Signs of Cocaine Addiction and Cocaine Abuse - Parent's Warning

Have you noticed something a little bit "off" about your son or daughter, friend, husband or wife?

Are they staying up very late, becoming irritable, short-tempered, losing weight?

Even though you know deep inside that this person would never use drugs, sometimes the cold reality must at some point sink in.

Would you be able to tell if someone is using cocaine? What about crack?

Cocaine addiction can occur very quickly and be very difficult to break. Animal studies have shown that animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine limited in order not to take toxic or even lethal doses. People addicted to cocaine behave similarly. They will go to great lengths to get cocaine and continue to take it even when it hurts their school or job performance and their relationships with loved ones.

Narconon Drug Rehab in Georgia is teaching parents and anyone interested on the signs of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction. Drug addiction is something that no one wants, and by the telltale signs of cocaine abuse, tragedies may be avoided. Parents and family members need to be aware of what the signs are:

Cocaine is a crystalline white powder; crack is a drug that looks like small white rocks of chalk.

If you notice someone sniffling a lot, this possibly is from cocaine snorting, as the drug wears out the lining of the nose and their nose will be raw and red and scabbed. Injection marks in the arms, knees and feet indicate injections. Crack will often burn the lips of the person smoking it, so burns on the face or hands indicate crack usage; also the person’s finger and thumb will have black calluses where they flick the lighter repeatedly to smoke.

The personal appearance is also a giveaway. A person on cocaine will usually have glassy eyes and very, very large pupils. Dark glasses may be used to hide this condition, even indoors. The person will have a hard time relaxing, and will be hyper, moving erratically, being nervous, aggressive, or irritable. The person may have trouble sitting still, and with the acceleration up of their metabolism, may stay awake for extended periods of time, only to crash and sleep for days. The person may be very thirsty and have “cotton mouth”. They will usually stop eating and become very thin. Their skin tone is bad, they may have their face broken out, blisters on their face, and nose and mouth chapped.

If, when looking around the house, or in clothes, you find very small plastic baggies with a white crystalline powder or residue, this is probably cocaine. Both crack and cocaine can be stored in the corner of a plastic baggie which is then tied off or knotted. Matchboxes and cigarette packs are a favorite place to hide baggies of cocaine or crack.

Drug paraphernalia associated with cocaine or crack usage: Discarded syringes, spoons hidden with burn marks on the bottom, residue in them indicate drug use (cocaine can be injected.) Glass stems, brillo pads, stripped wires, and disassembled tire gauges are used to smoke crack. Soda cans, bent, with a little holes in an indentation indicate a homemade pipe. Baking soda is used to make crack, and small mirrors or smooth surfaces with white residue on them such as countertops, sinks, cd cases, etc indicate cocaine snorting; credit cards or razors are used to make the lines to snort.

For more information on drug addiction rehabilitation or drug education, call Narconon of Georgia at 1-877-413-3073.
 
Copyright © 2009. Narconon of Georgia Inc.(www.drugsno.com) Call 1-877-413-3073. All rights reserved. Narconon and the Narconon Logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.