COCAINE VS CRACK ADDICTION CRACK
Some users turn to crack because its high is more intense than snorting cocaine. As with other stimulant drugs, crack is highly addictive, because its initial “hit” on the central nervous system is so intense. While one report states that 1 in 4 who try crack return to use a second time, this does not tell the entire story. Opinions on crack's addictive properties vary. Health risks exist for those who manufacture crack, as well as for those who share crack pipes, including the transferring of viral infections and other contaminants.
These chemicals produce serious side effects and even death. Crack users are subject to dangers due to the manufacturing process, which is often done in unmonitored home laboratories where chemical compounds may be used to adulterate crack. Other health problems include heart and cardiovascular damage from repeated increases in heart rate and stress. Other dangers are cancer of the mouth, throat and lungs, caused by the toxic smoke of crack. One disease, called “crack lung,” is caused by consistent constriction of the blood vessels in the lungs. Long term users are in danger of physical ramifications of crack use. Stability of dopamine production may take up to a year to restore after quitting crack. The brain of the user becomes hyper-stimulated in the area of the pleasure center, which produces large quantities of dopamine with each hit. They are doing serious damage to their lungs, mouth and throat with the toxic fumes and smoke of crack, as well as to their Central Nervous System (CNS) with the drug itself. Some users stay awake for long periods of time and smoke crack incessantly. They experience increased adrenaline and heightened sexual stimulation, along with decreased appetite and insomnia. Many users can function at a moderate level of use for some time before they begin the cycle of addiction that destroys all pleasurable feelings and becomes addiction.Įffects on the body of the user are numerous. Users do not enjoy the depressed state that follows the crack high. However, most users enjoy the euphoric feeling of crack so much that they return to the pipe again and again. The user typically feels invincible, elated and energetic, and may become talkative, creative and happy. The user experiences a floating sensation in the body, along with heightened awareness and increased heart and pulse rate. The sudden onset of pleasurable sensations brings the user a high more pleasurable than the high produced by most drugs of abuse. While the effects of crack last only 5-10 minutes, they are very intense. Effects of CrackĬrack cocaine is a faster acting and shorter lived high than the high attained from when snorting cocaine. Drug culture in the Western world seems to need to re-invent itself with each generation, creating new drugs of experimentation along with new language, music, cultural trends. This is thought to be attributable to the creation of new designer drugs that teens are more likely to experiment with. Users are not as abundant among the teen population as they once were. Widespread use of crack became popular in the 1980s. Others may fashion homemade pipes, but glass is the preferred material for smoking crack. Users smoke this rock in a small pipe, usually made of glass specifically created for this purpose. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the sentencing disparity between powder cocaine and crack was 100-1 until 2010 (Currently, the disparity is 18-1 nationally).īecause of crack’s presence in low-income areas, this sentencing disparity means that impoverished people and people of color are much likelier to receive harsh sentences for drug possession.Crack is made into a rock-like form when processed.
A common belief that crack was more dangerous and addictive than cocaine developed during the height of the War on Drugs era, causing much harsher sentences to be levied on crack users. Sentencing differences for Cocaine vs Crack Possessionįor the last several decades, crack and cocaine possession have been treated very differently in court.It also gained a reputation for high use in minority groups, though this is not necessarily the case.
Because of its lower price point, it became prevalent in low-income areas throughout the U.S. Crack gained popularity in the 1980s as a less-expensive substitute for Cocaine. When crack cocaine is smoked, the effects kick in almost instantaneously and usually last under ten minutes.Ĭocaine is notoriously associated with corporate America and has been called the “rich man’s drug.” It is especially expensive because the high it creates is so short-lived.
Snorting or orally ingesting cocaine takes a few minutes for the high to set in, which then lasts anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Several factors differentiate crack from cocaine:Ĭrack produces an immediate but much shorter-lasting high than pure powder cocaine.
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