Crack Cocaine is an
illegal schedule II stimulant narcotic derived from
cocaine hydrochloride with the salt molecule removed
(HCl removed). The removal of hydrochloride is produced
by mixing baking soda or ammonia with cocaine hydrochloride.
The change in form produces a solid rock-like substance
that enables the crack user to smoke it as opposed
to sniffing or injecting cocaine. By enabling the
user to smoke cocaine the full dose reaches the brain
in seconds without a first pass through the liver.
The effects of crack cocaine are extremely addictive.
Crack cocaine entered into
the picture in the early 1980’s. Prior to crack
cocaine there was a freebase ether version which is
a gooey substance. It was particularly dangerous to
manufacture had been used almost exclusively by rich
and famous cocaine users throughout the 1970’s.
Crack cocaine is a sympathetic
nervous system stimulant. Cocaine occupies the endeplate
receptors at the synaptic nerve junctions and blocks
attachment of dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine
and seratonin.
