Crack Cocaine Addiction

By Leslie Thompson

Sometime during the course of your life, you’ve probably heard the catchphrase “crack is whack.” Although it may produce a few chuckles, crack cocaine is no laughing matter. According to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 2.1 million Americans are current cocaine users. Of these, approximately 610,000 are crack users. These statistics are cause for alarm, and something must be done to combat this growing epidemic.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Cocaine comes from the leaves of the coca plant found in South America. Although the narcotic was the drug of choice in the eighties and nineties, it is not a newly developed drug. In fact, cocaine is one of the oldest known psychoactive substances—indigenous South Americans have been ingesting coca leaves for more than a thousand years.

Crack cocaine is a solid, smokeable derivative of cocaine that can be made by mixing powdered cocaine with baking soda or sodium hydroxide and heating it. Named for the crackling sound the drug makes when it’s being manufactured, crack became popular in the mid-to-late eighties, particularly in low-income populations because of its inexpensive cost. Crack, also known as “rock,” is thought to be the most addictive form of cocaine and one of the most addictive narcotics known today. Users of crack promote the euphoria experienced once they take the drug—a feeling that only lasts between 5-10 minutes—but what they should be concerned with are the drug’s side effects.

Crack users experience a wide range of side effects including a loss of taste or smell, increased blood pressure and heart rate, anxiety, convulsions, and nausea. Once the high is over, users often become depressed and irritable and seek out the drug for another quick fix. Because of the fast-acting nature of the drug and how quickly it is absorbed into the blood stream, overdoses and cardiac arrest are quite common. Hospitals throughout the United States have recently reported an increase in crack-related emergency room visits.

Even though crack cocaine is highly addictive, treatment is available and rehab programs are often successful. The intense physical and psychological addiction to crack is very hard for most people to resist on their own, so medical treatment is required for those individuals seeking help. Inpatient therapy is the best treatment option for anyone who needs to break out of the crack cocaine addiction cycle.