URE COCAINEDescription
What Is Crack Cocaine?
Crack is the street name given to a solid form of cocaine that’s made by processing the drug into small white or off-white rock crystals that are then smoked. It is also referred to as “freebase” and is a more pure form of cocaine than powder cocaine.
By heating the rock and breathing in the vapor, people utilize crack.When crack is smoked, the powder enters the circulation faster than when it is snorted, producing an immediate high. But because of how rapidly this effect wears off and how short-lived it is, people may get into a risky cycle of binge using to stay high.
What Are The Differences Between Crack and Cocaine?
There are some key differences between the two substances, particularly in the ways in which each is used and the adverse health effects each creates.
Chemical Makeup
Pharmacologically, cocaine and crack are the same substance. Cocaine comes in two forms. Cocaine hydrochloride (the white powder) and crack, made by the mixture of hydrochloride and ammonia or baking soda with water, which is then heated to remove the hydrochloride (“freeing the base”), resulting in a solid, rock-like substance form.
Method of Use
Powder cocaine is typically snorted, though it is also dissolved in water and injected for a more intense high with a more rapid onset of effects and shorter duration of the high than an individual gets from snorting cocaine. The powder can also be absorbed by rubbing it on the gums.
Crack cocaine is typically smoked, also referred to as freebasing. Inhalation of the crack vapors produces an intense euphoric “rush” within seconds, which ends just a few minutes later. Smoking crack and injecting powder cocaine after dissolving it in water delivers a similarly intense high that comes on quickly and doesn’t last very long. By comparison, it takes longer for the effects to be felt when powder cocaine is snorted or rubbed on the gums since the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues or gums.
Adverse Health Effects
In the short term, even small amounts of cocaine in either form can produce euphoria, pleasure, and alertness. Larger doses may intensify these effects and also lead some to experience bizarre, erratic, even violent behavior. Other short-term effects of use may include:
- Constricted blood vessels.
- Dilated pupils.
- Nausea.
- Elevated body temperature.
- Heightened blood pressure.
- Quickened or irregular heartbeat.
- Tremors or muscle twitches.
- Restlessness.
How Long Does Crack Cocaine Stay in Your Urine, Hair and Blood?
Various substances stay in the body for different amounts of time. This is a common area of concern for drug detox treatment programs as well as for individuals who need to take a drug test for a job. It’s important to keep in mind that drugs and alcohol stay in different parts of the body (hair, saliva, urine, etc.) for different amounts of time.
Depending on how much is used, Crack cocaine’s half-life is only 15 minutes. However, several factors can influence how long it can be detected through the following drug tests:
- Crack cocaine can be detected in hair follicles up to three months after use but can still yield positive results after several years.
- Crack cocaine is typically detected in the urine for one to four days after use but can be detected several weeks after use.
- Crack cocaine can be detected in saliva for up to 24 hours after use.
- Crack cocaine can be detected in the blood up to 2-12 hours after use.
Legal Status
Although cocaine remains legal for medicinal use, its highly addictive potential limits its use as an anesthetic, and today, it’s most often used illicitly.
How is it produced?
Crack is produced by dissolving powdered cocaine in a mixture of water and ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The mixture is boiled until a solid substance forms. The solid is removed from the liquid, dried, and then broken into the chunks (rocks) that are sold as crack cocaine.
What does it look like?
Crack typically is available as rocks. Crack rocks are white (or off-white) and vary in size and shape.
How is crack abused?
Crack is nearly always smoked. Smoking crack cocaine delivers large quantities of the drug to the lungs, producing an immediate and intense euphoric effect.
Who uses crack?
Individuals of all ages use crack cocaine–data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 6,222,000 U.S. residents aged 12 and older used crack at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults use crack cocaine–150,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 1,003,000 individuals aged 18 to 25 used the drug at least once.
Crack cocaine use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 4 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and more than 1 percent used the drug in the past month, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey.
What are the risks?
Cocaine, in any form, is a powerfully addictive drug, and addiction seems to develop more quickly when the drug is smoked–as crack is–than snorted–as powdered cocaine typically is.
In addition to the usual risks associated with cocaine use (constricted blood vessels; increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; and risk of cardiac arrest and seizure), crack users may experience acute respiratory problems, including coughing, shortness of breath, and lung trauma and bleeding. Crack cocaine smoking also can cause aggressive and paranoid behavior.
What is it called?
Street Terms for Crack Cocaine
| 24-7 Badrock Beat Candy Chemical Cloud Cookies Crumbs Crunch & munch |
Devil drug Dice Electric kool-aid Fat bags French fries Glo Gravel Grit Hail |
Hard ball Hard rock Hotcakes Ice cube Jelly beans Nuggets Paste Piece Prime time |
Product Raw Rock(s) Scrabble Sleet Snow coke Tornado Troop |
Is crack cocaine illegal?
Yes, crack cocaine is illegal. Crack cocaine is a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule II drugs, which include PCP and methamphetamine, have a high potential for abuse. Abuse of these drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
You Might Also Like These:
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.