Cocaine remains the second most commonly used
illicit drug worldwide after cannabis. Observed levels of
cocaine use among countries considerably vary. An increased
cocaine use is recorded in the general European population.
Cocaine addiction is a worldwide public health problem, which has somatic, psychiatric, socio-economic and judicial complications. It is a multifactorial disorder variable in its clinical manifestations and heritable. Compared to the general population, there is a high prevalence of somatic and
psychiatric disorders among
cocaine-dependent patients. There are predictable dose-related effects of pharmacological action of
cocaine and effects which are uncommon, unrelated to dose and occur randomly in this population. The number of patients entering
drug treatment for primary
cocaine use has been increasing in Europe for several years. However, there is no specific
pharmacotherapy with established efficacy for the treatment of
cocaine addiction, nor is any medication approved by regulatory authorities for such treatment. Recent controlled clinical studies and laboratory studies have highlighted some very promising medications. The perfect therapeutic platform for abstinence initiation and
relapse prevention of
cocaine addiction is a combination of pharmacological treatments and behavioral treatments. Targeting somatic and psychiatric comorbidity is another way to use pharmacological treatments in addictions.