“I can’t ever shake the blues. I need cocaine to survive.” 
“I sure like the way cocaine makes me feel. Think I’ll get high”
“The cocaine is wearing off. Time to find some more.”
Cocaine is usually described by as a drug that gives users a feeling of euphoria, and that is why users go on binges. Good feelings are addictive whether or not someone is using drugs. A binge refers to a cycle of repeated drug use, and it has been assumed that addicts are always chasing the euphoric feeling. As the drug wears off, they physically and emotionally crave the drug and get trapped in a cycle of going up and coming down and going back up. Now researchers are wondering if their assumptions have not been entirely accurate. Are cocaine bingers repeatedly using the drug to experience euphoria, or are they trying to avoid an emotional low? There is a difference in these two motivations with implications for responses and treatments.
Cocaine is a stimulant, and for many years it has been known that the intense feelings of pleasure the drug brings drives repeated use. Cocaine gives users a sense of elevated mood and mental clarity or alertness. It is also a short-term effect, so the high is quickly followed by the crash. This can lead to bingeing that only ends when the body is physically exhausted. Once rested or recovered, the cycle of bingeing will start again because cocaine is highly addictive.1 The belief has always been that cocaine bingeing was all about chasing the high. It just feels so good, why not feel good again?
Challenging Common Beliefs
Some medical professionals are now challenging that premise based on recent research. An animal study at this stage, the results of a study have introduced a new perspective. What if the cocaine-induced euphoria is short-lived and negative emotions replace those feelings as the drug wears off, so that is what drives bingeing? In simple terms researchers asked: What if addicts keep using cocaine to avoid the negative emotions rather than chase a high? From this perspective, bingeing is as much about negative emotions as it is about positive ones. In a Rutgers University study, positive and negative emotions seemed to collide during the cocaine use cycle.2
Despite the many studies and the ongoing research, addiction remains a mystery in many ways. Some drug users become addicts, whilst other do not. Some drinkers remain casual users, but others become alcoholics. Employers have no way of assessing motivations or intents. So there is no question that drug and alcohol testing in the workplace is certainly the best means of monitoring employee substance use. It is frustrating for employers to do everything according to the law but still face rising problems associated with society’s rising drug use. The sooner researchers understand the real causes of addiction and how to overcome them, the better for everyone in Australia.
The Real Reason?
One of the interesting things to note about the Rutgers new perspective is this: Perhaps drug addiction continues to grow because no one has yet identified its true root causes and drivers. Though it is tempting to shrug off animal studies, they have one distinct advantage over human studies. Animals do not get embarrassed or try to control their responses. Humans do.
Employers need to recognise that drug (and alcohol) bingeing may begin in the workplace. Bingeing or addiction is not something that happens “out there.” The cycle can easily start in the workplace when an employee uses cocaine the night before and then faces a workday feeling an emotional low because the drug has worn off. A binge may mean that someone is believes a particular drug is the answer to undesirable feelings. What the study indicates is that it may not be possible to predict what drives people to use drugs, making testing in the workplace all the more important for safety reasons.
The drive to feel good or to avoid feeling bad may be equally powerful. Whatever the reason for drug use, quality alcohol and testing programs can help employers identify those employees who are on the path to cocaine bingeing. Mediscreen (mediscreen.net.au) offers Australia wide on-site and mobile drug and alcohol screening services.
References
- James Shearer, Paul Dillon, and Sharlene Kaye. (2002). Cocaine – Cutting It Fine. Retrieved from National Drug and Research Centre (NDARC): http://bit.ly/1bnDaVl
- Rutgers University (2013, November 6). Addicts may be seeking relief from emotional lows more than euphoric highs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 7, 2013, from http://bit.ly/K12hI3
