Crack Cocaine

CRACK COCAINE

Crack cocaine is the crystal form of cocaine, which normally comes in a powder form. It comes in slid blocks or crystals varying in color from yellow to pale rose or white.

Crack is heated and smoked. It is so named because it makes a cracking or popping sound when heated. Crack, the most potent form in which cocaine appears, is also the riskiest. It is between 75% and 100% pure, far stronger and more potent than regular cocaine.

Crack cocaine is one of the most powerful illegal drugs when it comes to producing psychological dependence. It stimulates key pleasure centers within the brain and causes extremely heightened euphoria.

Smoking crack allows it to reach the brain more quickly and thus brings an intense and immediate, but short-lived high that lasts about 15 minutes. Addiction can develop more rapidly if a substance is smoked rather than snorted. Compulsive crack use develops soon after the person starts using because the substance is smoked and enters the blood stream rapidly. The abuser can become addicted his/her first time using crack. A tolerance develops quickly – the addict soon fails to achieve the same high experienced earlier from the same amount of crack cocaine.

Short-Term Effects

• Disturbed sleep patterns
• Dilated pupils
• Nausea
• Intense euphoria
• Loss of appetite
• Increased heart rate, blood pressure & body temperature
• Contracted blood vessels
• Hyper stimulation
• Bizarre, erratic and sometimes violent behavior
• Hallucinations, hyper–excitability, irritable
• Tactile hallucination that creates an illusion of bugs burrowing under the skin
• Anxiety and paranoia
• Depression
• Intense drug craving
• Panic and psychosis
• Convulsions, seizures and sudden death from high doses

Long-term Effects

• Liver, kidney and lung damage
• Severe chest pains
• Respiratory failure
• Permanent damage to blood vessels of the ear and brain
• High blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death
• Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
• Malnutrition or weight loss
• Severe tooth decay
• Auditory and tactile hallucinations
• Sexual problems, reproductive damage and infertility
• Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
• Irritability and mood disturbances
• Increased frequency of risky behavior
• Delirium or psychosis
• Severe depression