Crack |
 7) Information on Crack
Drug Facts: Crack-The chemical cocaine
hydrochloride is commonly known as crack. Some users chemically process cocaine
in order to remove the hydrochloride. Crack is produced by dissolving powdered
cocaine in a mixture of water and ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (aking 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.
This process is
called "freebasing" and makes the drug more potent. According to the 2001
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, approximately 6.2 million (2.8
percent) Americans age 12 or older had tried crack at least once in their
lifetime, 1.0 million (0.5 percent) used crack in the past year, and 406,000
(0.2 percent) reported use in the past month. Users who become addicted will
"crave" more of the drug as soon as the intoxicating effects wear off, if they
do not get their regular dose.
Crack is an
extremely powerful drug. Crack addiction is inevitable; once an individual has
tried crack they may be unable to predict or control the extent to which they
will continue to use. Crack is probably the most addictive substance yet
devised. Crack users need more and more crack to attain the same high and avoid
the intense "crash" or depression that follows their high. They become
physically and psychologically dependent on crack, which often is a result of
only a few doses taken within a few days. This dependence on crack leads to
crack addiction. To balance off the intense lows, crack users often use other
drugs, such as alcohol, hash or marijuana in addition to crack.
Effects: The effects crack has on the body is similar to
cocaine. Cocaine's effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and
disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg),
cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and
mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can
also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the
drug helps them perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly,
while others experience the opposite effect.
The duration of
cocaine's immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration.
The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the
absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is
relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from
smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.
The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include
constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart
rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more)
intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent
behavior. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches,
paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling
amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness,
irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the
first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are
often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory
arrest.
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Thus, an
individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he
or she will continue to want or use the drug. Cocaine's stimulant and addictive
effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the
reabsorption of dopamine by nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the
brain's reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the
addictive properties of every major drug of abuse.
An
appreciable tolerance to cocaine's high may develop, with many addicts
reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from
their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to
intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can
occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine's
anesthetic and convulsant effects, without increasing the dose taken. This
increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low
doses of cocaine.
Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is
taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing
irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown
paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and
experiences auditory hallucinations.
Street
Names: 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, Hocakes, Ice cube, Jelly beans,
Nuggets, Paste, Piece, Prime time, Product, Raw, Rock(s), Scrabble, Sleet, Snow
coke, Tornado, Troop
Mode of Use:
Crack is nearly always smoked. Smoking crack cocaine delivers large
quantities of the drug to the lungs, producing an immediate and intense
euphoric effect.
Crack withdrawal symptoms include but are not
limited to: - agitation - depression - intense craving for the drug - extreme
fatigue - anxiety - angry outbursts - lack of motivation - nausea/vomiting -
shaking - irritability - muscle pain - disturbed sleep
Rehabilitation: Successful rehabilitation includes a
calm, stress free environment, plenty of liquids, and replenishing of vitamins
that have been burned out of the body. Use of a mild sedative to help sleep is
often helpful, as the lack of sleep is what can cause the hallucinations. After
feeling physically better, proper rehabilitation therapy can commence that
deals with relapse prevention, dealing with the reasons the addict turned to
drugs in the first place, and any personal failings that need strengthening. It
is highly recommended that a daily routine of proper exercise, nutrition, and
rest be followed as effective relapse and craving prevention. Ideally a
cleansing program would be also administered to help rid the body of the
residual toxins that can impair health in the future and cause cravings.
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