I need some clear information on what to tell a mother who contacted me
this morning. She "smoked" about 1 gm of cocaine last night over about
an eight hour period ending early this morning. Today she is very
remorseful, and concerned about her baby, whom she has not nursed since
last evening - he is receiving formula, she is pumping and dumping.

Clinical Pharmacology Online lists cocaine as having a half-life of 1 to
1.5 hours. Dr. Hale last week explained that after 5 half-lives 99% of a
drug is eliminated.

I am concerned, however, about a passage in Briggs, Freeman, and Yaffe
(1994, p. 213) that relates the case of a mother who ingested .5 gm of
cocaine intranasally over 4 hours, who at 12 hours post-dose still had
"measurable amounts (specific data not given) of cocaine and the
metabolitebenzoylecgonine that persisted until 36 hours after the dose."

When is it safe for her to resume breastfeeding?

Catherine Mallon
LLLL
Sherwood Park, AB, Canada