Crack Cocaine Fast Facts

In the United States, cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, indicating that it has a high abuse potential but also carries a medicinal purpose.5758 Under the Controlled Substances Act, crack and cocaine are considered the same drug. Crack cocaine may be combined with amphetamine (“croak”); tobacco (“coolie”); marijuana (“turbbo”); heroin (“moon rock”); and phencyclidine (“spacebase”).54 This type of mixed-drug use is higher risk than single-drug use. In Bolivia, legal coca cultivation is regulated by the Coca and Integral Development agency, which operates under the Ministry of Rural Development. Additionally, cocaine is often concealed in a variety of everyday items and commercial goods to evade detection by authorities.

• The term is used in the pharmaceutical industry in contrast to salt-based formulations like hydrochlorides.
• In a study of cocaine users, the average time taken to reach peak subjective effects was 3.1 minutes.90 The euphoria passes quickly.
• Recreational cocaine is typically not taken by mouth due to its poor bioavailability, instead it is usually snorted or injected.
• In cities with populations over 350,000 the instances of crack cocaine were twice as high as those in cities with a population less than 350,000.
• Additionally, vaporizing is generally considered less harsh on the throat and lungs compared to smoking crack through a tobacco pipe, as combustion can produce more irritating and toxic by-products.

Bribery and corruption play a critical role in facilitating the illicit trafficking of cocaine. Drug trafficking organizations often rely on the bribery of government officials, law enforcement agents, customs officers, and border security personnel to evade detection and enable the smooth passage of cocaine shipments. These corrupt practices can involve payments, gifts, or other forms of illicit incentives aimed at securing cooperation or turning a blind eye to illegal activities.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade. Several works on the subject have received significant attention, including those written by historian Alfred W. McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins. These claims have led to investigations by the federal government of the United States, including hearings and reports by the House of Representatives, Senate, Department of Justice, and the CIA’s Inspector General. Their investigations have generally noted that there is no clear evidence CIA itself had ever directly engaged in drug trafficking, although there may have been instances of the organization being indirectly complicit in the activities of others. Personal cards-including ID cards and driver’s licenses-are frequently swabbed by inspectors to detect drug residue, as these items are commonly used to prepare lines of cocaine. Swabbing can reveal traces of cocaine or other illicit substances, providing evidence of recent drug handling or use.

Effect on African American communities

Marion Barry, Mayor of Washington D.C., was filmed smoking crack in 1990 in a sting operation.60 Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto, Ontario was filmed smoking crack in 2013 by gang members while holding office. Alternative heavy metal band System of a Down’s “Prison Song”” from its 2001 album Toxicity touches upon CIA drug exchange with the line, “drug money is used to rig elections and train brutal corporate sponsored dictators around the world”. Benthamiana also naturally contains nicotine, separating the cocaine from nicotine and related alkaloids would be challenging. Pure cocaine is prepared by neutralizing its compounding salt with an alkaline solution, which will precipitate non-polar basic cocaine.

The cause of “cocaine nose” can be traced to the chemical process that occurs when cocaine hydrochloride is insufflated (snorted). As cocaine is absorbed through the nasal mucosa, the remaining hydrochloride component forms a dilute hydrochloric acid.200 The short half-life of cocaine,163 combined with binge use, may expose the nasal tissues to this acidic environment more frequently, increasing the risk of irritation and damage. Individuals often engage in repeated use by either insufflating it intranasally or converting it to crack cocaine for vaporization. Cocaine’s effects last longest when insufflated (60–90 minutes),13 but the drug itself has a short biological half-life of about 0.7–1.5 hours.163 Repeated use raises the risk of developing “cocaine nose,” referring to severe nasal tissue damage from intranasal use, as well as “crack lung,” a condition involving lung tissue damage caused by inhaling crack cocaine. Office of National Drug Control Policy, cocaine use had stabilized across the country, with a few increases reported in San Diego, Bridgeport, Miami, and Boston. In the Western United States, cocaine usage was lower, which was thought to be due to a switch to methamphetamine among some users; methamphetamine is cheaper, three and a half times more powerful, and lasts 12–24 times longer with each dose.9697 Nevertheless, the number of cocaine users remain high, with a large concentration among urban youth.

• Bribery and corruption play a critical role in facilitating the illicit trafficking of cocaine.
• Cocaine is listed as a Schedule I drug in the United Nations 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, making it illegal for non-state-sanctioned production, manufacture, export, import, distribution, trade, use and possession.56 In most states (except in the United States) crack falls under the same category as cocaine.
• After large-scale trafficking, cocaine is distributed within countries or regions by mid-level networks, primarily operating across major areas in both the United States and Europe.32 These distributors break down bulk shipments into smaller quantities and supply local dealers or retail sellers.
• Alcohol impairment increases the likelihood of risk-taking behaviors and susceptibility to peer pressure, and also raises the risk of overdose due to the formation of cocaethylene (see the alcohol section).
• The heating accelerates the degradation of carbonic acid into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water.

Cocaine hydrochloride can also be chemically converted into its free base form, crack cocaine, which can be vaporized. Cocaine is the second most popular illegal recreational drug in Australia (behind cannabis). Since the mid-1990s, overall cocaine usage in Australia has been on the rise, but usage rates and attitudes tend to vary between states.

Later official investigations attempted to limit criminal responsibility to the dirty connections between drug traffickers, secret agents and corrupt police, leaving out the (geo)political ramifications. The same index used by Fryer, Levitt and Murphy10 was then implemented in a study that investigated the effects of crack cocaine across the United States. In cities with populations over 350,000 the instances of crack cocaine were twice as high as those in cities with a population less than 350,000. Cocaine also blocks sodium channels, thereby interfering with the propagation of action potentials;236120 thus, like lignocaine and novocaine, it acts as a local anesthetic. It also functions on the binding sites to the dopamine and serotonin sodium dependent transport area as targets as separate mechanisms from its reuptake of those transporters; unique to its local anesthetic value which makes it in a class of functionality different from both its own derived phenyltropanes analogues which have that removed.

Drug liberalization

When bulk quantities of powdered cocaine are mixed with baking soda or ammonia and water, then heated, it forms small, hard, solid crystals or pellets that resemble rocks. Cocaine hydrochloride (“powder cocaine”) cannot be smoked; it decomposes at the high temperatures produced by smoking. Free base cocaine, on the other hand, has a melting point of 98°C and is volatile at temperatures above 90°C, and is therefore actively smokable. Bribery helps traffickers circumvent checkpoints, avoid seizures, and reduce the risk of arrest or confiscation.

Drug combinations

This pulls the oil up and spins it, allowing air to set and dry the oil, and allows the maker to roll the oil into the rock-like shape. Subjective effects not commonly shared with other methods of administration include a ringing in the ears moments after injection (usually when over 120 milligrams) lasting 2 to 5 minutes including tinnitus and audio distortion. In a study of cocaine users, the average time taken to reach peak subjective effects was 3.1 minutes.90 The euphoria passes quickly. Aside from the toxic effects of cocaine, there is also the danger of circulatory emboli from the insoluble substances that may be used to cut the drug. As with all injected illicit substances, there is a risk of the user contracting blood-borne infections if sterile injecting equipment is not available or used. Crack cocaine is usually heated in a drug pipe until sublimation occurs at a relatively low temperature (about 90°C) and the vapor is inhaled.72627 This process is commonly referred to as “freebasing.” Although commonly called “smoking,” this method actually involves vaporizing the drug rather than burning it.

Smugglers have hidden cocaine inside chocolate candies and other sweets, sometimes disguising the drug to look like ordinary candy bars or lollipops, which can be especially dangerous if accidentally consumed by children. Traffickers also use machinery and equipment-such as cotton-candy machines, construction equipment, and even heavy machinery parts-to hide cocaine, sometimes by impregnating the drug into materials like rubber or plastic components. In the 2015 movie Sicario, actress Emily Blunt portrays a FBI special agent who joins a government task force to bring down a Mexican drug cartel, only to discover that her CIA counterparts’ true goal is to restore control of the drug trade to a single Colombian-run business. The production, distribution, and sale of cocaine products is restricted (and illegal in most contexts) in most countries as regulated by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

Levamisole syndromes

In addition to this, cocaine has some target binding to the site of the κ-opioid receptor.237unreliable medical source? Cocaine also causes vasoconstriction, thus reducing bleeding during minor surgical procedures. Recent research points to an important role of circadian mechanisms238 and clock genes239 in behavioral actions of cocaine. Physical side effects from chronic smoking of cocaine include coughing up blood, bronchospasm, itching, fever, diffuse alveolar infiltrates without effusions, pulmonary and systemic eosinophilia, chest pain, lung trauma, sore throat, asthma, hoarse voice, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and an aching, flu-like syndrome.

Free base

For example, compare the free base hydroxylamine (NH2OH) with the salt hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH3OH+ Cl−). Colloquially, “free-basing” also means the treatment of salts or other formulations to convert them into the free base form, especially for recreational drugs. After large-scale trafficking, cocaine is distributed within countries or regions by mid-level networks, primarily operating across major areas in both the United States and Europe.32 These distributors break down bulk shipments into smaller quantities and supply local dealers or retail sellers. Distribution often involves organized groups that manage storage, transportation, and logistics to ensure the drug reaches various markets, preparing it for final sale to consumers. Since adulteration of cocaine with levamisole is widespread, the color reactions produced by these reagents often reflect the presence of both substances.

In the United States the manufacture, importation, possession, and distribution of cocaine are additionally regulated by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Crack cocaine first saw widespread use as a recreational drug in primarily impoverished neighborhoods in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami in late 1984 and 1985. This rapid increase in use and availability was named the “crack epidemic”,2 which began to wane in the 1990’s. Cocaine is frequently smuggled within shipping containers, but also commonly concealed in hidden compartments of vehicles and other objects, and criminal organizations have even created operational businesses to disguise drug shipments. In 2014, coca plantations were discovered in Mexico,5152 and in 2020 in Honduras,53 which could have major implications for the illegal cultivation of the plant. Fishscale cocaine, from fish + scale, is named for its shiny, yellowish flakes that resemble fish scales—distinct from the dull white appearance of standard cocaine powder.

Crack cocaine is frequently purchased already in rock form,14 although it is not uncommon for some users to “wash up” or “cook” powder cocaine into crack themselves. This process is frequently done with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), water, and a spoon. Once mixed and heated, the bicarbonate reacts with the hydrochloride of the powder cocaine, forming free base cocaine and carbonic acid (H2CO3) in a reversible acid-base reaction. The crack cocaine wikipedia heating accelerates the degradation of carbonic acid into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water. Free base cocaine separates as an oily layer, floating on the top of the now leftover aqueous phase. It is at this point that the oil is picked up rapidly, usually with a pin or long thin object.

Coca leaves

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 increased penalties for crack cocaine possession and usage. It mandated a mandatory minimum sentence of five years without parole for possession of five grams of crack; to receive the same sentence with powder cocaine one had to have 500 grams.59 This sentencing disparity was reduced from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1 by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. In Australia, crack falls under the same category as cocaine, which is listed as a Schedule 8 controlled drug, indicating that any substances and preparations for therapeutic use under this category have a high potential for abuse and addiction. It is also commonly called “rock” on the street, a name that comes from its physical appearance after processing.