How Long Does Cocaine Last in Your System

Last Updated: July 8, 2024
5:04 pm

Medically Reviewed by:

Dr. Marco M. Zahedi

Medical Director, Compassion Recovery Center

Healthcare Writer

Dr. Michael Majeski

Licensed Psychologist (LP), Compassion Recovery Center

Healthcare Writer

Dr. Michael Majeski

Licensed Psychologist (LP), Compassion Recovery Center

Cocaine may last in your system from anywhere between two to four days, depending upon several key factors such as dosage, metabolism, level of addiction, and purity of cocaine. However, every case of cocaine in the system is different. To elaborate, this article will comprehensively cover all the aspects of:

Duration of cocaine in the system
Factors affecting its stay
Effect on the body
Cocaine testing and solution

If you are feeling unwell or having trouble keeping cocaine out of your system, let Compassion Recovery help you out! Contact (877) 414-3007

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System: Know the Organwise Timeline

With disastrous effects on the body, brain, and social life, you might be wondering how much time the cocaine will take to wash out before it leads to some unfortunate happening. However, your body processes cocaine differently due to various factors involved, as will be discussed below.

Cocaine Half-Life

Cocaine half-life is the time it takes to degrade half of its original dose when taken first. It has a plasma life of 1 hour. However, its stay and effects may span shorter or longer in organ-specific conditions and other contributing factors. Such as:

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Urine

Due to the differential metabolic activity of the kidneys, cocaine may be detected in your urine for up to 4 days.

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Blood

Blood is the first entry point for cocaine, and it may stay up to 2 days in the bloodstream.

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Saliva

Saliva-based tests can detect cocaine for up to 2 days.

How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Hair

Hair follicles can contain cocaine for up to 90 days, depending on metabolic factors.

Factors Affecting the Stay of Cocaine in Your System

Organ-specific stay of cocaine may alter due to certain factors such as:

The amount of cocaine taken and frequency of misuse
The way cocaine is ingested, such as:
- Snorting can be felt for 3-5 minutes. lasting for 20 minutes
- Smoking and intravenous use can be felt for 5-10 seconds but lasts for 20 minutes
- Taking orally feels for 10-20 minutes and can stay for up to 90 minutes
Body metabolism and mass index due to gender, age, and physical health
Use of other substances, such as alcohol with cocaine
The purity of cocaine used

Also, how the body processes it to cleanse alters the timeline of cocaine.

Does Cocaine Stay Longer With Other Substances?

Other drugs and alcohol bind with cocaine metabolites and increase their elimination time. Mostly, cocaine and alcohol are combined and misused, causing severe effects with longer periods of stay. Some of the research study states:

Research conducted on dogs showed a 20% slower elimination time of cocaine when combined with alcohol
Whereas rats also showed slower withdrawal time when cocaine was mixed with alcohol

Cocaine with alcohol produces a metabolite called cocaethylene, which increases cardiotoxicity effects.

Cocaine Mechanism of Action: How the Body Processes It

When entered, cocaine is broken down into smaller pieces called cocaine metabolites. It is metabolized by the enzymes of liver and blood. Cocaine’s main metabolites are:

Benzoylecgonine
Ecgonine methyl ester

When performing a drug test, the concentration of benzoylecgonine is measured, Which has a half-life of around 12 hours and can be detected in urine for up to 3 days.

How to Get Cocaine Out of Your System

Dr. Marco M Zahedi, gives an insight into some tips to get the cocaine out by:

Getting support from a professional
Resilient avoidance is possible via professional drug rehab
Taking safe alternatives to cope with withdrawal at the start
Drinking plenty of water to rinse out the system
Medically supervised detox

These can be some of the suitable ways to get rid of cocaine from your system. However, consulting a physician regarding your condition is advised.

Effects of Cocaine on the Body: Know What It Does if It Lasts!

Cocaine is a highly stimulant drug that hooks people right after the first hit. Therefore, its increased use to get high causes short and long-term side effects, as explained.

Short-Term Effects of Cocaine

These symptoms appear right after the cocaine intake such as:

Risky behavior
Agitation
Restlessness
Fever
High blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Sweating
Breathing problem
Stroke

It can last till the cocaine is diffused into simpler metabolites.

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine

As cocaine is used over a period of time, cocaine addiction results in severe side effects such as:

Higher risk of stroke and seizures
Cardiac issues such as heart muscle inflammation, aortic rupture, and reduction in heart contraction
Malnourishment
Brain functioning impairment
Breathing issues such as asthma, runny nose, and loss of smelling sensation
Parkinson’s disease, HIV, and hepatitis risk

Seek immediate help from a drug rehab expert before it’s too late! (877) 414-3007

Cocaine Drug Test: What to Expect

Cocaine drug test is performed via blood, urine, saliva, and hair follicles as the cocaine metabolites are immediately present in these body parts. A drug test can be performed in a clinical setting, hospital, driving test, and on several other occasions. Some of the tests include:

Gas spectrometry
Chromatography
Immunoassay

However, all the factors explained above can alter the drug screening result. If you or your loved one is having cocaine issues, consult our physicians to see how we can help you eradicate cocaine! (877) 414-3007

False Positive Detection for Cocaine: How to Avoid?

False drug testing is rare but possible due to similar metabolic reactions of other drugs on the immunoassay urine testing. Once, a 48-year-old man was rejected pain management therapy due to a false drug test for cocaine. The only way out of it is selective screening or getting your drug tested by multiple resources to ensure that the drug is not present in the system.

How to Pass a Cocaine Drug Test

Passing a drug test is not difficult as long as expert guidance is sought. Some of the steps you may take include:

Take plenty of liquids
Consult a drug rehab to eliminate the cocaine
Get a diet plan from a nutritionist
Get yourself tested from a drug rehab occasionally to ensure the body is out of toxic metabolites.
Get a prescription for toxin-rid pills from an MD.

Seek immediate professional consultation if cocaine is disturbing your normal metabolism or if you want to get the cocaine out!

Cleanse Cocaine Out- Get Sober Today With Compassion Recovery!

Getting rid of cocaine requires patience and perseverance. Whether you have taken cocaine in the past or not, it is necessary to get yourself checked up if you have a job interview scheduled or any legal process involved. Compassion recovery will give you the appropriate cleansing therapy you need regarding cocaine withdrawal. We offer

Get yourself in touch with our drug rehab experts today! (877) 414-3007

Frequently Asked Questions About Cocaine

Some of your common queries regarding cocaine are addressed as follows:

Is Cocaine Addictive?

Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that causes euphoria, sense of pleasure, and increased energy levels. It is termed a scheduled II drug by the DEA. Due to its interaction with the brain reward system, it is considered an extremely dangerous substance as it also poses fatal withdrawals.

What Does Cocaine Do to Your Body?

Cocaine effects highly depend on the body’s metabolism. However, initially, a person may feel paranoia, hyper-sensitivity, or alertness. It can become fatal if overdosed or mixed with other substances.

Does Cocaine Make You Poop?

Cocaine, being a stimulant, causes sudden rises in energy and increases brain dopamine levels, resulting in increased bowel movement and nausea. This increases peristalsis activity of the digestive tract and makes you poop.

How Long Does a Cocaine High Last?

Cocaine high depends on certain factors such as metabolism, dose, and intake form. However, cocaine high may kick in as short as 3 minutes of intake to up to 2 hours.

How Long Does Crack Cocaine Stay in Your System

Crack cocaine produces sudden high effects but quickly vanishes from your bloodstream. However, it can stay in your urine for up to 4 days due to its metabolites. Crack cocaine has a half-life of 15 minutes and can be detected for 24 hours in the saliva.

Is Crack Cocaine?

Crack is made by cooking cocaine powder with baking soda and broken down into small pieces. It’s a high-potency drug that produces extremely high sensation and stimulation and stays for a longer period than cocaine.

Resources

1. DEA. (2000). Cocaine. Dea.gov.

https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/cocaine

2. Famularo, G., Polchi, S., Giacomo Di Bona, & Manzara, C. (2001). Acute aortic dissection after cocaine and sildenafil abuse. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(1), 78–79.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0736-4679(01)00345-6

3. Abuse, N. I. on D. (n.d.). Cocaine | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Nida.nih.gov.

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/cocaine#short-term

4. Moeller, K. E., Kissack, J. C., Atayee, R. S., & Lee, K. C. (2017). Clinical Interpretation of Urine Drug Tests. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(5), 774–796.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.12.007

5. Preston, K. L., Epstein, D. H., Cone, E. J., Wtsadik, A. T., Huestis, M. A., & Moolchan, E. T. (2002). Urinary Elimination of Cocaine Metabolites in Chronic Cocaine Users during Cessation. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 26(7), 393–400.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/26.7.393

6. Laizure, S. C., Mandrell, T., Gades, N. M., & Parker, R. B. (2003). Cocaethylene Metabolism and Interaction with Cocaine and Ethanol: Role of Carboxylesterases. Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 31(1), 16–20.

https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.31.1.16

7. Hedaya, M. A., & Pan, W. J. (1996). Cocaine and alcohol interactions in naive and alcohol-pretreated rats. Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals, 24(7), 807–812.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8818580/

8. Kim, J. A., Ptolemy, A. S., Stacy, Janfaza, D. R., & Ross, E. L. (2015). The Clinical Impact of a False-Positive Urine Cocaine Screening Result on a Patient’s Pain Management. Pain Medicine, 16(6), 1073–1076.

https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12265

Peter Samarin

2024-05-22

This place was awesome. Josh Marquez and the staff did an amazing job of helping me realize my problems in life as to why I was self medicating and gave me a great program / regiment of daily tasks to better myself and beat my addictions. Six months in my PHP program gave me a proper reset in my life. A must go to treatment center thank you guys.

Michael

2024-05-22

If it wasn’t for Compassion Recovery Centers, I probably would have died long ago. This place absolutely saved my life and taught me the skills I needed to cope with emotions and behaviors, as well as to become a productive member of society. Their PHP program in Orange County is just phenomenal, with incredibly knowledgeable staff who guide you every step of the way. If anyone is seeking treatment, I definitely recommend Compassion Recovery Centers!

anthony pulido

2024-04-05

This is the best virtual IOP i have been to so far.

Patana7

2024-03-30

Compassion and Josh ( the owner) are fantastic. This is the only place I found that cared about the patient and didn’t treat them as another number and not a $$. They will work with you and genuinely care about your health and progress. Josh is a rare person in the industry who cares for his patients and is always available if they need anything. I’ve looked at a ton of other places. This one sticks out for all the good reasons.

Tanya Adams

2024-03-10

Compassion Recovery Center offers a comprehensive range of addiction treatment services, addressing substance abuse with a holistic and personalized approach. Nestled in a serene setting, the center provides a conducive environment for healing and recovery, emphasizing mental, physical, and emotional well-being. The center's treatment programs include detoxification, inpatient, outpatient, and aftercare services, catering to individual needs throughout the recovery journey. Compassion Recovery employs evidence-based therapies combined with alternative healing practices, ensuring a well-rounded treatment experience. The programs are designed to foster personal growth, resilience, and long-term sobriety. The staff at Compassion Recovery is a key asset, comprising experienced professionals who are compassionate and dedicated to client success. The team's expertise and supportive approach play a crucial role in creating a nurturing environment for recovery. Patients consistently praise the staff's commitment and the genuine care they receive. Facilities at Compassion Recovery are designed with comfort and recovery in mind. Clean, well-maintained accommodations and communal spaces allow for both privacy and community engagement. The center's amenities support various therapeutic activities and leisure, contributing to a holistic recovery experience. Cost and insurance considerations are addressed transparently, with Compassion Recovery providing clear information and assistance in navigating financial options. The center accepts various insurance plans, easing the burden of treatment expenses. In conclusion, Compassion Recovery stands out for its comprehensive treatment programs, expert and caring staff, and a supportive environment that fosters healing and personal growth. For those seeking a path to recovery in a compassionate and professional setting, Compassion Recovery offers an excellent choice.

Wise Flow

2024-03-10

This place Helped me so much. Best IOP program i have ever been too.

Christian Tanner

2024-03-06

If you’re looking for an IOP in Orange County, Compassion is your answer.

Avi Sherbill

2024-03-04

A truly amazing facility that offers a high level of care for each client that comes through. I'm really moved by the work they do here and lead by example for what care for those struggling looks like.

J B

2024-03-03

I highly recommend Compassion, Recovery. They are very ethical, understanding patient and always: above and beyond further clients. I work with this company several times. I really appreciate All their help every time it is needed. Keep up the good work.