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How Long Does Cocaine Stay in Your Urine?

In this blog post, we answer the question ‘how long does cocaine remain in your urine’. Whilst it is true to say cocaine is a fast acting drug, and the associated ‘high’ experienced when you consume cocaine is over in less than an hour, it would be incorrect to assume that cocaine becomes undetectable in your blood in a similar time frame.

If you are subject to random and/or frequent drug testing, then know that you are running the risk of being caught if you continue to consume this dangerous narcotic that claims thousands of lives each year.

In a nutshell, cocaine remains in urine for around 2-4 days. If you are a habitual cocaine user, then cocaine could be detectable in your urine for up to 14 days after the date of last consumption.

How do cocaine urine tests work?

When your urine is shipped off to a laboratory for testing, the lab technicians will test for benzoylecgonine. Benzoylecgonine is one of cocaine’s many by-products. Put simply, if you have not taken cocaine, your urine will not contain benzoylecgonine. Thus, benzoylecgonine’s presence in your urine is an accurate means of proving that you have taken cocaine recently. Whilst cocaine leaves your urine within 2-4 days, benzoylecgonine may linger in your urine for much longer periods of time, and in some instances up to 14 days after cocaine was last consumed.

Once cocaine is consumed via injecting, snorting or smoking, cocaine travels to your liver for processing. Here, the liver process cocaine into several metabolites. One of these metabolites is benzoylecgonine. This process allows the body to purge cocaine from your system via your urine.

Benzoylecgonine is known as cocaine’s main metabolite. Benzoylecgonine remains in your urine for longer periods than other metabolites processed from cocaine in the liver.

Pro tip: Drinking alcohol and drinking cocaine will cause your body to store benzoylecgonine formed from the metabolisation of cocaine. If you are subject to drug tests and you consume cocaine, do not drink alcohol or caffeine as this will only slow down the process where benzoylecgonine is removed from your system via the urine.

Where can I buy a cocaine detox kit?

You can buy an effective cocaine detox kit here.

Factors affecting how long cocaine stays in your urine

As stated above, if you are a heavy cocaine user, cocaine will remain your system for up to 14 days. This contrasts unfavourably to occasional cocaine users who will rid cocaine from their urine within 3-4 days.

Below, we list the factors that influence how long cocaine will remain in your urine:

• The length of time you’ve taken cocaine for
• The amount of cocaine you use
• The ability of your liver to metabolise cocaine into by-products

Due to the final factor, the amount of time it takes to remove cocaine from your system will vary from person to person. Often, colleagues will consume cocaine together. When these same colleagues become subject to a drugs test, it’s not unknown for some people to pass the test and for some to fail. Life is not fair at times, and perhaps this is an example of this concept in practice.  If you wish to gain a guaranteed pass each time you take a drugs test, perhaps you should consider not taking cocaine in the first place.

Ways you can prevent cocaine or its by-products from staying in your urine

Below, we list a number of steps you may implement to prevent cocaine from entering your urine in the first instance:

1. Don’t take cocaine in the first place
2. Don’t drink alcohol or cocaine after you’ve taken cocaine because these substances prevent your body from ridding itself of cocaine’s main by-products
3. Don’t take prescription drugs that are known to product benzoylecgonine, cocaine’s main metabolite. Such drugs include Esterom, a drug used to treat muscle pain. If you take prescription drugs, be sure to declare this to your employer before a drugs test is conducted
4. Consider purchasing a cocaine detox kit. These are also known as ‘cocaine flushers’. This kit will help you pass a urine test, but it will not help if you are subject to a hair follicle test

Getting help for cocaine addiction

If you or a loved one are addicted to cocaine, then merely attempting to ‘flush’ your system of cocaine is probably going to fall short of helping you or your loved one overcome an addiction to cocaine. Instead, you may consider seeking out professional cocaine addiction treatment. One of the best forms of treatment is to attend a cocaine rehab clinic. To learn more about attending a cocaine treatment clinic, contact ADT Healthcare today using our website form.

Further resources

• How long does cocaine remain in your system
• Helping a colleague or employee who is addicted to drugs
• The side effects of cocaine addiction
• How long does cannabis stay in your system
• A guide to an addictive personality

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