Cocaine’s effects are typically intense but brief. But when symptoms wear off, that doesn’t mean the drug has been completely eliminated from your body. How long does cocaine stay in your system?
How Does Your Body Process and Eliminate Cocaine?
It can take hours or even days for your body to fully eliminate cocaine. And it can take even longer than that for all evidence that you used the drug to be gone. Here’s why:
- The process of breaking down and eliminating cocaine is called metabolism. It occurs primarily in your liver.
- When blood containing cocaine passes through your liver, certain enzymes use water molecules to break down the drug, converting it into inactive substances called metabolites.
- The two main metabolites produced during cocaine metabolism are benzoylecgonine (BE) and ecgonine methyl ester (EME).
- Both BE and EME are water-soluble, which allows them to be eliminated via urination.
BE and EME will remain in your body for longer than the cocaine molecules themselves. Since every drug is converted into unique metabolites, if a drug screen detects BE or EME, that is proof that you have recently used cocaine.
How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your System?
The length of time that cocaine and its metabolites remain in your system can be influenced by several factors, including:
- Your age, body weight, metabolism, and overall health
- How much cocaine you used
- How you ingested the drug (smoking, snorting, or injecting)
- If you were also drinking alcohol or taking certain other substances
- If you frequently use large amounts of cocaine
If the question, “how long does cocaine stay in your system” refers to how long you’ll test positive on a drug screen, the answer will also depend on what type of sample you’re required to provide.
How long does cocaine stay in your urine?
Urine tests are the most common type of drug screens. If you take this type of test, and you have only used cocaine a few times, you will likely test positive for 48-72 hours, or two to three days, after the last time you used the drug.
If you have a history of heavy cocaine use, it’s possible that you could test positive on a urine test for up to two weeks after your most recent use.
How long does cocaine stay in your blood?
Blood tests aren’t as common as urine tests, and their detection window is shorter. They’re typically used in situations where a person is unable to provide a urine sample.
An analysis of your blood will likely be able to detect cocaine or cocaine metabolites for up to 48 hours, or two days, after the last time you ingested the drug.
How long does cocaine stay in your saliva?
Saliva tests are often also referred to as mouth swab tests or oral fluid tests. This type of screening has become more common in recent years because collecting a sample is relatively simple and some tests return results almost immediately.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, your saliva can retain detectable amounts of cocaine or its metabolites for up to 36 hours, or about a day and a half, after you stopped using the drug.
How long does cocaine stay in your hair?
Drug screenings that analyze hair have by far the longest detection windows. The reason for this is that when your body metabolizes cocaine, some metabolites will be absorbed into your hair follicles and remain there for an extended period.
If you are required to submit a hair sample for analysis, you may test positive for cocaine if you’ve used the drug in the past 90 days (three months).
Can You Get Cocaine Out of Your System Faster?
Metabolizing cocaine is a natural, automatic process. Yes, there are ways to improve the speed and efficiency of this process, but they are long-term efforts such as:
- Following a nutritious diet plan
- Exercising regularly, including training to build muscle
- Getting an appropriate amount of sleep
There aren’t any short-term tricks you can employ to get cocaine out of your body more quickly. Once you have the drug in your system, there are only two steps you can take to ensure it is eliminated:
- Stop using cocaine.
- Wait.
If you’re unwilling or unable to take these steps – even when you know you may be tested for cocaine – you should consult with your doctor or schedule an assessment with a reputable addiction treatment provider.
Untreated cocaine addiction can have a devastating impact on virtually every part of your life. But when you get the care you need, you can minimize your risk of further damage and begin to heal from any harm that you’ve already incurred.
How Do You Know if You Are Addicted to Cocaine?
If you’re not sure that it’s time to get help, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you experience powerful urges to use cocaine?
- Do you spend significant amounts of time thinking about cocaine, seeking and acquiring it, using it, and recovering from its effects?
- Have you reduced or ended your participation in important social or work-related activities due to your cocaine use?
- Have you used cocaine in ways that you know are especially dangerous, such as by combining it with other drugs or driving while under its influence?
- Have you missed appointments, neglected to pay bills, or failed to meet other responsibilities at home, in school, or at work as a result of your cocaine use?
- Have you continued to use cocaine even after experiencing some type of physical, psychological, or social harm that was either caused or worsened by your prior use of the drug?
- Have you begun to develop tolerance, which means that you need to use larger or more potent doses to achieve the effects that you’re seeking?
- Do you develop physical and/or psychological withdrawal symptoms when you try to end your cocaine use, or when you’re prevented from using it for a certain period of time?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should seriously consider talking to your doctor or another addiction expert.
Scheduling an assessment doesn’t mean you have to enter a treatment program. But it will give you a much better understanding of the challenge you’re facing. And it will also give you the opportunity to explore your options with the guidance of a trained professional.
Where Can You Get Help for Cocaine Addiction in Atlanta?
Valor Behavioral Health offers customized outpatient programming for adults and adolescents who have become addicted to cocaine and other drugs.
Treatment options at our cocaine rehab in Atlanta include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and an outpatient program. At each level, adolescents and adults receive age-appropriate services in separate treatment environments.
To learn more about how we can help you, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.
