Author: James Anderson

Crack Addiction: Symptoms & Treatment

Although the high is intense, it lasts only 5 to 15 minutes. Potential short-term side effects include overdose, addiction (cocaine use disorder) and withdrawal. Long-term side effects may include serious and potentially life-threatening medical issues like heart failure, stroke or infections. Crack cocaine is one of the most powerful illegal drugs when it comes to producing psychological dependence.

1. A summary conviction on possession carries a $1000–2000 fine and/or six months to a year imprisonment.
2. Large amounts may make us feel powerful, euphoric and filled with energy.
3. Loss of CO2 prevents the reaction from reversing back to cocaine hydrochloride.
4. Using it increases your risk of serious and sometimes life-threatening medical conditions like heart attack, stroke and drug overdose.

However, she says that if the person is experiencing an opioid overdose that is caused by using cocaine adulterated by high-potency opioids, the drug naloxone can help reverse the overdose. Treating a crack addiction may involve detoxification and therapy. Treatment may occur in hospitals, in therapeutic communities, or in clinical settings. These side effects can worsen if you mix crack with other substances such as PCP, marijuana, heroin, and fentanyl. The 2021 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concludes 4.8 million people age 12 and older used cocaine in 2020.

Detoxing the body of the substance and attending psychotherapy can help people with their long-term recovery from crack addiction. Normal amounts of dopamine can make us feel happy, alert and focused. Large amounts may make us feel powerful, euphoric and filled with energy. When people use cocaine, their brains release lots of dopamine. But that cocaine-driven dopamine release or rush fades quickly, leaving them wanting more of those feelings — and the drug.

Cocaine (Crack)

Preventing the use of this drug is critical because even a single instance of use can lead to addiction or death in some people. A person may also overdose on crack cocaine, especially if they mix it with alcohol or heroin. Dr. Tetrault explains that cocaine is sometimes adulterated with other drugs, such as amphetamines or synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which can make it particularly dangerous.

As a guideline, Schedule I drugs carry a maximum seven-year prison sentence for possession for an indictable offense and up to life imprisonment for trafficking and production. A summary conviction on possession carries a $1000–2000 fine and/or six months to a year imprisonment. When people take cocaine, their blood pressure goes up and their heart races. They may lose their inhibitions about doing things like spending lots of money on stuff they don’t really need.

Treatment Options for Crack Cocaine Addiction

A person can overdose the first time they use crack cocaine, or any time thereafter. Symptoms of crack addiction can be psychological and physical. People typically feel uncomfortable side effects when the initial high wears off, resulting in a strong desire to use the drug. After trying crack cocaine once, you may develop an uncontrollable and intense craving for the drug. These cravings are due to immediate chemical changes in the brain’s reward system.

It is at this point that the oil is picked up rapidly, usually with a pin or long thin object. 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. Crack is the freebase form of cocaine, an extremely addictive stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS). After smoking crack, you can get high within 10 seconds or less.

What Is Crack Cocaine?

People with cocaine use disorder may benefit from community-based programs. Researchers are evaluating drug treatments that help people stop using cocaine. While cocaine and crack cocaine highs are brief, the drug may stay in your system for up to three days.

What are the side effects of cocaine use?

It stimulates key pleasure centers within the brain and causes extremely heightened euphoria. Compulsive crack use develops soon after the person starts using, because the substance is smoked and enters the blood stream rapidly. A tolerance develops quickly—the addict soon fails to achieve the same high experienced earlier from the same amount of crack cocaine.

Cognitive behavioral therapy may help people recover from cocaine use disorder. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that’s extracted and processed from coca plant leaves in South America. Healthcare providers may occasionally use cocaine as anesthesia. More commonly, people use cocaine to boost feelings like being energized, happy and alert. Cocaine is very addictive, meaning people seek out the drug and use it even though they know the choice comes with negative consequences. There are treatments for cocaine use disorder (cocaine addiction), but people often relapse and use it again.

As a result, people need to take more of the drug more frequently in order to achieve the same high and prevent withdrawal symptoms. People who are addicted to crack have a chronic medical condition that requires treatment. It’s often not as simple as expecting a person to stop using it on their own, or thinking they’ll be better if they stop using it for a few days. For example, it affects the amount of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that sends messages between nerve cells in the brain. Long-term cocaine use dulls thinking processes and the ability to remember information.

It is characterized by a cycle of cravings and withdrawal, as well as other severe physical and mental symptoms. It is permitted for some medical use but is otherwise outlawed. Asking for help is a huge and important step toward recovering from cocaine use disorder. They may refer you to a substance abuse counselor or recommend community-based programs. If someone in your life has a crack addiction, it’s important to support them and help them find evidence-based treatment that works for them, Dr. Tetrault says. A crack addiction can put a person at risk for serious health consequences, including death.