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Below, we’ve listed some of the most common effects experienced when consuming cocaine; this list is not definitive, nor exhaustive. You may not experience all these effects, nor the same every time, and your friends around you may have a vastly different experience. The way you consume cocaine also affects the intensity of the effects. Remember, the likelihood of experiencing negative effects is much greater at high doses.

Within minutes, the sights and sounds of the world around you become brighter and more vibrant. Any hunger you might have had will disappear as you start to feel more energetic and alert. A general sense of euphoria will arise, coupled with increased confidence and you’ll feel more social and talkative. Be careful of becoming aggressive and making rash decisions which might end getting you or others hurt.

After a while, you may start to feel restless, irritable, and even anxious. You might get tremors, a pounding heart and start sweating. And if you take it late, you’ll probably find it difficult to fall asleep. Drink plenty of water, have a heart breakfast, and make sure to catch up on the lost sleep.

Cocaine overdose

Sometimes we take too much. Here are some signs to look out for, internal and external, to help you spot the signs of overdose in others. If you think someone is suffering from an overdose, the most important thing to do is to get medical help immediately.

External

• Seizures
• Confusion
• Tremors
• Difficulty breathing
• Vomiting

Internal

• Fast heart rate
• High body temperature
• Nausea
• Paranoia
• Hallucinations
• Anxiety or panic

References: drugabuse.gov; Jewell, 2019; drugabuse.gov

How? How much? When? For how long?

The way you consume cocaine can vastly impact the experience during the ‘high’ and especially after. The dose taken, the way it’s taken and the purity of the cocaine are all important factors. Even then, the effects of using cocaine will vary depending on many factors, such as your weight, gender, metabolism and tolerance from previous use.

The purity of cocaine and which substances are added vary greatly, and this can change how much you can take. The advice below is based on the effects of pure cocaine. We understand that it is difficult to find pure cocaine, so it is best to start off taking less and seeing how you feel.

Read our section on dosing and tolerance for more information.

How you take cocaine matters...

Snorting

This is the most common way of taking cocaine. Lines or bumps of powdered cocaine are taken into a nostril and enters the bloodstream via the membrane inside your nose. Use a clean straw and clean surfaces where possible. Avoid bills, they’re very dirty.

Be careful: repeated use can cause damage to your nasal septum (the part in the middle) and makes you more susceptible to infections.

Gumming

Slightly less common, powdered cocaine is rubbed onto the inside of the lips, on the gums, or left under the tongue. This will cause localised numbness.

Be careful: this can cause damage to your gums, lips and/or teeth.

Smoking

Requires a glass pipe and only works with crack cocaine, a slightly different form of cocaine popularized in the 1980s. Do not try to smoke powdered cocaine.

Be careful: if you smoke crack cocaine you are at high risk of becoming dependent, it is also harmful to your lungs. Do not not smoke crack cocaine if you have asthma. Learn more about crack cocaine in our blog post.

Injecting

Cocaine can be directly injected into a vein, using a needle or syringe. Do not use injection methods if you are not properly trained or supervised, you can seriously injure yourself. Never share needles, you will be at risk of contracting serious infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C.

Be careful: injecting cocaine (or any drug for that matter) makes you much more likely to become dependent to it.

References: Tashkin, 2001; Brand et al., 2008; Novak and Kral, 2011; drugabuse.gov

How much cocaine?

The purity of cocaine can vary greatly. To avoid taking too much, always start low and go slow. If you increase the dose, do so gradually. Bear in mind that the effect of a certain dose of cocaine is different for each way of taking it. If you inject you must significantly lower the dose compared to snorting!

Snorting

• Threshold: 5 - 10 mg
• Light: 10 - 30 mg
• Common: 30 - 60 mg
• Strong: 60 - 90 mg
• Heavy: 90+ mg

Smoking

• Common: 15-50 mg

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find reliable sources for other ways of taking cocaine. If you have a reliable source please send it to contact@drugsand.me :)

References: DanceSafe; PsychonautWiki

When do the effects of cocaine kick in and for how long?

It’s crucial to know what to expect so you can know if anything is off when you’re taking cocaine, or if you plan on mixing other drugs with it (e.g. with opposing effects).

START → when you can expect to begin to feel the effects of cocaine

PEAK → length of time that you should feel the strongest effects for

DURATION → total amount of time you can expect to experience the effects of cocaine

After that, effects will start to wind down and you might start to feel comedown effects. Remember, these times can vary also depending on the factors mentioned above, e.g. weight, metabolism, dose, and tolerance.

Snorting

• Start: 3 - 5 min
• Peak: ~15 min
• Duration: 10 - 20 min

Gumming

• Start: 3 - 5 min
• Peak: N/A
• Duration: 10 - 20 min

Smoking (crack cocaine)

• Start: seconds
• Peak: 1 - 5 min
• Duration: 5 - 20 min

Injection

• Start: seconds
• Peak: 3 - 5 min
• Duration: 10 - 20 min

References: 15. Burnett, 2015; 16. NIH.gov

How often can I take cocaine?

It’s important to know how often you can take cocaine. In the short-term you might overdose by having too much too soon. In the long-term, you might harm your body or predispose yourself to mental health issues.

Think about how you can be more mindful in your use of cocaine. Save it for special one-off occasions and try not to form a habit. Cocaine is damaging to your nose so this will also help save it from damage and allow it to recover.

If you do plan on taking cocaine, start with a small dose and pace yourself (with a new batch wait at least half an hour before redosing).

Cocaine has high addictive potential, the less often you do it, the less chances of becoming dependent. The speed at which you become addicted depends on many factors, no one person will have the same experience with cocaine.

Don’t take more cocaine to counteract the effects of a crash after using: let your body and mind recover, seek help if you are having trouble handling it.

If there’s one thing that can really be dangerous, it’s mixing drugs. We’ve compiled here the safety profiles of various mixes with cocaine (legal and illegal), but don’t swear by them. If you’re taking prescribed medication, be extremely wary when taking recreational drugs. These interactions are often poorly researched and you will definitely not be warned by your doctor about it.

This tool is based on the TripSit drug combinations chart as well as our own additional research, cited at the end of each tailored message. We can’t stress enough that you should always do additional research before mixing drugs. Everyone is different and you can still have an adverse reaction even if the combination is marked as low risk.

Taking drugs is risky business. If you are going to take cocaine then there are certain precautions that can reduce that risk. We’ve separated these into tips for preparing yourself beforehand, taking care of yourself and others during, and ways to mitigate the after-effects once the cocaine has worn out.

References: Goldstein et al., 2009; Drug Policy Alliance; Hartney, 2020; Our Health Service

The legal status of recreational drugs sometimes evolves, always do additional research.

Careful. The legal statuses below refer to possession, and not supply/trafficking, which may still be illegal despite possession being legal/decriminalised. In such cases, selling/giving it to friends may get you into trouble, possibly even buying.

Europe

• UK: Illegal. Class A drug. Legal under medical conditions.
• Germany: Illegal (possession of small amounts affords possibilities other than prosecution). Legal under medical conditions.
• France: Illegal.
• Netherlands: Illegal. Schedule I drug.
• Spain: Decriminalised for small amounts and private use. Public consumption or possession punishable by fines.
• Russia: Illegal. Note, there has been concern over Russian agencies and police forces violating human rights and abusing Article 228 that outlines the law for drug crimes.
• Czech Republic: Legal for personal use.

America

• USA: Illegal. Schedule II drug. Legal under medical conditions.
• Canada: Illegal. Schedule I drug.
• Mexico: Decriminalised under 500mg of personal use. Individuals caught with any amount at or below this limit will still be encouraged to seek treatment.

Asia

• Hong-Kong: Illegal.
• Singapore: Illegal. Class A drug.
• Israel: Illegal. Individuals without a criminal record that are caught with possession of a small amount of a drug for the first time are generally not subjected to full enforcement of the law.

Africa

• South Africa: Illegal. Classified as ‘Dangerous-Dependence Producing Substance’.

Australia

• Australia: Illegal (referred to as ‘Controlled Drug’). Schedule 8 drug.
• New Zealand: Illegal. Class A drug.

References: 73. EMCDDA

Sometimes the drugs we think we are buying turn out to be something very different. Knowing of the common substitutes that dealers swap them for and adulterants they add in is an easy way to protect yourself and your friends. Here are some of the most common things other than cocaine found in recreational samples.

Levamisole

Levamisole is used to treat inflammatory conditions and cancer but in a small proportion of people it is extremely harmful, even at low doses. Over the past years, it’s been found in the majority of tested cocaine samples in Europe and the U.S, so be careful. Read more here.

Local anaesthetics (e.g. lidocaine)

Local anaesthetics are similar to cocaine and can trick you into thinking that the batch is very pure by increasing the numbing effect on your nose and mouth. Unfortunately they can also increase the toxic effects of cocaine, such as changes in heart rhythm or seizures.

Phenacetin

Phenacetin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (or NSAID). It’s occasionally added because it makes the powder look shiny and tastes bitter (like cocaine → so the Tongue test can't help to detect this adulterant).In high doses it can damage your kidneys and increase your risk of cancer.

Caffeine

Caffeine pills are relatively cheap and white, so they’re commonly crushed and mixed into cocaine powder. Caffeine is also a stimulant so it will add strain on your heart and can slightly increase your risk of overstimulation/overdose.

How to test your cocaine

The absolute best way to test your cocaine is to get it tested by a proper agency with a spectrophotometer (like The Loop). Sadly, that’s quite rare. The next best thing is using a reagent testing kit. Although they aren’t perfect, they can give you a good idea of whether your cocaine is contaminated, but can’t tell you anything about strength. Get one here.

If you don’t have a reagent testing kit then there are still some ways to check your cocaine powder for some adulterant drugs. These are not ideal, but can still give you help a bit.

Tongue test – place a small amount of cocaine around your gum and lip. Pure cocaine should cause a numb feeling in that area, and should have a bitter taste.

Melting test – melt a small amount of cocaine. Pure cocaine will melt almost immediately. If it takes longer or some parts melt faster or slower than others, your cocaine may be mixed with other substances.

References: Kudlacek et al. 2017; Prieto, 2019; Larocque and Hoffman, 2012

How you take cocaine

The way that you take cocaine changes some of the harms that you can experience from it.

Snorting can lead to frequent nosebleeds and runny nose, loss of smell, and problems swallowing.

Gumming can cause damage to your lips, gums and teeth.

Smoking crack cocaine can worsen an already existent asthma condition, and cause lung damage. It also increases your chance of contracting infections (e.g. pneumonia)..

Injecting cocaine is especially dangerous because of the high risk of contracting diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C, among others. Injecting can also lead to collapsed veins and scarring.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

After using cocaine, it's common to experience mood swings and low mood. Try to reflect on your use as regularly as possible to make sure that it isn't negatively affecting your life. Look at your relationships, your work, and your behaviour.

Cocaine dependence

Cocaine is a highly addictive drug. Although you won’t necessarily become addicted after only using it once, repeated use can cause dependence down the line. About 17% of people who try cocaine end up becoming addicted. We advise that you limit cocaine consumption for very rare occasions and never introduce it into your daily lifestyle.

Keep in mind that the addictiveness of cocaine is dependent on the way you use it. Chewing coca leaves rarely leads to addiction, but it’s now one of the least common ways of consuming cocaine. On the other hand, smoking crack cocaine and injecting cocaine are much more likely to lead to addiction.

Withdrawal

When you stop using cocaine, your body enters a state of withdrawal. The effects of this depend on how often you use cocaine and how much you take. If you experience withdrawal symptoms, they can be a sign of cocaine dependence and you should seek help. Most importantly, don’t take more cocaine to overcome a crash or withdrawal.

These symptoms of cocaine withdrawal include:

• Depression
• Fatigue
• Increased appetite
• Unpleasant dreams and insomnia
• Slowed thinking

Learn more about withdrawal in our guide.

How to get help

About 70% of people who go into treatment for powdered cocaine problems either stop taking the drug completely or take a lot less within 6 months. The hard but important part is recognizing that you or someone you know is addicted; this is the first step towards getting help.

If you think you or someone you know are showing signs of dependence, seek help immediately by contacting emergency services or drug treatment facilities in your area. Treatments available include:

Behavioural Intervention

This includes contingency management (CM), cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and/or therapeutic communities (TCs)

Telephone Counseling

If cost is an issue, telephone counseling is a less expensive type of treatment that can be very effective as well.

Medication

While there is no accepted medication that treats cocaine dependence, many drugs are being tested at the moment.

It’s important for anyone with a cocaine dependence to try different types of treatment to see what best fits and helps them. Sometimes a combination of therapies is the best strategy. In addition, people with dependence on cocaine or any other drug need to address any social, familial or mental health troubles.

Long-term effects of cocaine...

When cocaine is used over a long period of time, it can have damaging long-term effects on a few of the body’s systems. Each method of using cocaine (snorting, smoking, injecting etc.) also has its own physical effects.

Gastrointestinal Tract (Stomach and Digestive System)

Cocaine reduces blood flow to your stomach, which can cause tears and ulcerations. Chronic users often lose their appetite and find themselves losing a lot of weight.

Heart and Cardiovascular System

Chronic cocaine use can lead to a high risk of stroke and inflammation of the heart muscle. After long-term cocaine use, the heart can lose its ability to pump blood properly and it can become easier to tear the aortic muscle. As a result, heavy cocaine users often experience chest pains, heart attacks and even heart failure.

Brain and Nervous System

Long-term cocaine use can cause bleeding within the brain to occur. There is some evidence that important mental functions such as attention, memory and decision making become impaired as well. This may be due to a reduction in the amount of blood reaching the brain with frequent cocaine use.

Mental Health

Regular cocaine use can worsen your mental health. Depression and anxiety are common results of chronic use.

References: NIDA, 2016; Brody, 2003; Brazier, 2017; Egred and Davis, 2005; Frazer et al., 2018; NIDA, 2016

Using cocaine can worsen pre-existing physical and/or mental health conditions. For any of the following conditions, beware that you may be at higher risk of dangerous effects if you use cocaine.

Liver and kidney conditions

Avoid taking cocaine if you have a liver or kidney condition. Cocaine is broken down by the liver and kidney so you will be in serious danger of overdosing and experiencing drug toxicity.

Asthma

Avoid smoking crack cocaine if you have asthma. It has been proven to exacerbate respiratory issues.

Heart conditions

Avoid taking cocaine if you have an existing condition affecting your heart or circulatory system (e.g. coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, high blood pressure). Cocaine is a stimulant and will exacerbate the strain on your heart.

Psychiatric disorders

Avoid taking cocaine if you have, or think you may have, anxiety or depression. There is a high risk that using it will worsen your mental health.

Seizure disorder

Avoid taking cocaine if you have a seizure disorder. Cocaine will increase your risk of experiencing one.

References: Estroff and Gold, 1985; Morton, 1999

FAQs

Can you get addicted to cocaine after only one try?

This is not true for any drug. Addiction is a complex disorder that it is still not fully understood. It relies on many different factors such as the times a particular drug is consumed, the quantity used, the family history of mental health, and social interactions.

How long will cocaine stay in my system?

How long cocaine can be detected after it was last used depends on the way the drug was taken (snorted, smoked, injected etc), the type of test being used and a range of other factors, such as how often you’re using.

The most common way of testing if cocaine is in your system is through a urine test. In general, cocaine can be detected up to 2-3 days after consumption in a urine test. In heavy cocaine users though, it’s possible that cocaine can be detected for up to two weeks after using.

Other ways to test cocaine use include blood, saliva or hair samples. Hair samples provide the longest period of detection after consumption. In general, cocaine can be detected in hair follicles for up to three months after using.

References: Buddy, 2017; Smith et al., 2010