Victory Over Addiction

Crack
Coccaine
FACTS:
STREET NAMES:
Crack, Crumbs, Rock(s),
APPEARANCE:
Blocks or crystals varying from pale yellow to
white.
PARAPHERNALIA:
Glass pipes, light bulbs, steel wool, copper
wire, foil, straws, pipes made from aluminum
cans.
SMELL:
Like burning plastic.
METHOD OF USE:
Heated and smoked
EFFECTS:
Dilated pupils, insomnia, hypertension, weight
loss. Aggression and volatile mood swings.
Risky sexual behavior.
LONG TERM EFFECTS:
High cardiovascular risk, marked cognitive
decline, contusion and delirium. Psychotic
symptoms. Damage to lips, mouth and
teeth.
Crack cocaine is the crystal form of
cocaine, which normally comes in a
powder form. It comes in solid blocks or
crystals varying in color from yellow to
pale rose or white. Crack is heated and
smoked in glass or metal pipes. It is so
named because it makes a cracking or
popping sound when heated on a wire
mesh inserted in the pipe. Crack, the
most potent form in which cocaine
appears, is also the riskiest. It is between
75% and 100% pure, far stronger and
more potent than regular cocaine.
Smoking crack allows it to reach the brain
more quickly and thus brings an intense
and immediate but very short-lived high
that lasts about fifteen minutes. And
because addiction can develop even
more rapidly if the substance is smoked
rather than snorted (taken in through the
nose), an abuser can become
addicted after his or her first time
trying crack.
Because of cocaine's high cost, it has
long been considered a “rich man's”
drug. Crack, on the other hand, is sold at
prices so low that even teens can afford
to buy it at first. The truth is that once a
person is addicted, the expense
skyrockets in direct ratio to the increasing
amount needed to support the habit.
The word cocaine refers to the drug in a
powder form. The powder is usually
mixed with substances such as corn
starch, talcum powder and/or sugar or
other drugs such as procaine (a local
anesthetic) or amphetamines.
Cocaine is one of the most dangerous
drugs known to man. Once a person
begins taking the drug, it has proven
almost impossible to become free of its
grip physically and mentally. Physically it
stimulates key receptors (nerve endings
that sense changes in the body) within
the brain that, in turn, create a euphoria
to which users quickly develop a
tolerance. Only higher dosages and
more frequent use can bring about the
same effect.
Users encompass all ages, occupations
and economic levels, even
schoolchildren as young as eight years
old.
Cocaine use can lead to death from
respiratory (breathing) failure, stroke,
cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the
brain) or heart attack. Children of
cocaine-addicted mothers come into
the world as addicts themselves. Many
suffer birth defects and many other
problems.
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