, users experiences depression and nervousness, causing them to want more of the drug to regain those good feelings. Chronic cocaine users will develop tolerance to the drug. In tolerance, the body needs greater quantities of the drug to reach the same degree of euphoria. The reality is that the larger the dose of the drug taken, the greater the side effects and risk of life-threatening events.

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