Cocaine is an illegal drug that comes in crystal or powder form. The short form of cocaine is simply coke, and it is usually mixed with elements such as local anesthetics such as procaine, corn starch, sugar, talcum powder, amphetamines, and so on. Over the years, a common question comes up every time there is a discussion about cocaine. It is about how long does coke stay in your system? In this article, we will discuss all that you would want to know about the drug, and also find answers to this question.
The name cocaine comes from the fact that the substance is an extraction of coca leaves. It was initially discovered and developed for a useful purpose, i.e., as a painkiller. However, it has now become one of the most harmful and abusive substances. They are also banned in a lot of countries. The most common way of using it for offensive purposes is by either rubbing it on the gums or simply sniffing it.
You will find people who use other techniques of consumption too. People who are addicted adopt extreme ways of consumption, such as injecting cocaine into the body. Besides, they also inhale it in the form of vapor or smoke. The second way speeds up the absorption process and is arguably less harmful than the former.
What happens during cocaine consumption?
As said earlier, cocaine is an A-lister when it comes to harmful and deadly drugs. Therefore, the answer to how long does coke stay in your system becomes straightforward. According to experts and scientists, ones a person starts consuming coke, he will probably never be able to free himself from the addiction.
The drug can take over your mind and body quickly and surprisingly, start controlling your actions. Talking about physical effects, the major one is that cocaine stimulates the nerve-endings of your system. They are the significant receptors sensing alterations in the body. Moreover, the brain creates a euphoria that leads to the development of tolerance. After this, if a person wants to feel the same effect of the drug, only high dosages can satisfy him.
In spite of such dangerous effects, presently, cocaine is an enterprise worth billions of dollars and is spread worldwide. The users of this drug belong to all age, occupational, and economic groups. Sadly, there are children as young as 7-8 years old who have become victims of drug abuse too.
Extremely dangerous
Coke or cocaine is fatal too. The side-effects can range from severe illnesses and physical defects to death as well. It can be a reason of death due to brain hemorrhage, respiratory failure, stroke, heart attack, and so on. Newborn babies are found addicted to cocaine, and the reason is the prolonged addiction of their mothers. They not only become addicts right from birth, but several babies also suffer from various congenital disabilities.
The most unfortunate part of the entire story is that the drug market and the demand for cocaine is on the rise for years now. The most probable reason for such a condition is the answer to the same question of how long does coke stay in your system? Yes, it remains in the system forever, and that is why people cannot come out of even the initial stages of addiction. It further leads down through the passage of extreme addiction and apathetic life altogether.
How long does coke stay in your system?
There has never been any definite answer to this question because there is no particular timeframe for cocaine to show up. The drug is also called coke, snow, crack, rocks, flake, and so on. How long does coke stay in your system will hugely depend on several factors. It includes information about the person’s hydration level, metabolism, age, body mass, and so on.
There are so many varieties of tests that are possible to screen out specific results. For example, the examination of blood, hair follicle, urine, saliva, and so on are ways in which you can detect cocaine effect on the body. However, there is no specific timeframe for the results. It can range from a day to a couple of months in some cases too.
Cocaine is considered to be a controlled substance that is regarded as Schedule II. Therefore, it is illegal in several countries, such as the United States. The reason is, of course, that it is a significant threat to the physical and psychological condition of a person. It has excellent potential for misuse and so banned completely. However, there is more explanation to the question of how long does coke stay in your system?
What is the duration after which you would feel the effects?
Now, this one is an essential section in which you will find significant parts of your answer for how long does coke stay in your system? The primary factor that affects the duration of administration of the effects of coke depends mainly on the way of use. For example, whether it is injected, snorted, or taken orally.
The factors can profoundly influence the duration and intensity of the high. If you go into more detail, you will get to know that snorting produces quite a low onset that will last from about 15 minutes to half an hour. On the contrary, smoking cocaine leads to immediate effects that will just last for 5-10 minutes.
When you are high on cocaine, you will surprisingly feel much better. It is said to make you feel pleasure, energy, and confidence that is more than you would have ever expected. However, the high only remains for a specific period, and then you will hit the dark again. The after-effects include anxiety, exhaustion, tension, agitation, depression, and so on. Therefore, there is a quick cycle that leads to an active addiction to cocaine.
What are the effects and feelings of cocaine?
Before going into a detailed explanation about the immediate effects of cocaine, here is a list of what happens when you use this drug. As soon as you inject, snort or consume coke, there are-
- Constriction of blood vessels
- Increase in blood pressure and heart rate
- Dilation of the pupils
- Breathlessness
- Rising body temperature
When we said that you get a different feeling on you are high on cocaine, we meant that you would feel-
- Hyperstimulation
- Insomnia
- Invincibility
- Boosted sex drive
- Mental alertness
- Contemplation
Does cocaine last long in the body?
It is just another version of the same question again about how long does coke stay in your system? Well, we are ready to explain that in more detail now. In this section, we will categorize the parts of your order that receives high amounts of stimulation when you consume cocaine.
According to scientists and experts, out of the total consumption by a single person, half of it takes at least an hour to get exhausted. Moreover, coke metabolizes itself with the help of enzymes in the blood and liver. The worst part is that reactions of cocaine happen so fast that medical tests can hardly detect them.
You can now thank the advancement in medical technology that there are tests to detect benzoylecgonine. It is an element present in cocaine and stays for a more extended period than the powder itself. Now let us take a look at estimated durations or detection scope when tests can find out the amount and effect of coke in the body.
Blood:
The blood tests that are conducted by medical professionals in a proper environment can now detect cocaine for as many as 12 hours. Moreover, it can detect benzoylecgonine for the next 48 hours of consumption. The latter has come as a blessing to drug abuse treatment now because it has made coke detection easier far.
Urine:
The good news is that urine examination in association with drug consumption is accurate in most of the cases. The primary reason for it is that the cross-reactivity between non-cocaine and other screen substances is almost nonexistent. Therefore, a urine test is usually the first solution when results for drug consumption are required.
The differentiating point between a blood and urine test is that by using the latter, one can detect drug consumption for almost the next three days. Cocaine metabolites in your urine exist prominently even after a reasonably long period. Medical science has become so progressive now that it can detect drug rate in a person’s urine even after a week or two. Now, this happens if the person is exceptionally high on drug use.
Saliva:
A saliva test is relatively different from any other drug examination, mainly because there are specific devices used to carry out the same. Professionals will use these unique tools to extract a small amount of saliva from the mouth, and finally deposit that into a tube. With the help of such tests, cocaine in the body can be found out even up to two days of consumption.
Hair:
The best in the list is saved for the last. Yes, you guessed it right because we are talking about hair testing for drug usage. There are typical techniques used for this test that can detect metabolites of cocaine in hair follicles. Moreover, results can still be accurate if the tests are conducted after 2-3 months.
Factors affecting detection time
The truth is that the detection time of benzoylecgonine is directly proportional to the amount of cocaine that is consumed. Moreover, the volume or the frequency of coke can also determine the level of purity of the drug and how long the effect stays in the system.
1. Caffeine and alcohol consumption:
Alcohol can slow down the elimination of coke or any other similar harmful drug. Caffeine also has the same reaction in association with cocaine. Therefore, consumption of either of these along with cocaine means that benzoylecgonine particles will be available in the system even after a couple of days.
2. Body fat
Benzoylecgonine is a stubborn substance and gets stored in the fatty tissues of the body. It also remains there for quite some time. The catch, in this case, is that the fatter you are, the more drug your body and tissues will retain. Also, the detection period stretches longer in the case of overweight people in comparison to others.
3. Physical activity
You must have guessed this point already because it is nothing unexpected. Yes, you are correct because people who consume drugs and exercise too are expected to eliminate the effects of cocaine sooner. On the contrary, the others who do not exercise in spite of cocaine consumption face retention of coke for a much longer time. Also, the first section of people stays healthier in comparison to the latter.
4. Hydration
Water dilutes anything and, as a result, helps in the fast elimination of cocaine residues in the system. Therefore, people who drink a lot of water will come out with minor metabolites in comparison to the ones who are dehydrated.
5. Snorting vs. injecting vs. smoking
The detection time also majorly depends on the way you consume cocaine- whether you snort, inject, or smoke the powder. It is because, according to research, the faster your system absorbs the drug, the lesser will be the detection period. Therefore, if a person injects or smokes, the excretion of the metabolites will be faster than if he snorts the same.
What are the symptoms of overdose?
Have you heard of the term ‘cocaine intoxication’? It is the condition that takes place when there is excessive cocaine concentration in the system. It can result in dangerous symptoms and side-effects such as,
- Agitation and anxiety
- Sudden death
- Pressure or chest pain
- Irregular heartbeats
- Enlarged pupils
- Stroke
- Euphoria
- Seizures
- Increased blood pressure levels
- Kidney damage
- Sweating
- A rise in body temperature
- Tremors
- Muscle damage and hyperactivity
- Confusion
Other than the above, high doses of cocaine can result in psychosis and other mental illness such as depression. It is hard to understand when there will be an overdose. Some people remain steady even after high levels of consumption, while some cannot handle the first also does.
Final thoughts
Cocaine, also known as coke, is an illegal and harmful drug that can lead to several critical conditions in the body. You must be aware of the side-effects of such substances, and it is best to stay away from them.
