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Crack and Cocaine
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The powdered,
hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved
in water and injected. Crack is cocaine that has not been
neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. This
form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that can be heated
and its vapors smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling
sound heard when it is heated.
Regardless of how cocaine is used or how frequently, a user
can experience acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies,
such as a heart attack or stroke, which could result in sudden
death. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac
arrest or seizure followed by respiratory arrest.
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. The buildup
of dopamine causes continuous stimulation of receiving neurons,
which is associated with the euphoria commonly reported by
cocaine abusers.
Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted blood
vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart
rate, and blood pressure. The duration of cocaine's immediate
euphoric effects, which include hyperstimulation, reduced
fatigue, and mental alertness, 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 time a user feels
high and increases the risk of addiction.
Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability,
and anxiety. A tolerance to the "high" may develop—many
addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much
pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Some users
will increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric
effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can
also become more sensitive to cocaine's anesthetic and convulsant
effects without increasing the dose taken. This increased
sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently
low doses of cocaine.
Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken
repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, may lead to a
state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia.
This can result in a period of full-blown paranoid psychosis,
in which the user loses touch with reality and experiences
auditory hallucinations.
Other complications associated with cocaine use include disturbances
in heart rhythm and heart attacks, chest pain and respiratory
failure, strokes, seizures and headaches, and gastrointestinal
complications such as abdominal pain and nausea. Because
cocaine has a tendency to decrease appetite, many chronic
users can become malnourished.
Different means of taking cocaine can produce different adverse
effects. Regularly snorting cocaine, for example, can lead
to loss of the sense of smell, nosebleeds, problems with
swallowing, hoarseness, and a chronically runny nose. Ingesting
cocaine can cause severe bowel gangrene due to reduced blood
flow. People who inject cocaine can experience severe allergic
reactions and, as with all injecting drug users, are at increased
risk for contracting HIV and other blood-borne diseases.
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 potentially
increasing the risk of sudden death.
Treatment
The widespread abuse of cocaine has stimulated extensive
efforts to develop treatment programs for this type of drug
abuse.
One of NIDA's top research priorities is to find a medication
to block or greatly reduce the effects of cocaine, to be
used as one part of a comprehensive treatment program. NIDA-funded
researchers are also looking at medications that help alleviate
the severe craving that people in treatment for cocaine addiction
often experience. Several medications are currently being
investigated for their safety and efficacy in treating cocaine
addiction.
In addition to treatment medications, behavioral interventions—particularly
cognitive behavioral therapy—can be effective in decreasing
drug use by patients in treatment for cocaine abuse. Providing
the optimal combination of treatment and services for each
individual is critical to successful outcomes.
To read the rest
of this excellent article on crack and cocaine, produced
by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, please click here: http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html
Cocaine
image is provided by the DEA
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