Patterns of Methamphetamine and Cocaine Use

Dr. Sara Simon and her UCLA colleagues interviewed 120 methamphetamine abusers and 63 cocaine abusers to determine patterns of methamphetamine and cocaine drug abuse.

Ninety-seven of the methamphetamine abusers and 56 cocaine abusers were recruited from treatment programs; the others were currently using the drug and not seeking treatment.

Continuous use-more than 20 times per month-was more common for both cocaine abusers (52 percent) and methamphetamine abusers (70 percent) than was any other pattern of drug abuse. Among those who used either drug fewer than 20 times per month, methamphetamine abusers were 4 times as likely as cocaine abusers (48 percent compared with 12 percent) to use the drug at least once per week in a regular cycle.

"The typical methamphetamine abuser reported using the drug when he or she first got up in the morning, then using approximately every 2 to 4 hours during their waking day. Most of the descriptions of methamphetamine use more closely resembled taking a medication than using a drug for pleasure," Dr. Simon says. "Cocaine abusers reported patterns that fit a picture of recreational use: They began in the evening and continued until all the cocaine on hand had been used."

The different patterns of drug abuse may in part be a result of the drugs\ different effects in the body, the researchers say: Methamphetamine use triggers the release of large amounts of dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure, whereas cocaine blocks the removal of dopamine, resulting in an accumulation that causes continuous pleasurable stimulation of brain cells. The effects of methamphetamine typically last more than 10 hours, and cocaine\'s high lasts about 20 to 30 minutes.

Understanding the patterns of methamphetamine use and cocaine use will help treatment providers and drug users identify circumstances that may lead to relapse to drug abuse.

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