Maintaining the habit

Although scientific research does not bear out the myth that use of crack is instantly addictive, there is clear evidence that a pharmacological reliance on cocaine can develop and equally so can a psychological need develop.  There are, however, many instances of cocaine and crack users maintaining patterns of use without such use impinging on their everyday lives. 

In the book Cocaine Changes, the authors document the experiences of many cocaine users.  What emerges is not a uniform story of terrible addiction, but rather a surprisingly varied response to cocaine.  Some users remain intermittent social users throughout their whole cocaine career, and find no trouble in quitting.  Most seemed to start to experience problems with cocaine – the effects were no longer pleasant, the cost was too great—and once this was the case they stopped using.  Very few found themselves in a downward spiral of addiction and debt.  Pharmacologically, induced pleasure can never fully explain the nature of an addiction nor can it accurately predict the way an individual will react to growing craving to repeat those pleasurable sensations.  External restraints – the expectations of those around us and the power of ingrained socially acceptable modes of behavior – have a huge impact on individual reactions.


(see: “Cocaine Changes: The Experience of Using and Quitting,” by Dan Waldorf, Craig Reinarman and Sheigla Murphy, 1991 Temple University Press)

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