CRACK / COCAINE

DEFINED

Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin, a bitter addictive anesthetic (pain blocker) which is extracted from the leaves of the coca scrub (Erythroxylon coca) indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America. From the name of the plant came the name cocaine and its street name coke (and Coke as in Coca Cola, which once contained it).

”Crack” is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a ready-to-use free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is heated, presumably from the sodium bicarbonate.

On the illicit market, crack, or "rock," is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units. Smoking this form of the drug delivers large quantities of cocaine to the lungs, producing effects comparable to intravenous injection. These effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, and do not last long.

The major routes of administration of cocaine are snorting, injecting, and smoking (including freebase and crack cocaine). Snorting is inhaling cocaine powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream as quickly as when it is injected.

SYMPTOMS

1. Extremely dilated pupils
2. Dry mouth and nose, bad breath, frequent lip licking
3. Excessive activity
4. Difficulty sitting still
5. Lack of interest in food or sleep
6. Irritable, argumentative, nervous
7. Talkative, but conversation often lacks continuity; changes subjects rapidly
8. Runny nose, cold or chronic sinus/nasal problems
9. Nose bleeds
10. Possession of paraphernalia including small spoons, razor blades, mirror, little bottles of white powder and plastic, glass or metal straws

HEALTH RISKS

1. Respiratory problems
   • Coughing
   • Shortness of breath
   • Severe chest pain with lung trauma and bleeding
2. Seizures and death from respiratory failure
3. Stroke
4. Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding into the brain)
5. Heart failure
6. HIV/AIDS

GETTING HELP

Proper treatment for crack/cocaine addiction is effective. 

If you or a loved one may be suffering from the effects of crack/cocaine abuse, call Alpine Treatment Services today

Source(s): National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), the FDA, National Institute on Chemical Dependency, medterms.com

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