Can a person be a habitual cocaine user?

[Writer]

A couple of my buds (fellow doc students) have told me that they use cocaine once in a while. First, I can't imagine anyone doing this level of work and be high on cocaine EVER, but I also can't imagine what sort of long-term effects they would experience from that sort of habit.

I've never done cocaine, so I'm completely unfamiliar with how it feels, etc. Does anyone know much about this?

[DarkTirade]

1. I've never done it, but I'd assume it's like any other upper.

:shrug:

[MrScorpio]

2. I figure that a habit and Bolivian Marching Powder go hand in hand

Consider "hooked" as a default

[AlCzervik]

3. who could afford to be right now?

used it before when i was much younger, it was one of those things you had to save up for.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. Yeah, it's definitely possible

It's a pretty short acting drug, and I know plenty of people who might just do it every few months or so. A few of them are professors.

I used to do it. I quit cold turkey a few years ago. Way easier to quit than cigarettes.

[Writer]

5. Is it physically addictive, like heroin?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Not to me

I think it's more mentally addictive.

I did it pretty regularly, and I just stopped. No physical problems. I was a bit tired for a couple days.

[AlCzervik]

9. it's more a binge thing imo, you would be amazed at how much beer you drink

after a few lines of good coke.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Or how many cigarettes you can smoke

[AlCzervik]

12. oh yeah, buy a carton.

but oh the drip, that was good.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

13. Yes, it was

[Runcible Spoon]

18. not the weak-ass shit on the streets today.

I'm sure there are some who get the good stuff, but those are the people more likely to be addicted anyway. I used to blow coke once a year, Champagne and Cocaine New Year's parties, but that what just about it. If you're not a regular user, you just buy enough to go good all night. It's people who start to need it the morning after to perk up that end up getting a chip.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. it gets pretty hard on the heart after awhile...depending on how

they take it they could burn out their sinuses. If they habitually hit up then they can blow out (collapse) a lot of veins.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

7. Like Richard Pryor famously said...

I am not addicted to cocaine, I been using it for 30 years, I should fucking know if I was addicted

[Shell Beau]

15. I am listening to Pryor as I read this.

Weird because I can't remember the last time I listened to him.

[Lil Missy]

10. Habitually? I wouldn't think so.

I've never tried it myself, but I think it would be stupid to tempt fate like that.

[KitchenWitch]

14. Part of what makes it such a rush is that it releases a lot of serotonin into the system

Part of what makes it hard for those hooked on it to get off is the depression afterwards.

[Mojambo]

16. I know someone who used regularly and functioned fine

Some people can do it.

[Runcible Spoon]

17. why would being high on cocaine adversely affect schoolwork?

I knew people in my PhD program who snorted adderall when they were on a research binge. Not much difference from any other amphetamine buzz, just has a legal pharmocological pedigree. For some people cocaine sharpens their mental focus. It's the withdrawal and dependency on the drug that adversely affects lives, not the rush.

[Robeson]

19. A long time ago, when I engaged in such indulgences, ....

...it was easy to do without becoming addicted. First, the buzz one gets from it, isn't really overwhelming. It's a rush which wears off quickly. For me, I could never justify it as something I would waste my money on, but if someone else offered - way back then - I would do it. But, honestly, I never got why someone would shell out the money for it. The coke-heads I knew, were really wrapped up into the "ritual" of the whole thing. And the speed buzz, just left them wanting to speed on to the next bump. If one wanted a truly mind blowing experience, there were a lot better drugs, for a lot less costs.

[Inchworm]

20. Habitual is a weird word to use

for me anyhow.

Some people can use nearly anything off and on. For some.. three ons = bad life... others take 10 ons.. etc.

I habitually drink RC Cola.

:D

[rcrush]

21. Cocain is a hell of a drug.

[MilesColtrane]

22. They're not addicted.

They just like the way it smells.

[SeattleGirl]

23. Yes.

And just like people who partake of alcohol, some don't get hooked; others do.