Whether your struggling with the disease of addiction yourself, looking for the signs of crack cocaine abuse in a loved one,  or researching a treatment program that is right for you or a loved one, please call our crack/cocaine addiction helpline.

Crack is more concentrated and potent of cocaine, and therefore more addictive and deadlier. Crack addiction is not limited to any class, race, or group of people, and is increasing in popularity. Many family members of crack users, and even the users themselves, often do not know the seriousness and dangers of crack addiction. The Crack Addiction Help Line is here to assist you in answering all of your questions regarding crack use and it’s effects. This may include how to stop using crack, helping a loved one stop, interventions, and signs to look for. Please call our help line today and get help before it’s to late.

For more information about Crack Cocaine, call our helpline 24 hours a day at 1-866-569-7080

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug of abuse. Once having tried cocaine, an individual cannot predict or control the extent to which he or she will continue to use the drug.

The major routes of administration of cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking (including free-base and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is the act of using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection.

“Crack” is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term “crack” refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate.

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.

Health Hazards

Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that interferes with the reabsorption process of dopamine, a chemical messenger associated with pleasure and movement. Dopamine is released as part of the brain’s reward system and is involved in the high that characterizes cocaine consumption.

Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted peripheral blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. The duration of cocaine’s immediate euphoric effects, which include hyper-stimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depends on the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. On the other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Increased use can reduce the period of stimulation.

Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. An appreciable tolerance to the high may be developed, and many addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Scientific evidence suggests that the powerful neuropsychologic reinforcing property of cocaine is responsible for an individual’s continued use, despite harmful physical and social consequences. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. However, there is no way to determine who is prone to sudden death.

High doses of cocaine and/or prolonged use can trigger paranoia. Smoking crack cocaine can produce a particularly aggressive paranoid behavior in users. When addicted individuals stop using cocaine, they often become depressed. This also may lead to further cocaine use to alleviate depression. 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.

Added Danger: Cocaethylene

When people mix cocaine and alcohol consumption, they are compounding the danger each drug poses and unknowingly forming a complex chemical experiment within their bodies. NIDA-funded researchers have found that the human liver combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third substance, cocaethylene, that intensifies cocaine’s euphoric effects, while possibly increasing the risk of sudden death.

Cocaine abuse symptoms are baffling because at first cocaine abuse symptoms are subtle and can go unnoticed. Cocaine abuse symptoms grow larger and more noticeable as the cocaine abuse escalates. Cocaine abuse symptoms start off as simple as a normal nosebleed and can become as extreme as cardiac arrest. The final and most obvious cocaine abuse symptom is death. Death is exactly where cocaine abuse will take you and along the way the abuser will encounter many other cocaine abuse symptoms. The addiction to cocaine first infects the way the abuser begins to think. Slowly their life begins to revolve around acquiring more and more of the drug. Obsession is the first cocaine abuse symptom. It is not nearly as noticeable as the other more prominent symptoms of cocaine abuse.

As soon as the cocaine enters the blood stream it begins to take control of the abuser mentally. The person becomes absolutely consumed with the prospect of getting more and more of the drug. This grows larger to the point that the mental obsession begins to manifest itself in the abusers actions. The abuser will begin to do anything to receive more cocaine. They will stoop down to levels they never thought their soul could reach. This includes stealing from loved ones, all the way down the line until they find themselves in jail for a crime they never thought they could commit.

The physical being of the abuser is affected almost instantaneous. The body’s chemical makeup adjusts itself in order to acquire the ability to consume cocaine. Therefore from the first ingestion of the chemical the person is hooked physically. The physical aspect of the cocaine abuse symptoms has quite a range of extremes. At first the person will just lose their appetite. This is a more subtle cocaine abuse symptom. Then slowly the septum of the nasal passage is eaten away. Once again this is a symptom only noticed by the abuser themselves. Eventually though, the abuser will become physically ill. This includes stomach cramps, the breaking out in cold sweats, and the increased heart rate, which wears away at the hearts ability to function correctly. All of these physical symptoms lead to the last cocaine abuse symptom-death.