Crack Cocaine

Cocaine and Crack differ in appearance

Cocaine is generally found in white powder form, and crack is found in a rock form that is generally white, cream, tan, or light brown. Crack and cocaine also differ in the manner in which they are used. Cocaine is typically snorted, and Crack is typically smoked. When cocaine is injected or smoked, the drug takes effect more quickly, resulting in a more intense but shorter high. When cocaine is snorted, it takes longer to feel its effects but the resulting high lasts longer.

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How it Works?

Crack speeds up the delivery of cocaine’s powerful chemical impact. Crack’s impact on brain means users can also experience surges in confidence and energy.

Crack is usually smoked.

Smoking the drug produces a faster, more intense high than snorting does because it reaches the bloodstream and brain more quickly. However, the effects of smoking cocaine are shorter in duration, lasting only 5 to 10 minutes verses 15 to 30 minutes for sniffing the powder.

Common Names

  • Black Rock
  • Crack
  • Crankenstein
  • Dice
  • Hard Rock
  • Kryptonite
  • Poor Man’s Cocaine
  • Rock/Rocks
  • Sleet
  • Sugar Block

How it Started?

Crack was developed as a cheaper alternative to cocaine, making it more easily affordable to users. As a less expensive alternative, it became more accessible to those in the lower socioeconomic demographic.

Side Effects of
Crack Cocaine

There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries risk.

The effects of taking Crack Cocaine with other drugs including over-the-counter or prescribed medications can be unpredictable and dangerous.

Crack affects everyone differently, based on:

  • A person’s size, weight and health
  • Whether the person is used to taking it
  • Whether other drugs are taken around the same time
  • The amount taken
  • The strength of the drug

The most common side effects of crack cocaine are:

The effects of crack can be variable due to the uncertainty of the purity of the cocaine used to manufacture it. This only adds to the seriousness and unpredictability of smoking crack.

The effects of crack use are similar to cocaine use although often more intense. They include:
  • Euphoria
  • Heightened alertness
  • Dilated pupils
  • Decreased appetite
  • Increased heart rate
  • Intense cravings

Smoking Crack

Smoking crack causes these effects to take hold more quickly and intensely than cocaine because crack is absorbed through the membranes of the lungs, entering the bloodstream and the brain within 10-15 seconds. As such, the risk of overdosing is extremely high, leading to convulsions, coma, and death.

Symptoms of crack overdose are rapid heart rate and hyperventilation.

Long-term effects:

Long-term effects of crack use include mood changes, irritability, restlessness, depression, anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.

It is easy to develop a crack or cocaine abuse problem because the drug in both forms is highly addictive. As such, issues with withdrawal often arise.

Symptoms of withdrawal include:
  • Agitation
  • Intense cravings
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Nausea
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Muscle pain
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Long-term side effects include:
  • Constipation
  • Reduced sex drive
  • Irregular periods
  • Tension and muscle twitches
  • Needing to use more to get the same effect
  • Dependence on Crack
  • Financial, work and social problems