Crack Cocaine Addiction, Use Effects and Crack Cocaine Rehab

Crack is the term for the smokable form of cocaine. Crack is the street name given to a freebase form of cocaine that has been processed from the powdered cocaine hydrochloride form to a smokable substance. Crack cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the substance is heated, presumably from the sodium bicarbonate that is used in the production of crack. Crack is cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Crack typically is available in small rock form. This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal to be heated and its vapors smoked.

An added danger of cocaine use is when cocaine and alcohol are consumed at the same time. When these substances are mixed, the human liver combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third substance, coca ethylene. This intensifies cocaine's euphoric effects, while also possibly increasing the risk of sudden death. Most cocaine-related deaths are a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest. Compulsive cocaine use seems to develop more rapidly when the substance is smoked rather than snorted.

Smoking crack cocaine can also cause particularly aggressive paranoid behavior in users. Physical effects of using crack cocaine include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Users may also experience feelings of restlessness, irritability and anxiety. Evidence suggests that users who smoke cocaine may be at even greater risk of causing harm to themselves than those who snort the substance. Cocaine smokers may suffer from acute respiratory problems including coughing, shortness of breath, and severe chest pains with lung trauma and bleeding.

Source: Parts reprinted from The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)