People from all walks of life, with all types of addiction come to Suncoast Rehab Center for help.  Today, we wanted to answer some common questions about the most addictive form of cocaine – crack cocaine. 

Crack cocaine is also called:

• Crumbs
• Hard rock
• Rock
• Roxanne
• Raw
• Product
• Chemical
• Candy
• Cookies, and more

What is crack and how is it different from straight cocaine?

Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant.  Crack cocaine is made by taking powder cocaine and cooking it with baking soda and water until it becomes hard and rocky.  This is similar to how straight opium is made into the more addictive morphine.

Crack cocaine “rocks” can be yellow, rose, white, or any color in between.  The reason it is called “crack” cocaine comes from how it is taken.  Crack is heated and smoked.  When it heats up, it makes a cracking or popping sound.

When a person smokes crack, it reaches the brain faster than when a person snorts cocaine.  Additionally, the high experienced from crack cocaine is intense and very short.  A crack high can last between 5-10 minutes, while a powder cocaine high usually lasts between 15-30 minutes.

One of the reasons crack cocaine is a popular drug is that it is cheaper than cocaine, although its ”high” is shorter lived.  However, both drugs are highly addictive and extremely physically and mentally harmful.   

What are the effects and side effects of using crack cocaine?

The high that people who take crack cocaine are chasing is a brief and intense state of euphoria.  This usually lasts 5-10 minutes.  When coming down from the high, the user usually feels the exact opposite of what they felt during the time they were high.  They experience intense depression, edginess, and craving for more.

Crack cocaine can also cause depression, paranoia, violence, anxiety, psychosis, seizure, insomnia, stroke, hallucinations that the user can physically feel, change in diet or sleep pattern, convulsions, heart attack, heart damage, liver damage, kidney damage, contracting an infectious disease, addiction, sudden death, and more.

How can I recognize someone who smokes crack?

The pipes used to smoke crack are usually short and get very hot.  This means that the person using them gets burnt or cracked lips.  

Additionally, crack cocaine and powder cocaine are both exceedingly addictive drugs.  A person who is addicted will likely show drug seeking behavior, which we have gone over in previous articles.  Some of these behaviors are:

• Stealing money to go buy the drug.
• Unexplained absences.
• Paranoia, mood swings, aggression, or general change of behavior.
• No longer interested in old activities and hobbies.  Their new hobby/activity is using the drug.
• Sudden change in sleep pattern or weight.
• Chronic runny nose, cough, or cold symptoms.
• Arguments with self and flashbacks.

You can find a full list of these behaviors here.

If you are addicted to crack cocaine, or you know someone who is, contact us today at (877) 850-7355.  We offer a completely drug-free detox and rehabilitation program like none other.

Refs: The Sentencing Project, DrugFreeWorld.org, DrugPolicy.org