Overview
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a powerful stimulant extracted from the coca plant, which is grown in South America. It is used in Kenya primarily as a white powder that is snorted, though crack cocaine (a smokeable form) is also present in urban areas.
Until recently, cocaine was rare in Kenya due to its high cost. However, its increasing use as a transit country for cocaine heading from South America to Europe has led to growing local availability and consumption.
Cocaine use in Kenya is concentrated among wealthier social groups in Nairobi, but is also found in Mombasa, where the proximity to the port creates greater availability.
What it does to the brain and body
How does it work?
Why people use it
What draws people to it?
Cocaine is associated with confidence, energy, and social performance. In nightlife and party settings, it is used to stay awake longer and to feel more sociable and self-assured.
The brief but intense euphoria creates a pattern of repeated use in a session, each dose trying to recapture the first high.
Short-term effects
What happens when someone uses it?
These effects can occur even with first-time or occasional use.
- Intense brief euphoria and confidence
- Increased energy, alertness, and talkativeness
- Reduced appetite and need for sleep
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Dilated pupils and raised body temperature
- After the effect fades: strong craving, low mood, and irritability
Long-term effects
What happens with regular or prolonged use?
- Severe cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke in young people
- Destruction of the nasal septum and palate from snorting
- Paranoia, anxiety, and cocaine-induced psychosis
- Severe depression during periods of abstinence
- Financial ruin from the cost of maintaining use
- Liver damage, particularly when combined with alcohol
Recognising a problem
Signs that use may have become a problem
These signs apply to the person using the substance and can also help family members or friends recognise when help is needed.
- Using cocaine repeatedly in the same session, chasing the initial high
- Spending increasingly large amounts of money on cocaine
- Neglecting responsibilities, relationships, or health
- Paranoia or suspicious behaviour
- Nosebleeds or persistent nasal problems
- Significant mood swings, particularly low mood between uses
Addiction and dependence
How addictive is it?
Cocaine produces one of the most intense and brief highs of any drug, which combined with the severe crash that follows creates a powerful drive to use repeatedly.
Crack cocaine (smoked) has an even faster onset and more intense effect, producing some of the most severe dependence seen in clinical practice.
Overdose and acute danger
When does it become immediately dangerous?
- Chest pain or pressure, which may indicate a heart attack
- Irregular heartbeat, palpitations
- Seizures
- Stroke symptoms: sudden weakness on one side, slurred speech, drooping face
- Very high temperature (hyperthermia)
- All of these require immediate emergency care. Call 999.
Withdrawal
What happens when someone tries to stop?
Who is most affected
Groups particularly at risk in Kenya
Higher-income young adults in Nairobi are the primary users. The cost of cocaine places it out of reach for most Kenyans.
The entertainment, nightlife, and business sectors have documented cocaine use. The drug is associated with status and social performance in certain circles.
In Kenya
What the data says about Kenya
Cocaine use in Kenya is concentrated in Nairobi among higher-income groups. The average age of first use (20 years) is the highest of any drug in the NACADA 2022 survey, reflecting its adult urban demographic.
Kenya's coastal ports, particularly Mombasa, are documented transit points for cocaine shipped from South America to Europe. Some of this product remains in Kenya, increasing domestic availability.
ENACT Africa and ISS Africa have documented the involvement of Mexican and Nigerian criminal networks in drug manufacturing and trafficking through Kenya, including methamphetamine and cocaine.
Across East and Central Africa
How is it used in the wider region?
| Country | Local name(s) | Context and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tanzania | Coke, Kokeni | Dar es Salaam port is a documented transit point. Local use is documented among wealthier urban groups. |
| South Africa | Coke, Rock (crack) | South Africa has the highest cocaine use rate in Africa. Cape Town has a significant crack cocaine problem in Cape Flats communities. |
| Nigeria | Coke, White | Nigeria is a major cocaine transit country. Significant local use in Lagos and other major cities. |
Getting help
Where to turn in Kenya
NACADA Helpline
Free, confidential counselling and referral to treatment centres near you. Available 24 hours a day.
Mathari National Hospital
Kenya's main national psychiatric and substance use treatment facility in Nairobi. Inpatient and outpatient services.
County referral hospitals
Every county in Kenya has a mental health and substance use service. Ask at your nearest hospital or health centre.
Sources
References
- National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA). (2022). National Survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use in Kenya 2022. Nairobi: NACADA.
- ISS Africa. (2025). Kenya's growing role in global meth production.
- ENACT Africa. (2025). Access to precursor chemicals fuels synthetic drug production in Kenya.
- UNODC. (2023). World Drug Report 2023. Vienna: UNODC.