How do you make cocaine more lethal in addiction than it already is? Simply make it into crack cocaine. There is nothing more scary for a loved one than seeing a crack pipe in their possession. The effects of cocaine on the human body is bad enough but when deal with crack, it gets worse than you can imagine. I will be discussing the difference between crack and normal cocaine in this article.
Cocaine Addiction
We all know what cocaine addiction can do to a person, family or community. There is actually something worse that can happen and it comes in the forms of little rocks known as crack. Crack cocaine is cooked from powder cocaine and is so simple to make. All you need is water, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and powder cocaine. You mix the combination, heat it to a boil, separate out the solid and then immediately cool it. The solid is dried and cut up into little rocks. This is 70-90% pure cocaine in a little square. A little interesting fact is the crack name came from the sound that the rock crystal made when heated in a crack pipe.
The difference between the two is the fact that crack can be smoked. This process allows the cocaine effects to hit your bloodstream and brain in a very short time frame. You get that super high feeling quickly but it doesn’t last long. So you need to take another smoke sooner than you would need a snort. You also have a lot of novices that try to make their own crack at home from cocaine powder using a burner and metal spoons.
Cocaine Side Effects
The side effects of cocaine vary from increased blood pressure, heart rate and body temperatures to anxiety, restlessness, vertigo, tremors and paranoia. The psychological effects associated with cocaine withdrawal include intense depression, further addiction and edginess. Their whole lives become engulfed in getting the next smoke of crack and not in everyday life. You lose sleep, appetite, shortness of breath, ling damage, internal bleeding, permanent damage to blood vessels, severe tooth decay, liver and kidney damage and heart attacks. All in all, it does not end well.
There is also the problem of what street dealers do to prepare crack cocaine. You can actually die from toxic blood poisoning from smoking crack cocaine. There are many instances where dealers cut crack with toxic powders because it is cheaper and they get a higher yield. They never account for the fumes from crack once it is burned. If you include the materials used in the crack pipe which can also be dangerous, then you have a lethal one two punch.
Do you have any experience with crack addicts?
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