What About Other Risks?
Training GuideGetting Off Right: A Safety Manual For Injection Drug Users
Can You Shoot Crack?
Your Ongoing Recovery
Crack cocaine, also known simply as crack, is a highly addictive form of the drug cocaine. It is made by mixing powdered cocaine with baking soda and water, then heating it to create a rock-like substance that can be smoked. The effects of crack are almost immediate and very intense, but they also wear off quickly, often leading users to smoke more and more to maintain the high. This can lead to a dangerous cycle of addiction and health problems.
The Dangers of Shooting Crack
Once mixed and heated, the bicarbonate reacts with the hydrochloride of the powder cocaine, forming free base cocaine and carbonic acid (H2CO3) in a reversible acid-base reaction. The heating accelerates the degradation of carbonic acid into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water. Loss of CO2 prevents the reaction from reversing back to cocaine hydrochloride. Free base cocaine separates as an oily layer, floating on the top of the now leftover aqueous phase. It is at this point that the oil is picked up rapidly, usually with a pin or long thin object.
Oftentimes, it can be difficult for people who are amid their addiction to obtain clean needles. Crack was introduced onto the streets as a drug of abuse in the 1980s. Once people tor for dark web discovered that they could melt the substance into a liquid, they began to intravenously inject crack. It can be difficult to tell how pure the substance is before it is diluted.
- Cocaine is very addictive, meaning people seek out the drug and use it even though they know the choice comes with negative consequences.
- The “low” begins with feelings of sadness and depression, followed by irritability, sleeplessness, and paranoia.
- Long-term cocaine use can cause auditory and tactile hallucinations, causing you to hear and feel things that aren’t there.
- Harm reduction services can help you to be safer while you’re using.
Shooting crack, or injecting it directly into the bloodstream, is an even more dangerous way to use the drug. This method of use is also known as “mainlining” and it delivers the drug to the brain almost instantly, causing an intense but short-lived high. However, this method of use also carries a higher risk of overdose and other serious health problems, such as collapsed veins, infections, and abscesses.
Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting releases the drug directly into the bloodstream, and heightens the intensity of its effects. Smoking involves the inhalation of cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream deep web dark web is as rapid as by injection. Some users combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin in a “speedball.” Crack cocaine is a fairly recent addition to the drug injector’s pharmacopeia. This article presents an overview of crack injection in Dayton, Ohio, based on 16 in‐depth interviews and ethnographic observations conducted between April 1997 and May 1998.
Is It Possible to Shoot Crack?
These blockages may cause foreign contaminants in the blood and lead to problems with the heart. Drug preparation practices are an important component of both HIV risk and protective behaviors. For instance, cookers, the small bottle-cap type vessels used to prepare drugs, are often the most efficient containers to share drugs among injectors. Consequently, a cooker may be contaminated with HIV when it touches other paraphernalia used to prepare or inject drugs, such as a syringe, a filter, or water. Cocaine is usually sold in the form of a fine, white powder on the streets, and it goes by several names.
Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. Join the thousands of people that have called a treatment provider for rehab information. If someone who is HIV positive shares a needle with someone who does not have HIV, that person can contract the disease. The government’s response to the opioid epidemic has made prescription opioids much harder to get. Many places report that it’s now cheaper and easier to get illegal heroin than getting legal prescription painkillers.
While it is technically possible to shoot crack, it is not a common method of use and is strongly discouraged due to the high risk of overdose and other serious health problems. Crack is typically smoked, and smoking the drug is how to buy cocaine online already associated with a number of health risks, including lung damage and respiratory problems. Injecting the drug only increases these risks and adds the additional dangers of collapsed veins, infections, and abscesses.
Engaging in IV drug use results in an increased risk of developing other conditions later. It’s common for people to be more willing to take risks while in the middle of a drug binge. HIV diagnosis are more common among this population due to this, and dirty needles. As a street (illegal) drug, cocaine is usually a fine, white, crystal powder.
The Bottom Line
Crack is a highly addictive and dangerous drug, and shooting it is an even more risky way to use it. If you or someone you know is struggling with crack addiction, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. There are many resources available to help those struggling with addiction, including treatment centers, support groups, and therapy. Don’t wait to get the help you need – it could save your life.
