Derived from coca leaves, cocaine is a powerful stimulant and anesthetic that played a role in 13,942 overdoses in 2017 alone. The addictive and deadly nature of this drug makes it one of the most notorious addictions demanding treatment. Since cocaine is a Schedule II controlled substance, people cannot possess it in the United States. This is because of the high chance of someone misusing it and becoming severely psychologically or physically dependant on it.
Cocaine is one of the trickiest substances to determine how long it will stay in your system because a multitude of variables come into play. With so many kinds of drug screening tests available, the windows in which you can test positive can vary. If you’ve done cocaine in the last three months, you can test positive. However, it depends on which test you’re given.
This illicit substance is causing problems in the lives of families across the globe. Whether impacting an addict’s physical health, relationships, or brain, cocaine takes a firm grasp of the person and turns their world upside down. The struggle of addiction is tormenting addicts and their families. But life doesn’t have to be this way. If you or someone you love are struggling with a cocaine addiction, finding treatment is essential to break the bonds of addiction.
At Transitions Recovery, we’re helping our clients find the best transitions of themselves. We’ll uncover the root of your addiction and treat it to help you achieve the long-term results you deserve. Please contact our Miami rehab today by calling 800-626-1980.
How Long Is Cocaine Detectable?
Blood: Up to 24 hours
Hair: Up to 90 days
Saliva: Up to 2 days
Urine: Up to 3 days
How about if you’re a heavy user? The stimulant itself does not last very long, although it depends on how it’s applied.
Smoking cocaine offers an immediate high that lasts between five and 10 minutes. However, snorting the powerful drug brings on a slower onset paired with a high lasting between 15 and 30 minutes.
Users describe the drug as feeling euphoric, offering pleasurable feelings, and increases in confidence and energy. Following this intense high is a crash, promoting feelings of tension, depression, exhaustion, agitation, and anxiety. This is a rapid and intense cycle that adds to this drug’s addictive nature.
These are some of the physical signs someone using cocaine will exhibit:
- Constricted blood vessels
- Dilated pupils
- Elevated body temperature
- Increases in heart rate and blood pressure
- Accelerated breathing
Some other side effects a person might experience while on the drug include:
- Feeling invincible
- Feeling overstimulated
- Increased mental alertness
- Encouraged talkativeness
- Increasingly sexual
- Decreased desire for sleep
- Contemplative
How Long Do You Feel Cocaine?
The half-life of cocaine is around an hour. This is because the body metabolizes half of the cocaine found in your bloodstream in this period.
Enzymes in the liver and blood metabolize the substance so fast that most screening tests can’t detect the drug. The majority of tests are screening for benzoylecgonine because cocaine gets metabolized so rapidly.
Benzoylecgonine is a cocaine metabolite. Since cocaine doesn’t stay in your system for a long time, most tests are actually screening for this metabolite. These are the different kinds of tests you can use to test for cocaine:
Blood: Approximately 12 Hours After Use, Benzoylecgonine For 48 Hours
If you’re getting a blood test for cocaine done, it’s likely happening in a hospital setting. These tests are capable of detecting cocaine in a person’s blood for half a day after using it. However, they can test for benzoylecgonine for up to 48 hours.
Urine: Three Days to Two Weeks After Use
Urine drug screens for cocaine are highly accurate at detecting recent cocaine use. This is because cross-reactivity between the screen and other non-cocaine substances is nonexistent. Unlike testing for heroin, there isn’t a possibility for a false positive. These screenings can usually detect cocaine metabolites for three days after using it. However, some heavy users have had detection times as long as two weeks following use.
Hair: Up to Three Months After Use
Hair follicle testing for cocaine is when a hair sample is analyzed. Cocaine metabolites are detectable in hair follicles for as long as three months after using it. However, these results can vary in accord with where you get the hair sample.
Saliva: Up to Two Days After Use
With a sample of saliva, it’s possible to detect cocaine metabolites for up to two days after a person uses the drug. The extraction incorporates a special device to put the saliva into a tube, making it a somewhat straightforward process.
Factors Impacting Cocaine Detection
The detection window for how long cocaine can stay in someone’s system is hard to determine. Since several factors come into play here, you could experience a longer or shorter period of detection than someone else. Here are the factors that’ll play a role in detecting cocaine in your body:
Cocaine Use Frequency & Purity
Excessively using cocaine means you’re taking more during each session. This results in the benzoylecgonine metabolite concentration rising, and this can result in these metabolites getting detected for longer.
Pairing Consumption with Alcohol
Combining cocaine with alcohol and caffeine consumption results in the formation of a unique cocaine metabolite called cocaethylene. Unlike benzoylecgonine, this metabolite has a longer half-life than cocaine. Cocaethylene cross-reacts with antibodies that screen for benzoylecgonine, meaning you’ll test positive for cocaine for longer after using cocaine and alcohol.
Hydration Levels
Dehydrated users tend to harbor the stimulant longer than those who remain hydrated. The water you’re drinking helps with expelling cocaine metabolites from your system, decreasing the time you can test positive.
Body Fat Percentage
Your body can store benzoylecgonine in fatty tissue. For anyone with high levels of body fat, these metabolites can build up in your adipose tissue, allowing them to remain in your system for longer.
Physical Activity
Since physical activity raises your metabolic rate, you’re excreting it faster when you’re active. This means you’ll have a shorter detection time if you’re active.
Method of Consumption
The detection time of cocaine also rises and falls with the administration method. If the drug absorbs into your bloodstream faster, you’re looking at a shorter detection window. So smoking or injecting cocaine results in it exiting the body more quickly than if you were snorting it.
Help for Cocaine Addiction
If you or a loved one has too much cocaine in your system or are worried about testing positive for this stimulant, seeking help is always an option. Regular cocaine use demands a long-term solution, and this begins with making a choice to get assistance.
Think you need the help of an effective cocaine rehab in Florida? At Transitions Discovery, we’ve successfully treated thousands of clients for cocaine addictions, uncovering the best transition of themselves in the process. For more information, please contact our Miami rehab today by calling 800-626-1980.
