S Of Use And The Effects Of Crack
Crack is most commonly smoked usually in a glass pipe to achieve the desired crack cocaine high. In fact, the name crack refers to the sound the substance makes when heated.
As a stimulant, crack has the potential to speed up various actions throughout the body and brain. While under the influence of crack, a user may:
- Move and speak more quickly.
- Have higher heart rate and blood pressure.
- Experience anxiety, nervousness, and panic.
- Have decreased perceived need for food and sleep.
- Make impulsive and poor decisions.
- Feel paranoid or disconnected from reality.
With increased use and growing tolerance, the desired effects of the substance become diminished while the negative health effects pile upbecoming more numerous and more intense with each subsequent use. For instance, what began as slight paranoia can quickly transition into full psychotic symptoms.
Dangers Of Mixing Crack & Cocaine
If someone were to consume the two substances around the same time, the onset of symptoms would overlap and increase the chances of an overdose occurring. The effects of each drug are intense, and in many cases, unpredictable.
Both are often cut with other substances, which can dramatically increase the risk of accidental overdose. Other potential dangerous side effects include:
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Increased blood pressure and heart rate
- Stroke or sudden cardiac arrest
- Mental health issues like irritability, anxiety, paranoia, and insomnia
- Seizures
- Depression
What Happens When You Use Crack
Most people smoke crack although there are some who inject it. Regardless, when you use crack, it reaches the brain very quickly, which results in an intense rush of euphoria. The thing about crack is that the high lasts only between 5 to 15 minutes. While that time may feel amazing, youre quickly left suffering a crash that is marked by severe depression and intense, horrifying cravings for more crack.
Well get into the biological effects of crack soon, but first, lets look at the short and long-term effects of the drug.
The short-term effects of crack include:
- Increased heart-rate
- Psychosis
- Addiction
Overdose ought to be a huge concern for anyone thinking of or using crack. Because the drug is so potent, overdose can occur at any time, regardless of how long youve been using, your tolerance level, or if its your first time. Someone who overdoses on crack may exhibit signs of very fast heart rate, chest pain, seizures, aggression, stroke, hallucinations, or death. It is a very dangerous drug.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Crack Addiction
It can be difficult to notice a substance use disorder in a friend or your loved one.
The stigma attached to substance abuse often causes people to hide their addiction.
There are, however, signs and symptoms which may indicate crack addiction. If you are worried you or your loved one may be addicted to crack cocaine, please contact us immediately. Our compassionate team can answer any questions you may have and guide you through the next steps.
Physical symptoms may include:
- Burns on fingers or lips
- Quick or deep breathing
What’s So Bad About Cocaine And Crack
Cocaine and crack are dangerous for many reasons. Cocaine and crack use can lead to serious side effects some life-threatening including:
- Sudden cardiac death.
- Loss of ability to perform sexually.
- Addiction, even after one try.
In a person who is addicted, his or her cocaine use becomes an obsession and strong urge that can cause:
- Loss of control over his or her life.
- A willingness to do anything to get more cocaine.
- Spending a tremendous amount of money on his or her habit.
- A loss of interest in friends, family, and social activities.
- A need to take the drug just to feel normal.”
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What Are The Effects Of Cocaine
Cocaine produces rapid effects, although long-term use can damage the brain and other organ systems. Short-term effects of cocaine include:
- Intense physical energy
- Extreme excitation, happiness, and giddiness
- Hypersensitivity to stimuli, including touch, light, and sound
- Irritability, aggression, and mood swings
- Unpredictable or violent behavior, toward oneself or others
- Paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations
- Lung disease or cancer from smoking
Options For Addiction Treatment
Treatments for powdered cocaine addiction and crack addiction are essentially the same. Extensive research has been done on medication for these two similar addictions. However, to date, no medication options works on a reliable basis.
For this reason, people seeking treatment for addiction receive help in the form of behavioral therapy. This is the name of a group of active therapies that aim to help you achieve and maintain sobriety. Specific behavioral options verified by research include:
- Contingency Management
In addition to formal treatment, experts recommend joining Cocaine Anonymous or a similar self-help group.
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Cocaine: Crack Vs Coke
Both cocaine and crack cocaine are very addictive and commonly-abused drugs. Cocaine is derived from the coca plant and is found in both powder and rock forms. The powdered form of the drug is referred to as cocaine or coke, while the rock form is referred to as crack. While both substances have similarities there are also important differences between these drugs.
How Addictive Is Crack Really
Crack cocaine is a very strong central nervous stimulant that comes from cocaine. Its the crystalized form of powder cocaine. Users heat crack and then smoke it, usually from a glass pipe. Its more powerful than cocaine, and its also riskier. This is so because it is at least 75 percent pure. In fact, the risk is high for overdose when it comes to crack, as even first-time users can overdose.
Crack, an illegal Schedule II drug, has a very high potential for abuse that can quickly lead to physical and psychological dependence.
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Creates And Feeds Disease
Not that cocaine wont lead to illness if you snort enough of it, its yet important to note that sugar not only creates but also feeds chronic degenerative disease. Consumption of sugar is linked to insulin resistance, Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and quite possibly cancer and dementia. It feeds nearly every disease process, particularly cancer and candida. Cancer cells love sugar, as do parasites. Yeast, and therefore candida, as well as other detrimental bacteria thrive on sugar and acidity .
Find out if you are feeding a beast in your intestinal system.
About Crack Cocaine Addiction
The intense, euphoric high felt by a person after they smoke crack is caused by a rush of dopamine activity in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brains pleasure and reward systems, and is typically released in moderate amounts during activities such as eating, having sex, or being nurtured. The large amount of dopamine released in the brain after smoking crack produces an intense high that is short-lived, so many users will smoke crack repeatedly in order to sustain the high.
Frequent use causes the brain to adapt to the higher levels of dopamine, leading the user to need more of the drug to experience the desired high.4 This is known as tolerance, and it can develop after just one use of crack cocaine.1
The drive to use more and more crack can develop into addiction, which is marked by compulsive, drug-seeking behaviors and continuing to use a drug despite negative consequences.
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What Is The Difference Between Powder Cocaine And Crack Cocaine
Chemically, there is very little difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Crack cocaine is a freebase version of powder cocaine. This means that the cocaine component is freed from the hydrochloric salt from which it is bound.
In the 1980s and 1990s, lawmakers and public opinion considered crack cocaine to be much more addictive and harmful than powder cocaine. The sentencing for drug possession reflected this, enforcing the same penalty that you would receive for 100g of powder cocaine for just 1g of crack cocaine.
However, several scientific studies have questioned the extent to which crack cocaine is more addictive than powder cocaine. They argue that there are higher addiction rates among crack users because they are more susceptible to becoming dependent on the substance. The demonization of crack cocaine and its harsh sentencing instead results from racial biases intending to persecute the overwhelmingly black demographic that use crack cocaine.
Currently, there is no conclusive evidence on whether or not crack cocaine is more addictive than powder cocaine. There remains, however, an 18:1 disparity in the sentencing of the two substances in United States law.
Is Crack Worse Than Cocaine
A common perception is that cocaine is better or safer to use than crack is. This view is evident based on the numbers of people willing to try the drug from a 2017 SAMHSA report:
- Cocaine: 40.6 million individuals admitted to at least one use
- Crack: 9.6 million individuals admitted to at least one use
The perception is reinforced by the penalties associated with the two drugs. Crack-possession penalties are more severe than cocaine-possession penalties, with a ratio of 18 to 1. This imbalance means that 28 grams of crack will receive the same sentence as 500 grams of powdered cocaine. The disparity is highly controversial and often attributed to racial and economic bias rather than the relative harm of crack compared to cocaine.
Regardless of how many people use which drug and what the penalties are for doing so, the truth of the matter is that both drugs are illegal, dangerous and highly addictive. Overdosing is a risk people take when they chose to use either form of the stimulant drug.
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How Does It Make You Feel
How cocaine makes you feel depends on:
- how much you use
- whether you have certain medical or psychiatric conditions
- whether youve taken any alcohol or other drugs .
Cocaine makes people feel energetic, talkative, alert and euphoric. They feel more aware of their senses: sound, touch, sight and sexuality seem heightened. Hunger and the need for sleep are reduced. Although cocaine is a stimulant, some people find it calming, and feel increased self-control, confidence and ease with others. Other people may feel nervous and agitated, and cant relax.
Taking high doses of cocaine for a long time can lead to:
- panic attacks
- psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia , hallucinations and delusions
- erratic, bizarre and sometimes violent behaviour.
With regular use, people may become tolerant to the euphoric effects of cocaine. This means they need to take more and more of the drug to get the same desired effect.
At the same time, people who use the drug regularly may also become more sensitive to its negative effects, such as anxiety, psychosis and seizures.
Cocaine also makes the heart beat faster, and raises blood pressure and body temperature.
What Is The Difference Between Crack And Cocaine
When most people think of crack or cocaine, they tend to lump them together. While this is understandable, there are some major differences between crack and cocaine. To begin, cocaine is an addictive stimulant drug that comes in a powdered form. Individuals who abuse cocaine typically snort the drug, however, it can be smoked or intravenously injected when an individual alters its form. On the other hand, crack-cocaine, or crack, is a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked. Crack is a derivative of cocaine, as it is created by mixing a few substances together. The resulting compound when hardened resembles something similar to salt rock, hence the street name crack rock.
While both substances are extremely addictive, crack is considered to be more dangerous than cocaine. However, it is more common to abuse cocaine than crack. In fact, according to research in 2017, 17% of individuals reported using cocaine at one point in their lifetime, while only 4.3% of individuals reported using crack.
If you or a loved one suffer from a substance use disorder, it is vital to understand the differences between the two substances. In doing so, you will be able to identify which substance an individual is using and help them to find the appropriate treatment. Read more to learn about the similarities and the differences between crack and cocaine.
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Can A Person Die From An Overdose Of Cocaine
Yes. Serious side effects, including seizures, stroke, heart attacks and irregular heartbeats, can happen even with a single use of cocaine. If enough cocaine is taken or if the cocaine is combined with heroin, fentanyl, or other stimulants or opioids, someone could have life-threatening side effects or even die.
What Is Samhsa’s National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
Also visit the online treatment locator.
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Treatment For Substance Abuse At Oasis Recovery
Whether you are using cocaine or smoking crack, you are playing with fire. The short and long-term side effects of cocaine addiction are unhealthy at best and fatal at worst.
We at Oasis Recovery understand how intimidated you might feel at the thought of giving up something that you currently feel such a strong need to hold onto. That is why we vow to stand by your side and lend you strength when you need it the most.
Waiting until tomorrow, or next week to get clean is not going to make things any easier for you. During your treatment, we know just what to do to make you as comfortable as possible. today and put your trust in our team of professionals who truly care.
How Is Cocaine And Crack Addiction Treated
Recovery often begins with detox, the body’s physical withdrawal from cocaine. Physical symptoms of withdrawal can begin within a few hours and last up to seven days. The inability to enjoy normal pleasure may take longer to recover.
Withdrawal symptoms include:
- Inability to sleep .
- Bad dreams.
As soon at the patient can begin therapy, he or she enters the next phase of addiction treatment. This involves group participation, counseling, and, often, psychiatric evaluation and treatment. The goal of counseling is to help the addict understand the effects of cocaine use, face the issues that lead to drug use, and learn ways to stay away from cocaine. Another therapy strategy uses incentives to motivate by providing rewards to people who remain drug free. This therapeutic approach is also called contingency management.
Group participation usually involves the 12-step process that is common to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. If the addict also suffers from a psychiatric issue, such as depression or bipolar disorder, such issues also need to be treated or else they will probably lead the person to go back to using drugs.
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What Are The Medical Complications Of Cocaine Abuse
Cardiovascular effects:
- abdominal pain
- nausea
Cocaine use has been linked to many types of heart disease. Cocaine has been found to trigger chaotic heart rhythms, called ventricular fibrillation accelerate heartbeat and breathing and increase blood pressure and body temperature. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, nausea, blurred vision, fever, muscle spasms, convulsions and coma.
Different routes of cocaine administration can produce different adverse effects. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead to loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with swallowing, hoarseness, and an overall irritation of the nasal septum, which can lead to a chronically inflamed, runny nose. Ingested cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene, due to reduced blood flow. And, persons who inject cocaine have puncture marks and “tracks,” most commonly in their forearms. Intravenous cocaine users may also experience an allergic reaction, either to the drug, or to some additive in street cocaine, which can result, in severe cases, in death. Because cocaine has a tendency to decrease food intake, many chronic cocaine users lose their appetites and can experience significant weight loss and malnourishment.
How Is Crack Cocaine Used
Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine that comes in white or off-white rock crystals.
The consistency ranges from a softer wax-like substance to hard and brittle plastic.
You usually smoke crack through a pipe and inhale the vapor. Absorption via the lungs is almost as fast as injecting, and you experience an almost immediate rush of intense euphoria that lasts around five to fifteen minutes.
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The Main Difference Between Cocaine And Crack
Cocaine is a powder and crack is a rock. But the key difference between the two drugs is how they are taken. Cocaine has many options that include snorting, injecting, and swallowing. Whereas crack can only be smoked. The Drug Policy Alliance states that because of the many options for taking cocaine, the drug tends to be more expensive than crack.
âCrack can be riskier than powder cocaine in three ways,”Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, associate professor at the Department of Population Health at the New York University Langone Medical Center tells WebMD Connect To Care.
“First, crack is smoked which increases the risk for addiction, in part, because of the quicker onset of effects. Second, being caught with crack places you at a higher risk for being sentenced because the law treats crack possession more severely than powder cocaine possession. Third, society tends to stigmatize crack more than powder cocaine.â
How To Get Help For Crack Addiction
Unlike some other substances, and despite its potential to be quite unpleasant, withdrawal from crack rarely poses a serious threat to physical health. Even with this being true, professional treatment can be hugely beneficial for anyone attempting to quit using crack. There are currently no medications specifically approved to treat crack addiction and dependence however, a number of behavioral therapies have proven successful in helping those in recovery from crack addiction. Tested therapies include:
- Contingency management provides tangible rewards to patients who successfully maintain abstinence .
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps patients to understand how thoughts, feelings and behaviors influence their drug use and are, in turn, influenced by use.
- Support groups like 12-step groups provide a sense of community and understanding for people in recovery.
Participation with any of these therapeutic approaches can occur in both outpatient and inpatient/residential settings.
For some individuals, longer-term recovery efforts take place in a sober living setting. For example, therapeutic communities that require 6-12 month stays have been indicated to aid desired treatment outcomes.
All styles of treatment will have a focus on relapse prevention in attempts to extend sobriety and time away from crack and other substances.
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