Can cocaine go bad? (5 Things to keep in Mind)

In this brief guide, we will answer the question, can cocaine go bad? We will discuss the factors that can make cocaine either go bad or lose its potency. We will also discuss the neurological effect of cocaine on the body. 

Can cocaine go bad?

Cocaine does not go bad. Cocaine will lose its potency gradually until there comes a time that it will not be a drug anymore but a harmless, white powder. 

Cocaine starts to lose its potency within weeks and, you will find a significant decline after you keep it for a few months. 

Why and how does cocaine lose its ability to sedate you?

It will take decades for cocaine to get rid of its ability to induce an effect. However, cocaine will not reach the extent to which it causes harm to you.

Some factors go into determining the length of time it takes for cocaine to lose its potency. 

The factors that affect how long the drug lasts are purity levels and environmental factors. Cocaine will not spoil, however, adulterants added to the substance would. The cocaine you bought on the streets is bound to go bad. The adulterants spoil the cocaine. 

Most of the effectiveness of cocaine is lost in the first year of buying the cocaine. In the first few months, depending on how you store it, it will degrade at a slow rate.

What determines the shelf-life of cocaine?

The shelf-life of cocaine can not be determined. The substances added as bulk to cocaine; determine the shelf life of cocaine. The cutting agents added can vary depending on the quality of the drug. Street cocaine has a higher level of impurities, while high-end cocaine from the drug crypto market is relatively pure.

According to European research, cocaine was found to be 35 to 65 percent pure only. The mass of cocaine is made up by adding substances like caffeine, phenacetin, and levamisole as adulterants.

Cocaine from the drug crypto market was found to be 72 percent pure. 

How does storage affect the shelf-life of cocaine?

Like all drugs and substances, the four factors that impact the shelf life of cocaine are heat, light, moisture, and air. 

While some impurities can reduce the shelf life of cocaine, others will not. Another crucial factor that accounts for is who handled and packaged the drug for you. A clean environment and handling are crucial in preserving the life of a drug. Moreover, if the drug was not dried properly before packaging, it will make it deteriorate faster.

After you get the drug, it now comes down to how you handle it. Store cocaine safely in a sealed container such as an airtight bag or a pill bottle and put it in the refrigerator. 

What are the side effects of cocaine and how does it work?

Cocaine is a stimulating drug collected from the leaves of the South American coca bush. Like most drugs, it impacts the central nervous system by increasing dopamine levels which gives a person the feeling of pleasure.

The white powder has a bitter numbing taste which makes a person feel happy, elated, and alert for a few hours. 

Cocaine can be found in either of three forms; cocaine hydrochloride, freebase, and crack. Cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with adulterants and is snorted through the nose or eaten. 

Freebase and crack are smoked; the difference between the two is that freebase is a white powder while crack has large crystals.

Cocaine is very acidic that can cause damage to your mouth and nasal passages. When a person snorts it, it damages the tissue that is between the nose and the roof of the mouth. The damage causes a hole that can hurt when you eat or talk. 

If cocaine is ingested via the mouth, it causes harm to the teeth. The acid covers teeth enamel and breaks it down. It not only impacts the teeth, but gum diseases and mouth sores are also a possibility. 

Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that can cause withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it. There are long-term side effects as well as short-term ones related to taking cocaine. 

As cocaine wears off, it leaves a person feeling irritable, paranoid, exhausted, or uncomfortable.

In the long haul, cocaine has been linked to poor sexual performance, bronchitis, anxiety, paranoia, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney failure. 

Snorting also damaged the septum of the nose and causes it to pass out. An overdose can also make a person get fits, have seizures, stroke, cardiac arrest even coma and death. 

In this brief guide, we answered the question, can cocaine go bad? We discussed the factors that can make cocaine either go bad or lose its potency. We also discussed the neurological effect of cocaine on the body. 

Citations

https://www.vice.com/en/article/mgm7m4/we-tried-to-figure-out-when-your-drug-stash-will-expire

https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/drug-abuse-mouth

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/cocaine

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