When cocaine abusers seek treatment for their addiction, medications can help them to stop using cocaine. These medications can also reduce the chances of relapse, or an addict's return to using cocaine. A person who suddenly stops using cocaine generally goes through a withdrawal syndrome, with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and craving for cocaine. This craving often lasts for several weeks after a person stops using the drug. Places or things associated with cocaine use in the past, called cues, can continue to trigger cocaine craving for many months. Because of this ongoing craving, it is easy for the abuser to relapse at any time after he or she becomes abstinent. Preventing relapse is an important function of medication treatment.

Cocaine dependence causes changes in the brain, decreasing the ability of the brain chemical dopamine to function normally within the brain. This effect continues...