Street Names
 | Rock
| The Chunk
Derived
"Crack" is the street name given to cocaine that has been
processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. The
term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the
mixture is smoked (heated).
Description
"Crack," or the "rock" form of cocaine, is a
ready-to-use freebase. It is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units
that are smoked. Once introduced in the mid-1980s, crack abuse
spread rapidly throughout America. It is noteworthy that the
emergence of crack was accompanied by a dramatic increase in drug
abuse problems and drug- related violence.
Use
There is great risk whether cocaine is ingested by inhalation
(snorting), injection, or smoking. It appears that compulsive
cocaine use may develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked
rather than snorted. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine
to reach the brain very quickly and brings an intense and immediate
high. The injecting drug user is at risk for transmitting or
acquiring HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other injection equipment
are shared.
Dangers and Effects
Smoking crack cocaine can produce a particularly aggressive paranoid
behavior in users. When addicted individuals stop using cocaine,
they often become depressed. Prolonged cocaine snorting can result
in ulceration of the mucous membrane of the nose and can damage the
nasal septum enough to cause it to collapse. Cocaine-related deaths
are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by
respiratory arrest.
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