Last Updated:
November 7th, 2024
What is crack cocaine?
Crack cocaine, commonly known as ‘crack’ or ‘rock’ is a highly addictive form of cocaine that is processed into small, rock-like crystals. It is typically smoked, which produces a short yet intense high. It is a highly addictive and powerful stimulant.
Crack is made by mixing powdered cocaine with water and a base, usually baking soda, and then heating the mixture. This process removes the hydrochloride, resulting in a solid, smokable form of cocaine. The name ‘crack’ comes from the crackling sound it makes when heated.
Crack emerged as a drug of abuse in the mid-1980s. It is abused because it produces an immediate high and because it is easy and inexpensive to produce – rendering it readily available and affordable.
In England, the number of crack users increased 10% between 2010 and 2015, reaching 182,828 individuals, with the UK ranking in the top three countries for largest cocaine usage at 2.67%. Overcoming crack cocaine addiction can be challenging, but there are a variety of treatment options available.
Why is crack cocaine addictive?
Crack cocaine is highly addictive due to its intense and rapid effects on the brain, which create powerful cravings and reinforce compulsive drug use. The combination of quick onset, short duration, tolerance development, intense cravings, and psychological dependence creates a strong compulsion to continue using the drug.
In addition to the usual risks associated with cocaine use (constricted blood vessels; increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; and risk of cardiac arrest and seizure), crack users may experience acute respiratory problems, including coughing, shortness of breath, lung trauma and bleeding. Crack cocaine smoking also can cause aggressive and paranoid behaviour.
Short-term effects
While users claim to feel euphoric or high when using crack, there are some paradoxical drawbacks to using the drug. The initial euphoria can quickly turn to feelings of depression and paranoia. The short-term physical and mental effects of using crack are generally more intense than the effects of snorting powdered cocaine and similar to those of injecting cocaine. These effects are also similar to those of other commonly abused stimulants, such as methamphetamine.
Because crack is produced in unregulated settings from cocaine of inconsistent purity and quality, the precise effects vary greatly, but they can include:
- euphoric ‘rush’
- increased alertness
- excited state
- decreased appetite
- dilated pupils
- increased heart rate
- intense craving for another dose shortly after the high subsides
People experiencing crack-induced paranoia might find themselves thinking that someone is trying to get into their house, or following them, or that others are trying to attack them. This can lead to aggressive behaviour or unprovoked attacks on those around them and dangerous situations for both the user and innocent bystanders.
Mid-term effects
In addition to negative short-term effects, long-term crack cocaine abuse can have even more pronounced drawbacks that affect users even when they are not getting high.
The most serious long-term side effects of crack use include:
- ever-increasing tolerance
- severe, unpleasant withdrawal syndrome
- mood disorders, including depression
- delirium
- psychotic symptoms, including auditory and tactile hallucinations and/or paranoid delusions
- addiction
Some users experience a problem that abusers refer to as ‘coke bugs’ or ‘crack bugs’. This is a type of tactile hallucination – also called formication – that makes the abuser feel like bugs are crawling on, or below, their skin. The user might have long scratch marks on the surface of their skin caused by scratching in an effort to get rid of the bugs. Such hallucinations can make it impossible to sleep, and the resulting sleep deprivation contributes to the user’s disordered, delusional thinking.
Long-term effects
These can include:
- cardiovascular and respiratory problems
- seizures or convulsions
- sexual dysfunction and infertility
- malnutrition
- ‘crack lip’, which refers to painful blistering, bruising, and cracked lips caused by repeated exposure to the hot temperature of a crack pipe
- oral issues, including infection, tooth decay, and broken and yellow teeth
- systemic toxicity resulting from inhalation of harmful fumes from the ammonia or other volatile compounds
- increased risk of developing an acute injury to the lungs known as ‘crack lung’. Over time, permanent damage and scarring can occur, which result in difficulty breathing and chest pain
- damage to the kidneys, heart, and liver
- sleep deprivation
Misconceptions surrounding crack
The portrayal of a crack addict commonly seen in movies or television is largely inaccurate. False perceptions of crack cocaine users tend to be racially skewed. Statistically, more Caucasians use crack than African-Americans in the US. There is also a widely-held belief that crack users spend their days preoccupied with tracking down their next high. Rather, new scientific research shows that crack addicts can temporarily suppress an addiction to make sound financial decisions.
In the US, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the facts are that 55% of crack users are white. African-Americans representing just 37% of users. While this statistic alone may be surprising, the figures for America’s youth are truly stunning. A young Caucasian is actually nine times more likely to try crack cocaine than an African-American youth of the same age. However, 80% of the people incarcerated for crack cocaine possession are African-American. And sadly, this is the stereotype often portrayed on screen which has since seeped into our collective consciousness.
The underlying public perception of crack cocaine as an urban, black problem has unfortunately contributed to widened racial health disparities. Rates of crack cocaine use have not been shown to be significantly higher between races, yet law enforcement efforts that target specific populations to prohibit the distribution of crack cocaine have resulted in the mass incarceration of the black population both in the US and Europe.
Despite ethnographic data from France suggesting that racial and ethnic disparities exist, the framing of people who use crack cocaine in France, for example, is primarily viewed through a social class lens. Also, in the UK, recent data shows that the prevalence of drug use varies by household characteristics, such as household income. Those earning less than £10,400 per year were more likely to use a drug in the last year (15.2%) than those with higher incomes. In the US, the conversation about crack cocaine has focused on race, while European discourse has framed the misuse of this particular as a social and urban disparity problem.
Support
If you are looking for the right cocaine rehab centre to help you make critical changes in your life, UKAT can help. We offer inpatient cocaine addiction treatment programmes that take everybody’s needs into account and provide you with the support you need to recover.
We offer a wide range of therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), meditation, group therapy and 12-step work to focus on every aspect of your addiction. These will help you understand your addiction, develop healthy coping mechanisms and build a solid foundation for recovery.
