Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. It is produced by converting powder cocaine hydrochloride into a smokable form using a weak base such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or ammonia. The name "crack" derives from the crackling sound produced when the substance is heated past the point of vaporization.
Chemistry and Synthesis
Crack cocaine is the free base form of cocaine, as opposed to the hydrochloride salt form. It is practically insoluble in water, whereas cocaine hydrochloride is water-soluble. The conversion process involves an acid-base reaction: when cocaine hydrochloride is mixed with a base (such as sodium bicarbonate) and water, then heated, the hydrochloride salt is neutralized, producing free base cocaine, carbon dioxide, water, and sodium chloride. The free base cocaine separates as an oily layer that solidifies into rock-like crystals upon cooling.
Pure crack cocaine appears as off-white, jagged-edged rocks with a hard, brittle plastic-like consistency. It vaporizes at approximately 90 °C (194 °F), significantly lower than the melting point of cocaine hydrochloride (190 °C / 374 °F). Street-sold crack may be adulterated with substances such as levamisole, caffeine, lidocaine, benzocaine, sugars, or starch.
Route of Administration
Crack cocaine is typically heated in a pipe until it sublimates, and the vapor is inhaled. This process is commonly referred to as "freebasing." Although often called "smoking," the method actually involves vaporization rather than combustion, as burning the drug directly can decompose the active compound. The effects are felt almost immediately (within 3–5 seconds) and produce an intense but short-lived high lasting 2 to 10 minutes. Crack cocaine can also be injected intravenously after being dissolved in an acidic solution such as lemon juice or vinegar.
Physiological Effects
The short-term physiological effects of crack cocaine include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and elevated body temperature. Users may experience euphoria, hyper-focus, sociability, restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. Repeated use can lead to respiratory failure, seizures, central nervous system depression, and cardiomyopathy.
A condition known as "crack lung" has been documented in users, presenting with symptoms such as fever, coughing up blood, and difficulty breathing, with radiographic findings of pulmonary edema, interstitial pneumonia, and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Chronic smoking of crack cocaine is associated with coughing up blood, bronchospasm, chest pain, asthma, and dyspnea.
Psychological Effects
Crack cocaine use is associated with paranoia, anxiety, and psychosis, particularly when smoked. Stimulant abuse can lead to delusional parasitosis (Ekbom's Syndrome), where users believe they are infested with parasites, sometimes resulting in formication—the sensation of insects crawling under the skin—colloquially known as "cocaine bugs." High doses or binge use can induce bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior, as well as auditory hallucinations and paranoid psychosis.
Addiction and Dependence
Crack cocaine is widely regarded as highly addictive. The Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment calls it the most addictive form of cocaine. The drug triggers a large release of dopamine in the brain, producing intense euphoria followed by a rapid decline in dopamine levels, leaving the user feeling depressed and craving more. Addiction to crack typically develops within four to six weeks—much more rapidly than with powder cocaine. However, some researchers have argued that the addictive potential depends significantly on social context and individual psychological characteristics.
Overdose
Large amounts of crack cocaine (several hundred milligrams or more) can induce tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, and a toxic reaction resembling amphetamine poisoning. Cocaine-related deaths are often the result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest. Sudden death can occur on first use or unexpectedly thereafter.
History
The exact origins of crack cocaine are unknown. Smokable base forms of cocaine have existed since at least the 1880s. Until the mid-1970s, there was little demand for converting powder cocaine back into a smokable base form, partly because the process required volatile chemicals such as ammonia or ether. The discovery that base cocaine could be formed simply by mixing powder cocaine with baking soda and water led to widespread production. By the early 1980s, the price of powder cocaine had dropped by as much as 80%, and selling crack was found to be significantly more profitable. Crack cocaine first saw widespread use in impoverished neighborhoods of 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 became known as the crack epidemic, which began to wane in the 1990s.
Legal Status
Under the United Nations 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, cocaine (including crack) is listed as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal for non-state-sanctioned production, manufacture, distribution, or possession in most countries.
- United States: Cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine (5 grams of crack triggered a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, compared to 500 grams of powder cocaine). The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced this disparity to 18-to-1.
- United Kingdom: Crack is a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
- Canada: Crack is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
- Australia: Crack falls under Schedule 8 (controlled drug) under the same category as cocaine.
Synonyms
Common street names for crack cocaine include: base, boulder, gravel, hail, hubba, rock, and yahoo.
