How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System

The detection window for cocaine itself in urine is around one to two days. However, cocaine metabolites may be detectable in urine for three days or more after the last use of the drug. Those who use cocaine more frequently will likely have more metabolites in their system, leading to a longer detection window for cocaine in the body. However, benzoylecgonine can be detected in your blood for up to 48 hours or two days. Due to its invasive nature and long wait time for results, blood tests are not as common as urine or saliva tests. These drug tests are often only conducted in hospitals or similar medical facilities.

• She has been a counselor on the women’s team at Alina Lodge since 2014.
• During that time Chris has always aligned himself with treatment programs that have done excellent work for those struggling with substance use disorder.
• If you or someone you know is struggling with cocaine use and addiction, we can help.
• The average half-life of cocaine in blood plasma is around one and a half hours.
• Essentially, this means that the amount of the chemical found in your bloodstream will be reduced by half every four hours after using.

However, several drugs of abuse can cause liver damage over time, which may impede the liver’s ability to metabolize other drugs, such as cocaine. The primary organ responsible for breaking down cocaine in the body is the liver. This process is known as metabolism, where enzymes transform the substance https://stylevanity.com/2023/07/top-5-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-choosing-sober-house.html into other compounds called metabolites that are easier to eliminate from the body. Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant. This means that while it can be used medically as a local anesthesia, it also has a very high potential for abuse.

Cocaine Drug Tests & Benzoylecgonine

In general, four different types of drug tests are typically used to help companies identify whether someone has been using cocaine or any other drug for that matter. Cocaethylene, produced by the mixture of alcohol and cocaine, has a half-life that’s typically much longer than cocaine – around 4 hours. Essentially, this means that the amount of the chemical found in your bloodstream will be reduced by half every four hours after using.

Of course, there’s more than one way to test someone for the presence of cocaine. Cocaethylene has a plasma half-life that is three to five times longer than that of cocaine. Cocaethylene can contribute to liver damage, seizures, and impaired immune system functioning. When you use cocaine and alcohol together, your liver makes a new metabolite called cocaethylene.

How Is Cocaine Detected?

Most drugs are undetectable in the blood after five half-lives have passed, approximately 7.5 hours for cocaine. The half-life of cocaine is around one hour, so within four to five hours cocaine may leave the system. That doesn’t mean it can’t be detected in drug tests after this time, since the metabolites it produces may linger for longer. While cocaine works for only a short time, the metabolites can typically be detected for much longer. For this reason, most drug tests detect one of the metabolites of cocaine (benzoylecgonine) rather than cocaine itself. How long it can be detected varies depending on the type of drug test taken, how much or how frequently cocaine is used and liver and kidney function.

• Those with a cocaine addiction who are used to snorting cocaine are at risk of damaging their sense of smell and the structure of their nostrils.
• Therapeutic approaches are frequently employed in conjunction with drugs.
• A urine test can directly test for cocaine for a day or less but will detect cocaine metabolites for a few days — usually 1–2 days.
• Depending on your pattern of use, however, this might cause you to experience withdrawal symptoms.

When cocaine is snorted, it will instantly enter the bloodstream, creating a more instantaneous high from the drug. If cocaine is taken orally, it will first go to the stomach and then be transferred into the bloodstream, which usually takes about thirty minutes to reach the bloodstream from the stomach. If you or someone you care about is displaying any of these symptoms, there are resources available that can help. Talking to your doctor or contacting a drug treatment center can be a good first step to getting the help needed to recover from addiction.

Receive Help at a Private Rehab. We Provide Comprehensive Treatment for Cocaine Addiction.

Regardless of the various testing procedures accessible, urine testing for cocaine remains the most routinely used. Individuals worried about a positive cocaine result must research the risks of cocaine usage and reconsider quitting. Someone could suffer from a cocaine addiction if they find it difficult to discontinue consumption. However, the precise duration it takes to kick in varies on how you take it. The effects of snorting or orally using cocaine are felt between one to three minutes. If you smoke cocaine or inject it, the effects tend to be felt much quicker.

• If you or someone you care about is struggling with cocaine addiction, Great Oaks Recovery Center can help.
• The metabolites created by the metabolization process travel to the urine, hair, saliva, and bloodstream, eventually leaving the body.
• The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for half of its concentration to be reduced to half.
• Schools, employers, the military, and law enforcement use drug testing on a regular basis.
• According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), there were an estimated 1.5 million current cocaine users in 2014.

We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. As discussed above, how long cocaine remains in the body is dependent on several factors that vary between individuals. Cocaine has a relatively short half-life of around one hour, and different drug tests can detect cocaine metabolites from two days (blood and saliva tests) until three months (hair tests). Urine testing is the most popular method of cocaine testing because it’s the most accurate.

Do You Have Questions About Addiction? Call Our Recovery Experts Now.

In some cases, these effects may lead to a full-blown psychosis, where the person loses all sense of or touch with reality. Meanwhile, smoking cocaine offers immediate onset but a shorter duration, often no longer than 10 minutes. Cocaine stats suggest millions of Americans are found to be using or have used cocaine within any given year. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed that almost 2% or 5.2 million people over the age of 12 used cocaine in the year prior.

Detection times following cocaine use will vary from person to person depending on a number of factors. Depending on how much cocaine you abused, the symptoms of a cocaine comedown can vary. However, it is most common to experience extreme fatigue, depression, and symptoms of anxiety. Cocaine binges can be dangerous because they can lead to a life-threatening overdose. Understanding how long cocaine stays in your system could prevent you from taking too much of the substance at once.

Various factors affect the length of time it will stay in your system as each person has a different personal history, severity of drug abuse, and body chemistry. The cocaine addiction treatment process consists of detox, rehab, and continued support to ensure a successful long-term recovery. Addiction treatment begins with detox, during which you will be supported to break the physical dependence on cocaine. In some drug screens, a hair sample will be collected and tested. A hair drug test can detect cocaine metabolites for up to three months. A hair test has the most extended detection window out of the drug testing methods.