Cocaine Use and Addiction

Brynn: Hi! My name is Brynn and I am from Nashville, Tennessee and I have a question. I have heard that you can become addicted to cocaine, even if you just try it once, is that true?

Suzanne Thomas: So one of the most exciting things that we have learned from drug abuse research and neuro science research are the changes that occur in the brain following drug use. One of the changes is that in drug addiction, the person looses control over being able to take or leave the drug. They feel compelled, they have to have it. The reason that, that exists is because of specific changes that occur in the brain, that's what is addiction.

Drug abuse or cocaine abuse is when the person uses the drug despite some negative consequences. We know that it's a very slippery slope from first using cocaine to using cocaine repeatedly to becoming addicted to cocaine. As a scientist, I am not willing to say that after trying cocaine one time, you are going to become an idiotically addicted. However, it happens faster than you suspect, so you are entering a real slippery slope when you do use cocaine because it is a very addictive drug.



Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services