Expert: Jacqui - 3/6/2008

Question
I do have a serious question.

I am sixteen years old. And I have been using cocaine for the past three and a half months. Usually just on the weekends, at a party, or a friends house. Just for fun. On the weekends I usually do it every night, and probably around twice a night. Consuming about 10 lines all together.

I haven't found myself ever really NEEDING the drug. Or craving it. Or having it be on my mind. I haven't even ever bought it with my own money. After the weekend is over, it's not something I even really think about.

I do, sometimes, get signs of withdraw (i guess you could say?) I become itchy, get restless at night, become really dizzy at random times, and become very hotheaded very quickly.

Only two other friends of mine are doing the drug. And my other friends, who are not supporting me doing this at all, are telling me that I will at one point become addicted to it. I tell them, I haven't yet and I won't let myself get addicted to it.

I might be wrong, but most of what I have heard, cocaine is EXTREMELY addicting. And "one try can get you hooked". I have yet to see myself really hooked onto the drug. And, as bad as it may sound, I have done a lot of it.

I have recently thought about just dropping it, and never picking it up again. And I know, FOR A FACT, that I could do that.

But my question is, is there a reason I may not be ever craving the drug? Or am I slowly become hooked on it?
It just seems weird that I hear that "coke can ruin your life" and that "it's so addicting", and it just isn't even having this affect on me.

It's just something that has been in my mind for awhile now. And, you might know the answer.  

Answer
Hi Annie,
You raise a good point.  The problem with a lot the information about illicit drugs is that it is based on emotion not science.  You said that you are not sure why it hasn't having such a bad effect on your life because you have heard that "coke can ruin your life".  Yes, any drug CAN ruin your life, just like driving fast cars, drinking too much, etc, but there are a lot of people who DON'T have a problem. The best way to consider this is by the statistics on drug use in the US.  Approximately 35 million Americans have used cocaine in their lifetime (about 14%) and if it was the case that cocaine ruined all their lives, your population would be taking a significant battering.  I guess the point that I am getting at, is that yes - some people have a problem with cocaine, but not everyone.

However, I believe that one of the best ways of finding out if someone has a drug problem is to ask them.  Certainly some people will be in denial, but usually people know when something is "ruining their lives".  If you feel that your cocaine use is under control, then it is your decision about whether to continue using recreationally or to stop.  

A very simplistic way of looking at a drugs withdrawal effects is to think about what is the opposite to what the drug does. Ie: heroin is a pain killer that makes people sleepy, so people when people are in withdrawals, they get aches and can't sleep (ie: the opposite of the drug).  With cocaine, which makes you more alert and generally happy, the withdrawals can be that you are tired and grumpy.  Difficulty sleeping would not be a common side effect of the cocaine, but it is often the side of worrying - and worrying about cocaine might be making it hard to sleep.

I believe in a philosophy called Harm Reduction, which is a widely used strategy in Australia.  It is based on the premise that human beings will always take drugs and do other dangerous things, and rather than just telling not to do it (Just Say No has been shown to be at the best, useless, or at worst more harmful than doing nothing).  As easy example of this philosophy to understand is about seat belts in cars.  We know that cars are dangerous, and we know that we ban them, so we make it a rule that people need to have seat belts, there by reducing the harm in the event of an accident.  With regards to drugs, this philosophy including the provision of sterile injecting equipment, because people will always inject and, rather than letting HIV spread, it is better to give clean equipment.  With this in mind, if you do decide to keep using on the weekends, you might want to think about some things that can protect you from some of the harms associated with cocaine use - this might mean that before you go out, you have a good meal and get some rest, and when you are 'coming down' you don't put yourself in situations that might be stressful.  Also, only accepting drugs from someone you trust is important.

One last thing - cocaine is illegal.  I read an article the other day that said that about one in 100 Americans are in jail (this goes up much higher if you look at black or Hispanic men - I think it was about one in 25).  I assume that a lot of people are in jail for using drugs.  The American legal system is quite punitive when it comes to drug users, so you would want to keep that in mind.  Although if 14% of Americans have used cocaine, then there is a good chance that there is a fair proportion of prison officers, lawyers, judges, politicians and police who have used the drug - although I don't imagine it makes much of a difference to sentencing.

So I hope that that wasn't too much information.  Just remember to stay safe.  Good luck,
Jacqui