Examining the Ritual of Gumming Cocaine and the Risks Involved
I never expected to become a ‘cocaine expert.’ I just liked to have a good time. I wanted to drink longer and party harder.
The rituals weren’t something I thought too hard about at the time: the rubbing, the sniffing, the clenching jaw, and the gumming coke. Eventually I came to understand them very well.
But let’s get to answering the question you came for: why do people rub their gums with cocaine?
My blog will delve into the answer immediately, and then provide my personal story on how I came to find recovery from over a decade of cocaine abuse and addiction.
What’s Behind the Gum Rubbing of Coke?
Cocaine has a numbing effect. That’s one of the first things I noticed when I started using it. It’s a local anesthetic. It is literally derived from the coca plant native to South America.
When you rub cocaine on your gums, they go numb fast. That numbing is part of the appeal, and a lot of people assume it means the drug is “good” or “strong.”
But that’s not why I did it, not really. People rub cocaine on their gums because they believe it helps deliver the drug faster into the bloodstream, giving a quicker or more intense high.
The gums, like the nose, are full of blood vessels, and when someone rubs cocaine powder there, they’re trying to get a more direct absorption.
The Party Life You Don’t Question Until It’s Too Late
By the time I was regularly doing cocaine, it had stopped being a choice. It felt more like routine. It was a common practice among my friends, something we all did without asking why.
I didn’t realize that when I would gum some of the cocaine I was also rubbing away my tooth enamel, opening the door to gum disease, tooth decay, and a mess of other issues. All this just to feel the effects of cocaine faster.
The mouth doesn’t forget. That dry mouth, the teeth grinding, the jaw clenching, the random nosebleeds from snorting. They stayed long after the high faded.
At first, I ignored the damage. But eventually, the pain made it harder to deny what was happening.
Shortcuts Come with Consequences
At the time, I thought rubbing cocaine on my gums made the high smoother. More controlled. Less like the jittery punch you get when you snort it. But all it did was blur the line between use and dependence.
According to this study on the National Institute of Health website, when people rub cocaine this way, it might hit fast, but it also opens you up to a flood of complications.
The effects of cocaine go far beyond the euphoria. Increased heart attack risk, chronic high blood pressure, and all the things nobody wants to think about when they’re high. These things aren’t just scare tactics. They are real, and I lived it.
Worse, that numbing effect started to wear thin. I needed more just to feel normal. The truth about cocaine addiction is you’re always chasing a feeling that never lasts.
Gum Problems Are Just the Beginning
Once the gum tissue starts breaking down, it doesn’t heal quickly. I had constant gum problems, and my teeth began to suffer. Not just surface stains or cavities.
Deep-rooted damage resulting from years of exposure and the chemicals mixed into cocaine powder.
If you’re lucky, you catch it before it leads to infections. If you’re not, you lose teeth. I almost did. Sores in my mouth and a higher risk of infection were all part of my day-to-day.
Not All Coke Is the Same
What I didn’t realize when I was rubbing that white powder across my gums was how much unknown garbage was in it. Just read this article from the National Library of Medicine on all the adulterants used to cut cocaine.
I wasn’t just using pure cocaine. No one really is. Whether it’s mixing cocaine with other substances like inositol or cutting it with baby powder, there’s no regulation.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that street cocaine is often contaminated, sometimes even laced with cocaine lead. This is a toxic substance that can lead to poisoning and permanent health damage.
You never really know what you’re putting in your body when you’re using illegal drugs, and you don’t get to choose how it reacts.
How It Ended Up
When I came down, I didn’t just crash emotionally. I felt it in every part of my body. I had dry mouth, migraines, muscle tension, stomach issues, and endless anxiety. Sometimes I even had violent behavior. And still, I thought I could handle it.
Cocaine abuse fools you into believing you’re in control. You might think snorting it or rubbing it on your gums is safer than smoking crack cocaine. But the effects of cocaine use pile up no matter how you take it.
I didn’t see how much damage I’d done until I tried to stop. That’s when the cocaine withdrawal symptoms hit.
The Reality of Cocaine Withdrawal
People talk a lot about the high but not enough about the crash. This article from the National Institute of Health goes in depth on the physiological effects of cocaine withdrawals.
For me, cocaine withdrawal included severe depression, paranoia, mood swings, and cravings that felt like they were going to tear me apart.
The withdrawal symptoms weren’t just physical either, they were psychological. And they didn’t go away overnight. That’s when I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I needed a team that understood not just how to detox, but how to treat the root causes of my substance use disorders.
South Shores Detox didn’t just get me off cocaine, they helped me rebuild everything it broke. From my experience, whether people snort cocaine powder or smoke crack cocaine, South Shores will be able to help them break free from drug abuse.
The High Costs of Cocaine Go Beyond Dollars and Cents
There’s a moment when you realize the high isn’t worth it. When cocaine’s effects wear off and you’re left staring at the mirror, picking at your gums, wondering why they bleed every time you brush.
Or when you see a person overdose. While not as common as opioid overdose, it is more than possible to have a cocaine overdose. That moment came for me after yet another panic attack, after I felt my chest seize up and thought I was going to die.
They said it was a mild heart attack. They said it wasn’t from physical exertion, but from cocaine use and its effects on my system causing an increased risk of heart problems. That was my wake-up call.
Though it may start off feeling that way, cocaine use isn’t glamorous. It’s not a party. The cocaine high is not even fun after a while. It’s a slow, sharp destruction that disguises itself with confidence and charm. That’s what I wish I’d known when I started down this painful path of cocaine abuse.
The Long-Term Toll of Heavy Cocaine Use
Now that I’m sober, I see the long-term effects of my cocaine use clearly. The damage to my teeth and nose is still there. Some things you can’t undo. But the emotional and spiritual repair is where recovery shines. It’s where hope lives again.
The people of South Shores didn’t just treat my addiction. They helped me understand the layers underneath. Why I used. Why I kept going back. Why I thought doing cocaine was something normal.
They gave me space to heal, not just from drug abuse, but from the pain I buried with cocaine use in the first place.
Ready to Break Free? South Shores Detox Can Help
If any part of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. If your cocaine use is out of control. If you chased a high or convinced yourself you had it under control, you don’t have to keep going like this.
South Shores Detox offers treatment programs that look at the full picture. They treat the physical, the mental, and the emotional.
Whether you’re dealing with the effects of cocaine, the fear of cocaine withdrawal symptoms, or the chaos that comes from mixing cocaine with other drugs, you don’t have to face it alone.
This isn’t just about quitting drugs. It’s about reclaiming your life, your health, your future. Reach out to South Shores Detox confidentially today.