FDA Approves Cocaine Nasal Spray

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What is the FDA Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray?

The Food and Drug Administration approved a cocaine nasal spray in January 2020. This was approved so doctors can use it as a local anesthetic when performing nasal procedures. The drug is a cocaine nasal spray, developed by the Lannett Company, which contains small amounts of cocaine.

It’s specifically marketed to doctors who specialize in the eyes, nose, and throat. The drug, Numbrino, is only to be used on adults, and will not be available by prescription.

What is Cocaine?

Cocaine is one of the most addictive drugs. It’s made from the South American coca plant. Usually the illegal drug is fine, white, crystallized powder that people snort to use the drug and feel the effects of the high. It’s even more dangerous to get the drug from street dealers as they can mix it with other illegal drugs, which can make it even more dangerous and deadly to someone ingesting it.

In very rare cases, cocaine can be used for medicine because it has anesthetic properties, which means it can cause local numbness in soft tissues. As a result, when it is snorted, it causes numbness to the throat, mouth, and tongue. This numbing ability can still have some medicinal applications, and it is for that reason that cocaine was chosen for Numbrino.

The FDA ended up approving this nasal cocaine spray because the benefits outweighed the potential risks. It also is only to be administered in a clinical setting that’s controlled with supervision of the doctor using it. It’s also never available for someone to just pick it up as a regular prescription. It’s important to know that just because the FDA has approved a nasal spray that has cocaine in it, doesn’t mean it’s a safe substance to use recreationally.

Even though doctors sometimes use it for medicinal purposes during procedures with the nose, it’s still a  Schedule II substance and private use, or possession, of cocaine is still illegal. Furthermore, cocaine use for recreational purposes entails serious physical and psychological dangers, and those experiencing cocaine addiction should immediately seek help from a professional treatment center, such as Resurgence Behavioral Health.

Effects of FDA Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray

Even though it seems surprising that a cocaine nasal spray would be approved by the FDA, Numbrino is not the first local anesthetic containing cocaine to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In 2017, a similar drug, Goprelto, was approved for the purpose of killing pain during clinical procedures in the nasal area.

It’s very dangerous to use cocaine in a recreational setting and not a medical setting where it’s fully controlled by the doctor. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that, in 2014, an estimated 1.5 million Americans aged 12 or older had used cocaine in the past month.

Cocaine can be  injected, smoked, or “cut” with additional ingredients to create the drug crack cocaine. However, snorting is the most common way of using cocaine. Once cocaine enters the body, it begins to release dopamine, the natural hormone associated with “feel good” behaviors. Dopamine can be released naturally by the body doing things that bring people joy, for example, hugging someone, eating a good meal, and watching a funny movie.

Dopamine is very important for your physical and cognitive health, including sleep regulation, memory, pain processing, and ability to focus. Cocaine prolongs the presence of dopamine in the brain, giving you a euphoric feeling. This is how cocaine triggers the feeling of being addicted to it because your body loves the feeling of overproducing dopamine, or the “feel good” chemical.

Once cocaine addiction has set in, users may find themselves unable to experience happiness without the drug, and soon they may require large amounts of cocaine just to feel “normal.” Trying to quit cocaine can result in severe depression, and efforts to quit using cocaine “cold turkey,” can be nearly impossible. However, freedom from addiction can be achieved.

Resurgence Behavioral Health can help you, or a loved one, break the hold of cocaine addiction through medical treatment and specialized psychological care.

Mental illness FDA Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray

Numbrino is still going to be cautiously used as it can’t be given to people with a history of substance use disorder.  Patients who have been given Numbrino before the procedure will not know that they have received a cocaine-based drug and will not be given a prescription through which they can get more. These steps should help reduce the danger of using cocaine in a clinical setting and should help protect those with mental health issues from this form of addiction.

Mental illness and substance addiction can start a reoccurring cycle of mental illnesses worsening by increase of using drugs. For example, some people who use stimulant drugs, which is what cocaine falls under, are ingesting it to self-medicate issues with depression, social anxiety, and low self-esteem.

As addiction progresses, users experience extreme and dangerous levels of sadness, anger, and depression when cocaine is not in their system, resulting in high-risk behavior, including violence and suicide. These negative behaviors and emotions only serve to encourage greater addiction.

Attempts to manage this addictive cycle without cocaine rehabilitation can result in relapse or overdose. But with professional treatment that addresses both the physical and psychological impact of cocaine addiction, those struggling can achieve, and maintain, a healthy life, free from addiction.

Treatment and FDA Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray

While Numbrino, when used as directed to, it should not result in addiction, cocaine is still a highly addictive and dangerous substance. Cocaine addiction gives someone symptoms that aren’t just physical but psychological. Cocaine impacts mental health by making someone feel hopeless when not constantly ingesting the drug.

When you’re dealing with a cocaine addiction, the first step to deal with it head on is to detox and break your body from this terrible and dangerous addiction. Detox is always the first step when starting the  treatment process, and detoxing from cocaine is always done under medical supervision in an inpatient rehab facility.

Detoxes are usually done with the supervision of medical professionals and in a controlled environment , which is a hospital or residential treatment setting. This gives the patient the right care and proper environment to recover properly with the withdrawal symptoms that come their way. It also gives them the proper care to help with withdrawal symptoms. After detoxing, the next step of treatment varies but it’s usually cognitive behavioral therapy to help with the mental health component of what someone is going through with addiction.

Usually cocaine addiction treatment programs that use the 12-step model can support recovery by enrolling patients in inpatient rehab or outpatient rehab. Cocaine addiction treatment centers, such as Resurgence Behavioral Health, can help you get help to get back on your feet after struggling with addiction.

Payment Information

At Resurgence Behavioral Health, we offer payment plans and take insurance so you don’t have to worry about how you will be able to pay for addiction treatment. We accept most PPO insurance and private forms of payment and will even communicate with your insurance provider on your behalf. Just call Resurgence Behavioral Health at 855-458-0050, and let your recovery begin.

How to Get Help

Start your day free from cocaine addiction – and you will not be alone along the way. The Resurgence Behavioral Health team is caring, experienced, and licensed in substance abuse recovery treatments and offer them in our locations in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, and Fullerton Hills have all the comforts of home, as well as the emotional support services you need.

In a safe environment, you will build up a more self sufficient life without cocaine addiction. Incorporating medically assisted detox, spiritual services, group counseling, 12-Step Programs, prescription assistance, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and more, we have evidence-based programs to support your recovery and to reflect your unique needs.

Today is the day that you will discover the joys of recovery. Call Resurgence Behavioral Health at 855-458-0050. Your new future begins now.