You’re looking to get a new job. After polishing up your resume, you submitted several applications and heard back from one of the places you were most interested in. You’re very excited, but then they reach out and ask you to take a drug test, too. Now you want to know if your cocaine use is going to show up on a drug test. It’s been a few days but you want to know how long does cocaine stay in your system?
Here at Pacific Sands, our team of medical experts are well versed in how the body processes substances like cocaine. Our hands-on staff believes in making answers to common questions easily accessible to help our community as a whole when it comes to substance use. Today we’re going to look at how cocaine is processed in the body and how quickly that can happen.
How Is Cocaine Metabolized in the Body?
Because cocaine is a substance and not something like food or drink, it’s processed mainly through the liver. The same can be said for other things like medicine or alcohol. Once it enters the body, it makes its way through in order to be properly filtered out.
What Factors Can Affect How Long Cocaine Stays in Your System?
Many different factors can impact how your body metabolizes something. Our bodies are a very intricate system with many interconnecting parts. We’re not all the same, either. Here are some of the most common factors that can impact how quickly your body might process substances like cocaine:
- Age
- Weight
- History of substance use
- How much you’ve had to eat or drink recently
- How much of the substance you took
Let’s break down further how some other factors can impact how cocaine is metabolized.
Does Method of Use Affect How Long Cocaine Stays in Your System?
Method of use does have a small impact on how long cocaine stays in your system. This is because of the amount of time it takes for it to get into things like your bloodstream. Injecting, for example, most often has the effects felt faster than snorting or rubbing on your gums.
Depending on how you take cocaine, the exact half-life might be impacted, or the amount of time it takes for half of the substance to leave your body. Most of the time, this will have minimal to no impact on the timeframe that cocaine might show up on drug screenings.
Does Mixing Cocaine With Alcohol or Other Substances Make It Stay In Your System Longer?
Since your liver is responsible for processing substances like cocaine and alcohol, the amount you have in your system at a given time can impact how quickly it works. Your liver has a maximum capacity and once it reaches that, it must process what it has before it can process more. While substances don’t wait in line patiently and tend to go into your bloodstream and brain if your liver is busy, the amount of substances you have in your system can impact how long cocaine remains in your body.
Are There Any Ways to Get Cocaine Out of My System Faster?
Our bodies hold records of the things we do. When it comes to substance use, more often than not there isn’t any way to speed up the process of eliminating a substance from your body. If you’re concerned about polysubstance use and you don’t want to take medication while you have cocaine in your system, you won’t have much to worry about. On average, cocaine has a half-life of one hour. This means after an hour, half of the substance will be gone from your body.
When it comes to drug tests, however, it’s fully dependent on what drug test is occurring. Blood and saliva tend to hold onto information for the shortest amount of time, while hair holds onto it the longest. The most common test is a urine test which detects cocaine within 2 to 3 days of last use, on average. If you try to chug water to “flush it out,” this can sometimes be a red flag for drug testing facilities and still isn’t entirely effective in removing the traces of cocaine from your system.
What Are the Treatment Options for Cocaine Use in California?
If you’re looking for recovery from cocaine use, our team here at Pacific Sands is ready to help. With our cocaine addiction treatment program, we’re equipped to help you build a strong foundation for long-lasting recovery. No matter your timeline, history with recovery, schedule, or anything else will deter us from assisting you. Our dedicated team will work to find a program and schedule that will fit your ongoing recovery needs.
If you want to learn more about our treatment options, payment, how to get started, or anything else – don’t hesitate to give our Pacific Sands team a call anytime at 949-426-7962.
