How Long Can Crack Cocaine Be Detected In Your System?

Cocaine is typically a powder, but when it is in a crystallized form it’s called crack cocaine. Drug addiction with this substance is common, and it can be detected in your body between 2 and 90 days via various types of standard drug testing.

The length of time crack cocaine stays in your system depends on many factors, but standard drug tests can determine crack cocaine use for 2 to 90 days after your last use.

Crack cocaine is the crystallized form of cocaine. The method of ingesting crack cocaine is most often via smoking, rather than snorting.

Read on to learn more about the detection windows for each type of test.

How Long Does Crack Cocaine Stay In Your System?

On average, drug detection times will differ depending on what type of drug is being tested, and how the testing is done.

Stimulant drugs, such as crack cocaine, can usually be found for 2 to 3 days.

These testing methods often look for the cocaine metabolites benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene. They are two of the enzymes left over in your body after cocaine has been excreted.

The period of time these enzymes are detectable varies based on each type of sample tested. They are found in hair follicles for the longest amount of time, and blood for the shortest.

Crack cocaine detection times range from:

  • urine tests: up to 4 days
  • blood tests: up to 2 days
  • saliva tests: up to 2 days
  • hair tests: between 7 and 90 days

What Personal Factors Affect Drug Test Detection Times For Crack Cocaine?

Frequency of use plays a large role in the timeframe of detection. People who use crack cocaine heavily can have a build up in the body over time, making it harder for their body to remove it.

Other factors can include food and water intake during substance use, and the amount of the drug that was used.

Age, weight, gender, body fat, and liver function can also play a role in how long crack cocaine can be detected in your body.

Crack Cocaine And Polysubstance Abuse

Many people who use crack cocaine experience other forms of addiction. Combining the effects of cocaine with the simultaneous use of another drug is known as polysubstance abuse.

Drinking alcohol, mixing crack cocaine with heroin, or smoking it along with marijuana or tobacco are all common forms of polysubstance use, also known as polydrug abuse.

Polysubstance use can affect how long cocaine stays in your system. Having to purge more than one substance from your body at once increases the length of time needed to remove it.

Combining any illicit substance with crack cocaine can also lead to dangerous drug interactions. Greatly increased risk of health complications are common with this form of drug use.

Some drug dealers will mix other drugs, such as synthetic opioids, into crack cocaine without a person’s knowledge, making it more dangerous.

Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment

If you or a loved one is looking for treatment programs for crack cocaine use, reach out to Spring Hill Recovery Center, a drug rehab center in New England.

Treatment options here are tailored to your needs.

For information on outpatient programs, inpatient treatment, drug detox, and more, call our helpline today.

  1. National Institute of Health | National Center for Biotechnology Information — Crack cocaine abuse: an epidemic with many public health consequences https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8724227/
  2. National Institute of Health | National Center for Biotechnology Information — "Crack" use by American middle-class adolescent polydrug abusers https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1986085/
  3. National Institute of Health | National Institute on Drug Abuse — Cocaine DrugFacts https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine

Written by Spring Hill Recovery Editorial Team

© 2024 Spring Hill Recovery | All Rights Reserved

* This page does not provide medical advice.

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