If Cocaine’s Not Addictive, Why Can’t I Quit?
One of the most popular excuses for justifying an occasional recreational hit of cocaine is the myth that you can’t get addicted to the powdery substance. Here’s how the argument goes: Cocaine lacks the physical withdrawal symptoms of other drugs like heroin, benzodiazepines and alcohol. Therefore, no painful withdrawal, no addiction.
This all sounds good in theory, but it begs the question: “If coke’s not addictive, why the hell can’t I quit using it when I want to?” Truth be told, cocaine has powerful psychological addictive properties, creating an obsession and then a craving that will have us doing incredibly stupid and desperate acts to obtain more.
The fact that the physical withdrawal from cocaine is less traumatic than the dope-sick terrors of getting off heroin or the shaking-and-baking experience of alcohol detoxification, doesn’t negate the fact that coke is indeed psychologically addictive.
Most everyone who has had a cocaine habit also has a horror story to tell. The least dramatic of these tales revolves around the sudden discovery at midnight that you’re out of nose candy and it’s time to get more. You make that phone call, then drive to your drug connection’s house in a bad part of town. Your dealer isn’t there, but someone at the house tells you to go outside and sit in your car. You hang around in the alley for a half hour, slipping deeper into the car seat each time you see a patrol car pass by.
Finally, someone taps on your window, scaring the hell out of you, and tells you to meet your connect outside the liquor store a mile away. You show up, make a furtive purchase in the parking lot and leave, a couple of eight balls stuffed down the front of your trousers. Paranoia sets in and you drive 5 miles per hour back to your favorite bar. The tavern is closed, of course, because it’s after 2 a.m.
You think to yourself, “If I do any of this blow now, I’ll be up all night. I think I’ll just save it for tomorrow.” This logic goes out the window when your head tells you, “Well, maybe just one hit to get home.”
Next thing you know, it’s afternoon and you’re squinting your eyes out your bedroom window watching your neighbor mow his lawn in the bright sun. You shake your head and say, “I guess my life could be worse.”
So the argument that cocaine is not addictive isn’t only delusional, it pretty much falls out of the realm of logical, except in our own minds. The American Psychological Association (APA) has identified symptoms that determine whether a person has an addiction to cocaine, which should help put this myth to rest.
The APA report claims that dependence on cocaine – as well as other mind-altering substances – is threefold. There’s a biological portion that refers to developing a tolerance to the drug, which means you need more and more of the substance in order to be satisfied.
The psychological part of the disease refers to the thought process that keeps you obsessively thinking about the substance, constantly contemplating when you’ll get your next eight-ball, where you’ll get it and how you’ll pay for it this time around.
And the third leg of this unstable table is the social consequences of the drug, which includes the pain you’re causing your spouse or family or friends as a result of your obsession.
The APA also lists seven symptoms of addiction or dependence to cocaine, and the group suggests that if you meet just three of these symptoms, you’re most likely addicted to and in need of the professional help available from cocaine rehab programs.
These symptoms include:
- Showing excessive or inappropriate use of cocaine.
- Preoccupation with obtaining and using cocaine.
- Demonstrating either more or less tolerance to cocaine.
- Difficulty in stopping or cutting back, or using again after an unsuccessful effort to stop.
- Experiencing psychological withdrawal symptoms when you quit or cut back on cocaine use.
- Continue to use, even when the drug causes problems in your life.
- Missing important events or losing relationships due to your cocaine use.
Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, California, offers one of the most comprehensive cocaine rehab programs in the country. Morningside also treats those suffering from alcoholism, addiction to other substances, and mental disorders. For more information, call .
