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Cocaine Drug Rehab Help-Line

What Is Crack Cocaine?

Crack cocaine is a synthetic drug that was developed in the 1980's as a cheap replacement for cocaine. Crack cocaine includes all the chemicals that make cocaine a recreational drug but it is also easier to produce and manufacture. This ensures that crack cocaine is much cheaper than regular cocaine would be. Unlike cocaine, crack is smoked instead of inhaled and its name comes from the sound that the rock makes when it is being burned inside the pipe.

What Does Crack Do To The Body?

Crack acts in a part of the brain called the ventral tegmentral area. Crack attaches itself to the dopamine transporter in the brain, which gives the user a feeling of intense and lingering euphoria after having smoked it. The feeling that the user gets from crack cocaine is one of euphoria that happens within seconds and can last for up to 15 minutes.

Is Crack Addictive?

Crack is a very addictive substance. It is much more addictive than pure cocaine and many users become psychologically and physically dependent on it as soon as they try it due to the intense pleasure they derive from consuming the drug. It is also relatively cheap and easy to get, so users of all socioeconomic backgrounds have access to it and the most disadvantaged may have a poor support system that contributes towards a crack addiction. Due to the nature of the drug, users become more and more tolerant to dosage as they take it. Increased crack intake may cause a great degree of damage while users are just trying to get high off of it.

What Are The Effects of Crack Use On The Individual?

Crack use can really hurt an user's system. It may cause heart problems, strokes, respiratory issues and serious mental health conditions that may affect the user for the rest of his or her life. Other effects of smoking crack include anxiety, lethargy, tremors, hyperactivity and increased stress.

Long term use of crack in any person may also cause irreversible damage to vital organs like the heart, the liver and the kidneys. It may also cause serious mental health problems that the user will carry for the rest of his or her life.

What Is The Treatment For Crack Cocaine?

Before a crack dependent or addicted patient gives up the drug, he or she may want to look into receiving medical attention, since the withdrawal from crack can cause terrifying effects on the body that make the patient much less likely to want to give up the drug. One of the most successful and widely used treatments for crack addicts is behavioral therapy. This therapy is used in conjunction with contingency management, in which patients are given rewards for staying off the drugs. Patients are also treated by psychologists and other mental health professionals that specialize in addiction to help them rebuild their life emotionally, professionally and physically as they stay away from crack. It is a difficult process but with the right support system in place, a patient is able to do it.

  • Cocaine Addiction