What is a Cocaine Binge?

A cocaine binge is when a cocaine user takes cocaine repeatedly for a period of time. Cocaine gives the user a feeling of euphoria and a state of clarity. It can also make one feel as though they are invincible. When the cocaine effects wear off the user often becomes depressed. Larger amounts are needed to get the same effects as when the person first started. A cocaine binge can last from as little as on day up to three or more days until the user finally crashes.

Addiction to cocaine is characterized by binges (usually of 4 to 24 hours, one to seven times per week), movement to intravenous use or smoking, extreme euphoria, and disregard for anything other than cocaine, including food, sleep, sex, family, and survival. The behavior is limited only by the high cost of the drug and its limited availability. Abstinence after a cocaine binge leads to crashing (anxiety, depression, suspiciousness, sleep craving) and withdrawal (absence of pleasure in all things, lack of motivation, and boredom). Many users take other drugs (alcohol, marijuana, heroin) to attenuate these effects. A dangerous combination of cocaine and heroin, known as a "speedball," is used by some. Withdrawal usually results in further use, often spurred by a conditioned cue such as a specific smell or location linked with cocaine use. If the drug is not taken again there is a gradual lessening of the craving, although conditioned cues may exert an effect years afterward. Long-term use can result in digestive disorders, weight loss, general physical deterioration, and marked deterioration of the nervous system. Most drug-related emergency room visits are cocaine-related.

An interesting fact is that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde in six days and nights on a cocaine binge. "That an invalid in my husband's condition of health should have been able to perform the manual labor alone of putting 60,000 words on paper in six days, seems almost incredible," said his astonished wife, Fanny.