
After long-term cocaine use, cocaine addiction recovery is almost universally an uphill battle. Despite their best intentions, many cocaine addicts relapse when the side effects of crack and cocaine are hit with a vengeance. It may be somewhat comforting to know, however, that with some of the common challenges in cocaine recovery, there are effective methods to beat them after long-term cocaine use.
Why Is Cocaine So Addictive?
The 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that 5.5 million people were past-year users of cocaine in 2019 and one million people had a cocaine use disorder. One reason those numbers are not lower is that cocaine is very addictive: It’s very potent high can hook even first-time users.
Using cocaine increases dopamine levels in the brain, then prevents the brain’s ability to clear out the dopamine until the drug is completely gone from the body. It only takes about 15-20 minutes for the brain to again absorb dopamine, but this leaves the brain exhausted and unable to produce dopamine naturally. The result is a crash, with cocaine users and addicts needing to use again. Further complicating the issue, addiction can occur even after the first use.
Once someone tries cocaine, the highly addictive drug can ensnare the individual in a short time. This can lead to dependence and then addiction. Long-term cocaine use carries challenges that are unique as well as common to other drugs of abuse.
Cocaine addiction, a chronic disorder, has a high rate of relapse. Besides being one of the illicit drugs most abused in the United States, cocaine is involved in more than 50 percent of the overdose deaths in this country. Cocaine use is often combined with other substances of abuse, which adds to the danger of overdose.