Crack Addiction a Common, Dangerous Addiction

There are numerous drug addictions, affecting hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Crack addiction is one of the addictions that is affecting society the greatest today. Not only are crack addictions affecting the individuals who are addicted to the drug, but society as well, since crack addicts will do almost anything to get more of the drug. Crack addiction is not a drug that targets certain classes. It affects members of all social classes, rich, poor, and everywhere in between.

What is Crack Cocaine?

Crack is the term that is used by many street users referring to using cocaine in the form of freebase. The name crack refers to the crackling sound that the drug makes when it is smoked, or heated. Crack addictions are extremely dangerous because the effects of the drug are incapacitating, very similarly to freebase cocaine. One of the reasons that crack addiction has become such a problem is due to how inexpensive it is and how easy it is to transport the drug. Crack is also so addictive that people who use crack cocaine tend to become addicted almost immediately.

What is the Difference between Crack and Cocaine?

Crack is a form of cocaine, which is altered through a process known as freebasing. Freebasing is when the powder cocaine is cooked with either baking soda or ammonia, which then turns the powder cocaine into a rock form, which can then be put into a pipe and smoked. Because the crack form of cocaine is smoked, the drug is much more potent and the effects are felt much more quickly, and much more intensely than they would be from cocaine. The effects of crack, however, last a much shorter time than do the effects of snorting cocaine powder.

What are the Physical Side Effects of a Crack Addiction

• Alterations in blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Anxiety
• Convulsions
• Insomnia
• Loss of appetite, which can lead to malnutrition and weight loss
• Cold sweats
• Swelling and bleeding of mucous membranes
• Restlessness and anxiety
• Damage to nasal cavities
• Damage to lungs
• Possible heart attacks, strokes, or convulsions

Crack addiction, and the actual behavior of smoking crack is extremely dangerous for a number of reasons.

1. Because crack is inhaled into the lungs, it is then quickly absorbed into the lungs and blood stream, and then carried directly to the brain.

2. With a crack addiction, the chances of overdosing and/or poisoning, possibly leading to consequences such as coma, convulsions, and/or death are significantly increased.

3. Crack gives a rapid rush of intense pleasure, usually lasting between five and seven minutes and is then followed by a rapid crash, which can lead to a depression that will only be relieved by smoking more crack

4. This high low cycle increases the chances of crack addiction and dependency on the drug
5. Because a crack high is so brief and intense, users are constantly thinking of ways to get money to get more crack or just getting more crack itself. It begins to consume ones life completely.