What’s the Difference Between Meth and Cocaine

Updated January 14, 2025

Authored By:

Joe Gilmore

Edited By

Amy Leifeste

Medically Reviewed By

Javier Rodriguez-Winter

Authored By:

Joe Gilmore

Edited By

Amy Leifeste

Medically Reviewed By

Javier Rodriguez-Winter

Table of Contents

What’s the Difference Between Meth and Cocaine

Meth and cocaine are two powerful drugs that impact millions of lives each year. While both are stimulants that can make people feel energized and alert, they affect the brain and body differently.

This guide to meth vs coke explores the histories, effects, and potential dangers of the substances. It also highlights the main difference between cocaine and meth and shows you how to get compassionate and effective treatment for stimulant addiction.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a CNS (central nervous system) stimulant made from the coca plant, mainly grown in South America. Indigenous cultures have used coca leaves for centuries to reduce hunger and increase alertness [1]. Cocaine is known for its addictive qualities and intense effects on the brain and body. It’s classified as a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States [2].

The History of Cocaine

Cocaine has a long and complex history. Ancient Incan tribes in the Andes chewed coca leaves to help endure the harsh conditions of high-altitude environments. By the 1800s, scientists learned how to isolate cocaine from the coca plant, creating a powerful drug that quickly gained attention.

In the late 1800s, cocaine was used in various products. It was an ingredient in early Coca-Cola recipes and was promoted as a medicine to relieve pain and boost energy. Doctors and scientists thought it could help people feel better and work longer hours. By the early 1900s, though, the dangers of cocaine were apparent. People using the drug showed signs of severe health issues and addiction, leading to a government ban on cocaine in the U.S. in the 1920s [3].

Despite this, cocaine re-emerged in the 1970s as a popular recreational drug, especially among young people. Cocaine spread through social scenes and nightclubs, fueled by powerful drug cartels. The demand for cocaine rose, and so did illegal trafficking, making cocaine one of the most used illicit drugs worldwide. Even today, the global cocaine trade impacts lives and communities, fueling crime and addiction around the world.

How Cocaine Works

Cocaine (coke) is a stimulant that affects the brain’s reward system. It mainly targets dopamine, a chemical messenger responsible for pleasure and motivation. Dopamine normally makes people feel joy and satisfaction. When someone uses cocaine, the drug blocks the brain from recycling dopamine, causing it to build up between the brain cells. This increase in dopamine creates an intense rush of euphoria, energy, and confidence. 

The cocaine high doesn’t last long, though. The effects fade within 20 to 30 minutes. Once the high wears off, dopamine levels drop drastically, triggering a crash that leaves the person feeling exhausted, anxious, or depressed. Many people end up using more cocaine to avoid this crash, provoking a cycle that often leads to dependence and addiction [4].

Cocaine’s effects can also cause physical complications. The drug raises blood pressure, increases heart rate, and constricts blood vessels, which can provoke severe health problems like heart attacks, strokes, and respiratory failure. Long-term cocaine use can cause lasting damage to the brain’s dopamine system, which may lead to mood disorders, memory problems, and intense cravings that make it challenging to quit.

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine (meth) is a highly addictive CNS stimulant with severe and long-lasting effects on the body and brain. Although it was developed for medical purposes, meth has become one of the most misused drugs worldwide. Its powerful addictive properties and damaging side effects make it especially dangerous for those who become dependent on it.

The History of Meth

Meth has a history that begins in the late 1800s. German scientists first created amphetamine in 1887, and a more potent version—methamphetamine—was developed in Japan in 1919 [5]. Meth’s stimulant effects made it appealing for medical and military uses. During WWII, both German and Allied forces used meth to help soldiers stay awake during long missions. Many soldiers became dependent on the drug, which led to lasting health issues. After the war, leftover supplies of meth were released to the public, leading to an early wave of addiction in Japan.

In the 1950s and 1960s, meth became popular in the United States, where it was prescribed for conditions like depression, attention issues, and obesity. Known then as speed, meth was marketed as a way to boost energy and control weight. That said, the dangers of meth became increasingly clear, and doctors observed that people rapidly developed tolerance and dependence on it. By the 1970s, the U.S. government banned most uses of meth due to its high risk of abuse and severe side effects [6].  

Even with these restrictions, meth continued to spread. Motorcycle gangs and drug cartels set up illegal labs, especially in California, making meth more accessible and affordable. In the 1990s and 2000s, meth abuse surged in rural and suburban areas across the United States. Small, illegal meth labs became common, prompting significant public health and safety concerns. Today, meth is mainly produced in large-scale labs and trafficked across borders, with meth addiction impacting millions of people worldwide.

How Meth Works

Meth is a stimulant that affects the CNS, creating intense feelings of energy, alertness, and euphoria. Like cocaine, meth affects the brain’s dopamine system, but it does so with more intensity. When someone uses meth, it triggers a massive release of dopamine, leading to an intense and long-lasting high. Meth not only blocks the reuptake of dopamine but also increases its release, intensifying and extending the effects. 

The high from meth can last anywhere from 8 to 24 hours, depending on the dose and the method of use. This extended effect is one reason meth is so addictive. As the drug’s effects fade, people often feel intense irritability, fatigue, and depression. To avoid this crash, many people take more meth, creating a cycle that can quickly lead to addiction. 

Meth use takes a heavy toll on the body. It raises heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, straining the heart and other vital organs. Long-term meth use can damage the brain, leading to memory loss, emotional instability, aggression, and psychosis—a mental state where someone has hallucinations and feels extreme paranoia [7]. Chronic meth use can also cause meth mouth, a condition where teeth and gums decay due to dry mouth, teeth grinding, and poor dental hygiene [8]. 

Beyond physical health, meth’s addictive nature can lead to destructive behavior, affecting relationships, work, and overall quality of life. The drug’s powerful hold on the brain makes it tough to quit without professional help, and people who stop using meth often experience strong cravings and withdrawal symptoms. 

Similarities Between Meth and Cocaine

When comparing meth vs coke, there are many similarities, including: 

  • Both are CNS stimulants: Meth and cocaine belong to a class of drugs called stimulants. Stimulants affect the central nervous system, increasing the release of neurotransmitters—chemicals that send signals to the brain. For both meth and cocaine, this means an increase in dopamine, a chemical responsible for pleasure and reward. This dopamine boost creates a high that makes people feel euphoric, confident, and energetic. The effects wear off and leave people feeling exhausted, depressed, and anxious. This pattern of highs and crashes leads many people to keep taking the drug, creating a cycle that increases the risk of addiction.
  • Methods of use: When looking at coke vs meth, they are often taken in similar ways. They can be smoked, snorted, injected, or swallowed, depending on the form of the drug. Smoking or injecting drugs leads to a faster and more intense high but also carries higher health risks, like damage to the lungs or exposure to diseases from sharing needles. Regardless of how they’re used, both drugs affect the body almost immediately, which adds to the addictive potential.
  • Short-term and long-term health effects: The health risks for those who use meth and cocaine are similar. Both drugs raise blood pressure, speed up heart rate, and increase body temperature, straining the cardiovascular system. This can lead to severe health problems like heart attack, stroke, and death. Chronic use of either drug can cause mood swings, anxiety, and paranoia. Some people may also develop psychosis. This happens because long-term use can damage the brain’s ability to produce and regulate dopamine, leading to enduring emotional and mental health problems.
  • Addictive potential: When comparing crystal meth vs coke, both are highly addictive. The reward response from these drugs is so strong that many people who use them feel compelled to take more to maintain the high. Tolerance builds over time, meaning the person needs larger and more frequent doses to deliver the initial effects [9]. Increased tolerance may trigger physical dependence, where the person feels they can’t function normally without the drug. Once dependence sets in, stopping can lead to intense cravings and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms upon quitting. 

The Difference Between Meth and Cocaine

While meth and cocaine share many similarities, they also have some major differences and unique risks. These include: 

  • Natural vs synthetic origins: One of the main differences when comparing meth vs coke is their origin. Cocaine comes from the coca plant, which is native to South America. Indigenous cultures used coca leaves for centuries before scientists extracted cocaine as a drug. Meth, by contrast, is completely synthetic, meaning it’s made from chemicals in a lab. This difference can affect the purity and risk factors of each drug. Since meth is created from chemicals like pseudoephedrine and other toxic substances, each batch can vary in strength and contain unknown and potentially dangerous contaminants, increasing the risk of overdose and long-term health damage.
  • Duration of the high: The high from meth lasts much longer than the high from cocaine. When someone takes cocaine, the effects are powerful but short-lived, lasting 20 to 30 minutes. Meth’s effects, on the other hand, can last from 8 to 24 hours, depending on the amount and method of use. This extended high makes meth especially dangerous, as it puts prolonged stress on the heart, brain, and other organs. People may stay awake for days while using the drug, which can provoke severe physical and mental health issues. The longer high also increases the likelihood of binge use, where people repeatedly take more meth to extend the effects, leading to a cycle of extreme dependence.
  • Differences in dopamine release: Cocaine and meth both impact dopamine levels, but they do so in different ways. Cocaine blocks dopamine reabsorption, causing it to build up in the brain and produce intense euphoria. Meth not only blocks dopamine reabsorption but also increases its release, leading to a much stronger, longer-lasting dopamine spike. This makes meth more neurotoxic—damaging to the brain cells—than cocaine.  Long-term meth use can cause permanent changes to brain chemistry, which can result in severe cognitive and emotional problems like memory loss, psychosis, and difficulty experiencing pleasure without the drug.
  • Physical effects and appearance: Meth and cocaine have distinct physical forms, which can also influence how they are used. Meth appears as a crystalline powder or a solid crystal form, commonly called crystal meth. Cocaine is usually a fine white powder, although it can also come in rock-like chunks known as crack cocaine. These different forms mean that meth is smoked or injected, while cocaine is commonly snorted or smoked, and less frequently injected. Injecting or smoking meth increases the drug’s potency, making the effects more intense and immediate, but also raising the risk of overdose.
  • Health effects over time: Meth and cocaine each have unique long-term effects. While both drugs can cause heart and mental health problems, meth is particularly associated with severe dental issues—meth mouth—due to tooth decay and gum disease. Those who use meth may also experience extreme weight loss, skin sores, and premature aging. Cocaine, meanwhile, is known for causing nasal damage in individuals who snort the drug and respiratory issues in those who smoke crack cocaine. The long-term impact of each drug can vary based on how frequently it’s used, but both substances pose severe health risks that worsen over time.

How to Get Treatment for Stimulant Addiction at a Premier California Rehab Center

If you or someone you care about need help getting back on track from meth or cocaine addiction, reach out to California Detox. We treat all addictions and mental health issues in an immersive inpatient setting, helping people achieve lasting recovery from drug addiction. 

Our medical program streamlines stimulant withdrawal, addresses physical dependence, and prepares you for ongoing treatment. 

After detox at our luxury facility in Laguna Beach, California, you will tackle the psychological side of addiction and learn healthy coping skills. Therapies may include: 

  • Counseling
  • Medication-assisted treatment
  • Motivational therapies
  • Talk therapies
  • Group therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Holistic therapies
  • Aftercare 

Begin your recovery right away by calling 888-995-4208.

Sources

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/cocaine 

[2] https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling 

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234755/

[4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8583742/

[5] https://www.narconon.org/drug-information/methamphetamine-history.html

[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4440680

[7] https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/what-are-long-term-effects-methamphetamine-misuse

[8] https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/odh/documents/meth-mouth.pdf 

[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11224198/

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