Cocaine: How much to overdose?

Cocaine use and cocaine overdoses are on the rise throughout the country. Over 5% of people aged 16 to 24 reported taking cocaine in England and Wales in 2022, and 857 cocaine-related deaths were reported.

Cocaine’s addictive nature and its slippery, punishing consequences make navigating cocaine abuse and avoiding overdose difficult. This blog aims to shed some light on the inherent dangers of cocaine misuse and the likelihood of a perilous cocaine overdose.

How is an overdose defined?

Overdose is what happens when too much of a drug is taken, leading to a toxic and very dangerous outcome. People can overdose on a large variety of substances, including alcohol, opioids and cocaine. Some combinations of drugs lead a person to become completely unresponsive to stimulation, and breathing becomes inadequate.

What happens to your body as you enter an overdose?

The varied behaviours and characteristics of drugs mean that overdoses can form and present themselves in different ways.

Opioid overdoses can lead to veins collapsing, stunted blood flow and a shortage of oxygen to the brain. If your brain goes for just four minutes deprived of oxygen, permanent brain damage can happen and any longer than that can be fatal. Naloxone can help reverse the immediate risks of an opioid overdose.

Other depressant drugs, or “downers”, when taken in large doses also affect the central nervous system and slow breathing, blood pressure and heart rate.

Stimulants or “upper” drugs like speed and cocaine raise the heart rate and speed up breathing, which sometimes leads to seizures, heart attacks or even death. We’re looking at cocaine overdose in this article.

What makes cocaine overdose more likely?

Cocaine has long been known as a “club drug” which inevitably means it’s more likely to be taken on a night out that involves dizzying rounds of alcohol and rash decisions.

While you’re drinking, your decision-making becomes impaired. You might have planned to stick with a friend only to do a small amount together on a night out, but one thing can lead to another, and soon enough, you’re in dangerous territory.

Cocaine taken at a party might start out with innocuous reasoning, but decisions made without careful consideration sometimes lead to dreadful consequences. Cocaine is highly addictive for its pleasurable effects, so as a night out progresses, the temptation to take more can become stronger.

Over a longer period, its pleasurable effects can easily draw someone into the clutches of cocaine addiction without them even realising it. Recognising cocaine addiction symptoms and stopping before it’s too late can save a life.

Early signs of a cocaine overdose

If you or someone you know has taken too much cocaine on a night out, there are some typical signs to watch out for. Some early effects of cocaine on the body that may appear include:

• Rapid heart rate
• Heart palpitations or an irregular heart rhythm
• High levels of anxiety and panic
• Dilated pupils
• Excessive sweating and headaches
• Difficulties in breathing

These effects can easily create panic in someone who’s taken cocaine and usually appear before the heavier warning signs of overdose.

Deeper signs of cocaine overdose

If the early warning signs are intensifying, a chilling cascade of serious symptoms can soon arrive, so recognising them can be a matter of life or death. These can include:

• Profuse and abnormal sweating
• Skin flushes
• Tremors and muscle twitches
• Seizures
• Extremely high body temperature
• Sound and vision hallucinations
• Loss of consciousness 

These life-threatening signs require immediate professional help from emergency services.

What factors can lead to a cocaine overdose??

The precise quantity of cocaine needed to become dangerous is hard to pin down. One person can overdose on a relatively small amount, like one gram. Another person could snort much more and seem relatively safe from overdosing.

Tolerance and dosage

Someone who takes cocaine excessively builds tolerance over time. Mutable factors like a person’s weight and size can make them more tolerant of cocaine’s effects, as well as their medical history and previous drug experience.

Substance purity

In addition to more mutable human factors, the purity of the cocaine a person is taking is important. Cocaine is often mixed with other substances to bulk the size of the package in a street sale. These “cutting agents” range from caffeine to phenacetin, levamisole and lidocaine. Volatile mixtures made by street sellers make fatal overdoses more likely.

What should I try to do if I have a cocaine overdose?

If someone you know enters a perilous cocaine overdose, or if that person is you and someone you’re with is reading this, here’s what to do:

• Contact emergency services: It’s important to speak to trained medical advisors to call your emergency services (111 for NHS in the UK). Don’t put the phone down until you’re told to do so.
• Try and calm the person: If it’s someone other than yourself entering an overdose, you can try your best to calm them. Profound anxiety can be helped with comforting words, but be aware that they could become combative, too. Body temperature increases when you use cocaine, so help them remove excess clothing and give them some cool water.
• Give first aid: If they aren’t breathing, you can’t find a pulse,  and you are trained to do so, then give CPR. The person on the phone should be able to help you with this.
• Stay with them: Through the call you made to emergency services, they will send trained medical professionals to help you. Don’t leave the person’s side until they arrive.

I want the dangers of cocaine out of my life

If you or a loved one have ever been affected by the addictive and poisonous nature of cocaine and want it removed from your life, we’re here to show you the way.

Here at UKAT, we have garnered years of experience with helping users travel the road to recovery and help them through cocaine withdrawal symptoms. We know the difficulties people face when detoxing from cocaine, and our trained medical staff provide tailored support for you and your loved ones to get you through it.

Don’t let the menacing effects of cocaine and addiction take hold of your life. We’re only one decision away from a healthier, drug-free life.