long term cocaine hydrochloride / cocaine base tolerance : a detailed testimony

[peopleawake]

Hello bluelighters. i would like to discuss the subject of cocaine tolerance.

I used recreationaly cocaine every two weeks, mostly in the form of smoked freebase, sometimes in the hydrochloride form, snorted. (1g during saturday and sunday) purity probably low (25 to 30 percent)
I noticed that the first three months the rushes were intense and decreased progressively as i pursued using every two weeks for the next 9 months, only freebase at this point. i felt then only baseline euphoria, side effects and very mild rushes. i never upped my dosage during the year period, loading and smoking 1/5 of a 20€ rock every 20 minutes, for a total of 3 to 4 rocks per session. Because i was a bit scared of the strain on the heart / high blood pressure.

I then stopped for 4 months and re-tried freebase.

What i noticed :

* first 3 months every freebase toke of a session produced a nice rush
* only first toke of a session had a decent rush after more than 6 months of use.
* After stopping 4 months and trying again, tolerance still high (still same dosage and delay between tokes)
* Using more brought nasty side effects, so i never wanted/craved to use more.
* For all these reasons i felt really close to an addiction spiral in the first months, but it receded after the rush euphoria faded after 3 to 6 months use.
I finally stopped seeing no more sufficient recreational potential versus cost.

My questions :

- What is the general time profile for cocaine tolerance ? (of course it depends on the individual, but maybesomebody has an idea because he already compiled statistical data)
- Does tolerance buildup differs when using freebase instead of nasal hydrochloride ?
- Are there a lot of people that fail to lose tolerance after several months break, more so if they are using seldom like me ?
- Am i a lucky one that only responds with a low euphoria rush compared to other people that fall into bad addiction because of the overwhelming rush that trigger very intense positive reinforcment and reward in the brain ?

My thoughts :


Not everybody gets out of control when using freebase/crack, why, i think it is because of :

* first, different brain responses when using/trying for the first time

* next, the social status : having a job, affective ties, prompts the user to focus their attention and lifestyle to other things that this evil drug, and if they use, it is when they are bored, mainly (i extrapolate based on me). but, i think that the individuals that get the most intense euphoria rushes are in danger of loosing all social bonds and their job and everything even if at the beginning they had a good situation (empirical deduction)

* The variation of the tolerance profile versus time is also critical in the outcome of the chronic use : stopping completely after some time, maintaining seldom use for a long period, or falling into dangerous addiction.

PS :

Don't think that you could be as lucky as me. Don't try freebase/crack. it is not worth the dangers and the misery it will put your live in.

 

[sekio]

First off, I think the question 'how long does it take to produce dependence' is impossible to answer correctly in all cases. Different people will respond differently to drugs. Some users may have a social pressure or desire to use freuqently or recklessly that allows more rapid tolerance devlopment than the infrequent user.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of statistical data on the development of cocaine tolerance in man. It was shown in rodents, however, than you need more than 14 days of chronic usage to start inducing changes. Personally I think 3 months of weekly usage is probably a good benchmark figure, but of course it will vary between people.

Generally my understanding of stimulant tolerance (amphetamine, cocaine, methylphenidate) is that once the euphoria is gone, you need years and years of abstinence to bring it back. Tolerance is much easier gained than lost. The lack of euphoria is probably from regular habitual usage.

 

[negrogesic]

The title of this thread is a bit deceptive, as it would seem to purport a detailed account of long-term cocaine use, but instead was a somewhat detailed account of rather short-term use.

Mechanisms associated with the formation of cocaine dependency are well-studied and documented. Factors which mediate or modulate the reinforcing/rewarding properties have been also studied, albeit heavily through the use of animal models. To this, one can add the comparably sparse yet existing studies evaluating tolerance and qualitative attributes in human subjects, and an find an answer of sorts.

Cases of heavy cocaine addiction prevail when the drug is cheap or readily available, when it is prevailing/acceptable/expected element in ones daily life, and when one is other predisposed to stimulant abuse. In other words, when cocaine is unaccompanied with enabling factors, it is not surprising that one may not find themselves to be the embodiment of the archetypal 'crack-head' after smoking crack for a few weeks.

In answer to part of your question, I would have to echo a word of caution concerning the notion of being "lucky" or special in respect to how reinforcing or addictive you found cocaine. Judging from what you described, I see nothing to indicate any extraordinary disinclination towards cocaine habituation against general populations. Conversely, it would seem that this very account demonstrates a higher than average risk of dependency, as you were able to enjoy and abuse cocaine for a given period of time (something not all people can say). Nonetheless, it is perhaps of some fortune that you did not become disastrously wedded to the drug, because surely that can and does occur in certain individuals.

For example, I can use my personal experiences with cocaine to contrast to your enigmatic experience. I have used a considerable amount of cocaine in the past years - administered through insufflation, 'smoked' as a base and injected intravenously. I have used it on a consecutive daily basis for short periods (less than or equal to one month) on a primarily intranasal. I have used it by means of sporadic binge in smoked or intravenous form. I have taken unsafe doses of the drug, primarily when taken intravenously. Though tolerance did form, it was transient and incomplete. While binges make it clear that the drug was highly-rewarding through dose escalation and shortened re-administration interval, it was limited by practicality or the undesirable toxic manifestations. I never became 'dependent' on the drug. This to me was not a matter of luck, nor does it suggest I could not become problematically 'dependent'.

Take great caution before testing these limits, particularly other classes of drugs (such as opioids or depressants) which tend to be far less selective in their choice of victim.

Note: None of the above should intended as personal criticism. They are realistic answers to the questions posed.