Tips for Teens, The Truth About Cocaine

COCAINE AFFECTS YOUR BRAIN. Cocaine causes a brief high that makes the user feel more energetic, talkative, and alert; this can be followed by feelings of restlessness, irritability, and panic.1 Cocaine is highly addictive and can increase the risk of negative psychological states, including paranoia, anxiety, and psychosis.2,3
COCAINE AFFECTS YOUR BODY. People who use cocaine often don’t eat or sleep regularly. They can experience increased heart rate, muscle spasms, and convulsions. Snorting cocaine also can permanently damage nasal tissue.4
COCAINE AFFECTS YOUR EMOTIONS. Using cocaine can change your mood and make you feel paranoid, angry, and anxious.5
COCAINE IS ADDICTIVE. Repeated cocaine use changes the brain circuits that process feelings of pleasure, which can cause a person to lose interest in other areas of their life, like school, friends, and sports.6 It also damages brain circuits that control stress, decision making, and impulse control, making it more difficult to stop using, even when it has negative effects on your life and health. Frequent use also can lead to tolerance and withdrawal, so you need more of the drug just to feel normal.7
COCAINE CAN KILL YOU. Cocaine use can cause seizures, strokes, and comas. Cocaine can change the way the heart beats and lead to a heart attack. People who share needles can contract hepatitis, HIV, and other diseases.8 It also is particularly dangerous to consume cocaine and alcohol at the same time; they combine to produce a third chemical, cocaethylene, that is far more toxic than either cocaine or alcohol alone.9
COCAINE ADDICTION IS TREATABLE. Behavioral drug treatments can help someone stop using cocaine and recover from addiction.10