Drugs and Your Body

Stress-Chispa MagazineWe know, generally speaking, that drugs aren’t good for us, but that doesn’t mean we know a lot of the specifics. How do drugs really affect our body? Do some drugs stay in our system longer than others? Why are some substances more addictive than others? Scientists and doctors have been asking these questions for a long time, and some of the answers are conclusive, while others are more tentative. The body is a fascinating thing, and there are a ton of different factors that come into play when looking at what substances like alcohol, cocaine, opioids, and others do the body and the brain. People of a certain age may remember a famous anti-drug commercial with the tagline, “This is your brain on drugs.” It used a fried egg to make its point and, while it was an effective commercial, the whole subject requires doing more work than a 30-second ad is capable of doing.

Methods and usage level. Let’s say a friend comes to you with a problem. See, he’s about to take a drug test for a position he really wants, but he’s a recovering addict who relapsed and did cocaine over the weekend. Now the drug test is Wednesday, and he wants to know if he’s going to pass it or not. How long does cocaine stay in your system? That’s not something most of us can answer on our own. The best way to determine this involves quantifying the amount of cocaine the person used in the first place. It shouldn’t be a surprise that using more cocaine means it will take longer for the drug to clear your system. It can be undetectable in your bloodstream in just a couple of days, while it may take as long as two weeks to be completely gone from your urine. It also matters if the drug was snorted or injected. Obviously, both methods will get you high, but snorting it means the stuff is going to stay in your system longer. That’s because snorting it necessarily requires a higher dosage than injecting it.

The amount of time that someone has been using cocaine will matter a lot as well. A person who has only been using for two weeks will have less of it in their system than a person who has been using for two years. That’s because using for a longer period of time gives your body the chance to store more of the drug in its fatty tissues.

No good amount. A desperate friend hoping to pass a drug screening test may not want to hear it, but there’s really no surefire way to guarantee they’ll come up clean unless they actually stop using drugs. No employer is going to look at a positive test result and say, “Well, that’s only a tiny bit of cocaine; hire them anyway.” Once they make the decision to use, that means their fate is out of their hands. Take the right steps and get them the help they need now and for the future.

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Milo Senalle

Milo Senalle

Managing Editor at Chispa Magazine
As one of the managing editors of Chispa Magazine, Milo Senalle is the go-to man for all things technology, ethical, and financial concerns. Providing laughs with his style of writing and problem-solving techniques, Milo is a voice of reason among the girly staff at Chispa. Married with children, living in Atlanta, he works 24/7 on becoming a man of courage and believes honor begins at home.

Milo Senalle

As one of the managing editors of Chispa Magazine, Milo Senalle is the go-to man for all things technology, ethical, and financial concerns. Providing laughs with his style of writing and problem-solving techniques, Milo is a voice of reason among the girly staff at Chispa. Married with children, living in Atlanta, he works 24/7 on becoming a man of courage and believes honor begins at home.