Cocaine and Crack Abuse
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The powdered hydrochloride
salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is
cocaine base that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride
salt. This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that is heated to produce
vapors, which are smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound
produced by the rock as it is heated.
How is Cocaine Abused?
Three routes of administration are commonly used for cocaine: snorting,
injecting, and smoking. Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder
through the nose, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal
tissues. Injecting is the use of a needle to release the drug directly into the
bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs,
where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection. All three
methods of cocaine abuse can lead to addiction and other severe health problems,
including increasing the risk of contracting HIV and infectious diseases.
The intensity and duration of cocaine's effects, which include increased
energy, reduced fatigue, and mental alertness, depend on the route of drug
administration. The faster cocaine is absorbed into the bloodstream and
delivered to the brain, the more intense the high. Injecting or smoking cocaine
produces a quicker, stronger high than snorting. On the other hand, faster
absorption usually means shorter duration of action. The high from snorting
cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes, but the high from smoking may last only 5 to
10 minutes. In order to sustain the high, a cocaine abuser has to administer the
drug again. For this reason, cocaine is sometimes abused in binges -- taken
repeatedly within a relatively short period of time, at increasingly high doses.
How Does Cocaine Affect the Brain?
Cocaine is a strong central nervous system
stimulant that increases levels of dopamine, a brain chemical associated with
pleasure and movement, in the brain's reward circuit. Certain brain cells, or
neurons, use dopamine to communicate. Normally, dopamine is released by a neuron
in response to a pleasurable signal (e.g., the smell of good food), and then
recycled back into the cell that released it, shutting off the signal between
neurons. Cocaine acts by preventing the dopamine from being recycled, causing
excessive amounts of dopamine to build up, amplifying the message, and
ultimately disrupting normal communication. It is this excess of dopamine that
is responsible for cocaine's euphoric effects. With repeated use, cocaine can
cause long-term changes in the brain's reward system and in other brain systems
as well, which may eventually lead to addiction. With repeated use, tolerance to
the cocaine high also often develops. Many cocaine abusers report that they seek
but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Some
users will increase their dose in an attempt to intensify and prolong the
euphoria, but this can also increase the risk of adverse psychological or
physiological effects.
Next: What adverse effects does cocaine have on health? What are symptoms and signs of cocaine use? »
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