Teen Cocaine Abuse
- How Cocaine Works
- How Cocaine is Abused
- Prevalence of Abuse
- Signs and Symptoms
- Health Risks
- Effects of Abuse
- Parents Can Help
- Treatment Help
No matter how or why the drug is used, cocaine is a dangerous substance with serious health effects and complications. One of the oldest known psychoactive drugs, coca leaves have been chewed and ingested for thousands of years, according to National Institutes of Health, and in the early 1900s, purified cocaine in tonics was used to treat a number of different ailments. Today, after a big push to eradicate production and distribution of the drug in the 1980s, the United States classifies the drug as a Schedule II substance, which means that it can be administered for medical purposes but is also a highly addictive and often abused drug.
If your teen is abusing cocaine, it’s not an issue to ignore. Take advantage of the treatment and assistance options available to your child at teen cocaine rehab programs like Newport Academy and help your child avoid prolonging a problem that could turn into a lifelong health issue.
How Cocaine Works
The pleasure response in the brain is triggered by a number of things including food, sex, and abuse of drugs. When teens abuse cocaine, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is affected and its fibers connect this region of the brain to the nucleus accumbens, one of the areas related to pleasure and reward. Taking cocaine means increased neural stimulation, which in turn triggers the release of dopamine, a chemical that gives the user feelings of pleasure. Though this chemical can be released naturally, when its release is triggered by cocaine, the drug blocks the chemical from being reabsorbed which means that a much higher amount builds up in the brain, causing the user to experience a high.
Unfortunately, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), when the action of cocaine abuse is repeated over time, the brain loses the ability to stimulate the production of dopamine naturally and many chronic cocaine abusers have a difficult time finding happiness and pleasure without the assistance of cocaine.
What Your Teen Knows About Cocaine Abuse
Cocaine is widely available to teens – from their friends, on the street, in their high school. Some are given the drug by the parents or family members of other teens, but most will purchase the drug in a diluted form, cut with substances that may include anything from sugar to cornstarch to baby powder. Some even cut cocaine with crystal meth because it is cheaper to produce and provides the same stimulant effects but for a longer period of time.
On the street, cocaine goes by a number of slang terms. Common names for the drug include coke, C, blow, powder, snow, flake, and white. Many teens make up their own names for the drug among their group of friends based on inside jokes – this coded language can tip parents to the fact that their kids are abusing drugs or engaging in other illicit activities.
Most teens who abuse cocaine know that it comes in two forms – the powder form that can be dissolved and injected or snorted and the freebase form of the drug, called crack, that is usually smoked. Both are popular among high school teenagers and both are extremely harmful and highly addictive.
Prevalence of Teen Cocaine Abuse
According to the Monitoring the Future Survey in 2008 and 2009 that focuses on the drug and alcohol abuse choices of kids between 8th grade and 12th grade, cocaine is often abused in combination with other drugs and alcohol and rarely a habit unto itself in this age group. About six percent of high schoolers reported abusing crack or cocaine at some point in their lives, about 3.4 percent said that they used the drugs within the last year and 1.3 percent reported cocaine use in the past month.
One positive note: teens are aware that cocaine is a dangerous drug and highly addictive. It is not a lack of education that is causing the problem of teen cocaine abuse. Rather, there may be other issues that open teens up to abuse drugs and develop an addiction; in fact, environmental access to cocaine specifically may drive the use of cocaine and crack among specific teens.
Signs and Symptoms of Teen Cocaine Abuse
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), about 1.4 million Americans met the criteria for cocaine addiction and abuse in the past year as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V used by therapists and medical professionals to diagnose a variety of mental health issues. The Drug Abuse Warning Network also reports that almost half a million of the almost two million emergency room visits in the country were related to the abuse of cocaine.
Some of the symptoms of the disorder include:
- Dilated pupils
- Decreased appetite
- High activity levels
- Talkativeness
- Argumentative behavior
- Nervousness
In addition to these symptoms, parents should also be on the lookout for obvious signs of cocaine use such as drug paraphernalia in the teen's room or car, cocaine residue found around the house (e.g., on mirrors, CD cases, licenses or IDs), stealing money to fund cocaine use and other negative behaviors or actions that would indicate the child needs money (and is secretive about the reasons why).
Risks Associated With Teen Cocaine Abuse
Cocaine abuse taints a number of different parts of the user’s life and experience and even irregular or experimental abuse of the drug can mean big problems. Some of the most significant issues risked by teens who abuse cocaine include:
- Cocaine addiction. A serious and lifelong struggle with physical and psychological dependence upon the drug, cocaine addiction can steal your teen’s health, hope and opportunities.
- Accidental death. Whether due to overdose, traffic accident while under the influence, or other form of negligence, cocaine abuse contributes to a large portion of teen emergency room visits every year according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- Disease transmission. According to a study done by the Academy for Educational Development, cocaine abuse can increase your teen’s risk of getting diseases like hepatitis C or HIV via unprotected sex or sharing needles.
- Problems at home. The mood swings and need to keep their new habits secret can mean arguments with parents. Additionally, many teens withdraw from family activities and begin to break rules as their dependence upon the drug increases.
- Problems at school. Though some students abuse cocaine in an effort to stay up later and study for exams or work on assignments, the end results are usually an inability to get up on time for school once the drugs wear off, disciplinary issues when caught with the drug or under the influence while on school property, and falling behind in class – which in turn decreases the teen’s opportunities for college and later education.
The Effect of Cocaine Abuse on Your Teen
Between the ages of 12 and 20, the brain goes through a great deal of development. When cocaine abuse is an issue, the drug can interfere with the full development of key brain functions as well as maturation and emotional development. According to Medline Plus, a number of different systems in the body are affected by chronic cocaine abuse. These include:
- Limbic System. The brain's reward system is altered significantly by cocaine use. Over time, cocaine makes it hard for the brain to experience pleasure without the presence of the drug.
- Immune System. Cocaine and other drugs can cause damage to the immune system, leaving the body unable to effectively fight infections.
- Reproductive System. Cocaine has been found to severely impair the development of the internal organs that men and women need to reproduce.
- Mental Health. The mood swings associated with the rise and fall of cocaine in the brain and body can wreak havoc on the patient’s emotional state and trigger issues related to underlying mental health disorders.
Short-Term Effects of Cocaine Abuse
Cocaine is an instant-acting drug. Almost immediately after snorting, smoking or injecting the drug, users will experience its effects, experiencing more talkativeness, euphoria and increased energy as well as being more mentally alert. A lesser need for food and sleep also characterize cocaine abuse. How long these effects last will depends upon the method of ingestion. Methods that provide quicker absorption of the drug into the bloodstream like using needles or smoking the drug provide a quicker and more intense high that doesn’t last as long as the less intense high experienced when snorting the drug.
According to NIDA, the short-term effects of cocaine abuse include elevated heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure, constricted blood vessels, and dilated pupils. Erratic and violent behavior as well as restlessness, anxiety and panic, or paranoia can result as well. Some patients even experience tremors or twitchy muscles.
Even after one use of the drug, patients can experience serious health effects, including heart attack, stroke, seizures, coma and death due to overdose. When cocaine is combined with alcohol or heroin, the risks of overdose increase significantly.
Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Abuse
When teens choose to abuse cocaine repeatedly, they continually take on the risks associated with short-term abuse of the drug but also open themselves up to a wide range of physiological and mental health issues related to chronic cocaine abuse. The primary risk of long-term cocaine abuse is the development of addiction. Dependence upon the drug can lead to increasingly erratic behavior and choices that threaten every stable part of the patient’s life. For teens, this can mean loss of positive peer relationships, lost connections with family members, and an inability to keep up at school and accomplish goals in pursuit of attending college. Even those who abuse the drug in binges can experience similar negative consequences as well as a tendency toward paranoia, violent outbursts and panic attacks (see cocaine addiciton).
According to the National Institutes of Health, different methods of ingestion can change the risks associated with long-term cocaine abuse. Snorting the drug on a regular basis increases the risk of chronic nosebleeds, nasal passage irritation, runny nose and more. Those who use needles to use cocaine can have allergic reactions, experience infections at the injection site, and open themselves up to the possibility of contracting hepatitis C and HIV. Smoking the drug can mean mouth sores, hoarseness and inflamed throat, and increased risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancers. Any use can lead to malnutrition and associated disorders, irritation of the gastrointestinal track, respiratory ailments and more. Of course, the longer that regular abuse of cocaine persists, the higher the chance of overdose or sudden death.
What Parents Can Do About Teen Cocaine Abuse
The greatest weapons parents have in the fight against teen cocaine abuse are information and communication. The ability to recognize the abuse of cocaine in a child and then move quickly with effective discussion on the subject can make all the difference in a teen’s experience with cocaine abuse and addiction. Parents must be proactive and never hope "that the problem simply goes away on its own." Instead, they are advised to confront their children about the problem and help them get the appropriate treatment before it is too late. Parents who get involved and let their teen know that they love them and want the best for them will be the most effective in helping their child avoid many of the negative consequences of cocaine abuse.
Treatment for Teen Cocaine Abuse at Newport Academy
Parents are not alone in their fight against teen cocaine abuse. Teen drug treatment centers are specially equipped to help young people and their families break the cycle of cocaine abuse before it develops into addiction. Through medical assistance when necessary and a range of therapies including personal therapy and family therapy, teenagers and their families can heal from the issues related to cocaine abuse and learn how to avoid relapse in the future.
At Newport Academy, we offer a cocaine abuse help program that has a range of therapeutic options for patients fighting to avoid addiction. Families are included and academics are supported, making both our outpatient and inpatient treatment options an excellent choice for care. Through counseling and cutting-edge treatment programs, every young person who enrolls at Newport Academy is given a chance to defeat drug addiction and live the rest of their lives with passion, love and fulfillment. For more information, contact Newport Academy today.
