Understanding and Getting Off Crack
What is Crack?
Crack is the crystal form of the drug cocaine. Like cocaine, crack is a powerful stimulant that creates euphoria and is known for its fast-acting effects that do not last long. Crack is made using cocaine, boiling water, and other ingredients that turn the powdered cocaine into crystals that are smoked. This process is called freebasing and is performed by narcotics dealers. Because crack is a street drug, it has never been used medically for any purpose [1].
Those who are struggling with crack addiction should reach out to Tree House Recovery for help. The expert staff of our crack addiction treatment program in North Carolina will work with you to create a personalized treatment plan that meets your unique needs and helps you on your journey to recovery. Call 910.812.1728 today to learn more about substance abuse treatment.
Like cocaine, crack is classified as a Schedule II narcotic, meaning it has a high potential for abuse.
Stimulant [2].
The History and Origin of Crack
What Does Crack Look Like?
Crack looks like white or yellow rocks made up of tiny crystals [8]. But since other things are added to crack while it’s being made, the color can vary. Sometimes things are added to crack that increase its potency. Typically, dealers add items to crack to increase the weight and sell it to someone who thinks they are getting more crack.
Crack Potency:
Crack is made with cocaine but is stronger than cocaine. Its effects begin more quickly, last longer, and are more potent.
How is Crack Used?
Crack is only made for illicit use and has no medical value. Crack is typically smoked from a pipe, but it can also be dissolved for injection if combined with a weak acid like lemon juice. Injecting crack is dangerous, but introducing acids into the bloodstream can lead to skin abscesses, black veins, inflamed blood vessels, and heart damage [4].
People who use crack cocaine may also mix it with other substances like heroin or alcohol. When people combine a stimulant like crack with a downer like an opioid, it’s called a speedball. According to those in recovery, speedballs negate the urge to nod off from heroin and crack anxiety, providing an intense euphoria. However, speedballs are dangerous because they encourage people to use high amounts of drugs to maintain this state. So, when one wears off, you can experience a delayed overdose from the other drug.
Dangers of Crack:
Crack is a dangerous street-made version of cocaine that is dangerously potent. It mimics an adrenaline rush by elevating your central nervous system. Your body stays in this state while the effects last. This high puts repeated stress on the heart, lungs, and kidneys. After repeated use or high doses, the organs may fail, leading to overdose and crack toxicity symptoms. Crack can also be dangerous for people used to snorting cocaine. Crack is far less diluted than cocaine and thus much more potent. So if cocaine users were to smoke the same amount as they’re used to snorting, they would likely overdose [5].
Crack Overdose Rates:
Crack is considered a form of cocaine. The number of cocaine overdoses rose from 6,000 to 14,000 between 2015 and 2017. Since then, the number of cocaine drug overdoses has continued to increase steadily. As of 2019, more than 15,000 people die a year from a cocaine overdose [6].
Crack Overdose Graph:
Signs of Crack Addiction
Physical Signs:
Crack creates an immediate euphoric high and feelings of enormous energy. As the drug begins to wear off, the user crashes into a massive low-energy state. As a result of this, signs of crack abuse include:
- Weak pulse or blood pressure
- A marked decrease in respiration rate
- Clammy or sweat-covered skin
- Vomiting in excess, or the action of vomiting without bile coming out
- Hyperactivity
- Confusion
- Clumsiness
- Trembling and fidgeting
- Irritability or violent behavior
- Paranoia or abstract thought processes
- Excessive itching or scratching due to feelings of ‘bugs on the skin.’
- Coma or coming in and out of consciousness periodically
Changes in Behavior
Because crack cocaine is a stimulant, people who use it tend to get intense amounts of energy, euphoria, and hyperactivity. However, people on crack can experience unpredictable mood swings and impulsivity that can make them a danger to themselves or others. These signs can all be warning signs of addiction.
- Paranoia
- Irritable or aggressive behaviors
- Anxiety
- Low appetite
- Intense euphoria
- Rapid speech
- Not sleeping
- Hyperactivity
Side Effects of Crack
Crack cocaine lasts for 30-60 minutes. Unlike cocaine, crack’s effects begin right after it’s smoked. Crack stimulates the reward center of the brain to create an abundance of dopamine. Usually, dopamine is responsible for joy and euphoria, but in high amounts, dopamine can be associated with anger, aggressiveness, hallucinations, delusions, and other dangerous symptoms [7]. Crack also produces norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter involved in the fight or flight response. High amounts of this create the hyperalert feeling of crack, but this state puts stress on the body and organs, leading to heart or lung failure.
- Euphoria
- Hyper alertness
- Lack of appetite
- Heart failure
- Seizures
- Lung failure
- Depression
- Aggression
- Paranoia
- Irritability
- Anger
- Hallucinating
- Separations from reality (delusions)
- Organ failure
Crack Street Names
People who illegally use crack may refer to it using street names to discuss it in public places. If you hear someone using one of these terms, it could be a sign that they are using crack: [8]
- 24-7
- Applejacks
- Badrock
- Ball
- Base
- Beat
- Candy
- Chemical
- Cloud
- Cookies
- Crack
- Crumbs
- Crunch & munch
- Devil drug
- Dice
- Electric kool-aid
- Fat bags
- French fries
- Glo
- Gravel
- Grit
- Hail
- Hardball
- Hard rock
- Hotcakes
- Ice cube
- Jelly beans
- Kryptonite
- Nuggets
- Paste
- Piece
- Primetime
- Product
- Raw
- Rock(s)
- Rock star
- Rox/Roxanne
- Scrabble
- Sleet
- Snow coke
- Sugar block
- Topo (Spanish)
- Tornado
- Troop
Crack Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms
Because of how it works, crack addiction forms very quickly. A person who has taken crack will feel euphorically energetic for 30-60 minutes. But when it wears off, they crash into a state of physical and mental exhaustion. This exhaustion is typical of stimulants that push the body harder and longer than is healthy. The problem is that many of those who use this substance use more crack to feel better. As a result, the body and brain quickly learn to rely on crack to not feel depleted. So, when crack is absent, a person will feel withdrawal symptoms like
- Agitation
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Nausea
- Muscle pain
- Suicidal thoughts
- Heart attack
- Insomnia
- Exhaustion
- Restlessness
- Sweating
- Diarrhea
- Paranoia
- Irritability
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Aggression
- Lack of motivation
- Depression
- Difficulty concentrating
Our Crack Addiction Treatment Program in North Carolina
Bringing crack addiction into remission requires three things. The first is medical detox, which will allow you to be sober without experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms and cravings. The second phase includes crack rehab to treat the physical, social, and mental causes and effects of your addiction. Finally, you’ll need a solid aftercare plan. There is no cure for addiction, and sobriety doesn’t end in rehab. To thrive after treatment, you need ways to maintain your sobriety.
Crack Medical Detox
Detox is meant to end a person’s physical dependence to crack and is the first step in recovery. Crack dependency forms very quickly. Once it does, when a person stops using crack, they will experience several uncomfortable symptoms that can last for days. Attempting to endure these at home is less likely to be successful compared to using medical detox. In medical detox, a person can receive medicines and tapers to lessen the severity and amount of withdrawal symptoms.
However, detox is only the first step. It does nothing to address the underlying causes of crack addiction, which is why you’ll need to find a crack addiction treatment center in North Carolina.
Crack Addiction Treatment
Every addiction is rooted in a person’s social, mental, or physical landscape. A good crack addiction rehab center in North Carolina will help you understand what triggers the urge to use crack and then help you build the skills you need to be less likely to want crack and more able to deal with triggers later on. As you grow stronger and more resilient, you will experience fewer and weaker cravings as time goes on. Tree House Recovery’s crack addiction treatment center in North Carolina will help you heal.
Aftercare
Recovery doesn’t end in a crack rehab program, and life can present challenges that rehab does not. This is why you need an aftercare plan for habits to maintain, support groups to join, sober communities to cultivate, strategies for avoiding triggers, and actions to take when you run into triggers later.
Author
Derek Swain: Addiction Writer
- https://www.drugfreeworld.org/course/lesson/the-truth-about-crackcocaine/crackcocaine.html
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine
- https://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crackcocaine/a-short-history.html
- https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-019-0330-6
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430976/ \
- https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181074/
- https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs3/3978/3978p.pdf