Thanks for checking out my blog! I really hope I have been educating and informing you about crack cocaine and its implications in Ottawa. As I continue to do more research, I will update this blog.


Talk soon!
Amisha

What is being done to help crack cocaine (and all other drug) addicts in Ottawa? 


The Somerset Street West Community Health Centre and the City of Ottawa's health department (not the same as Ottawa Public Health*) both operate a program called the 'Needle Exchange Safe Inhalation program', where two vans drive through Ottawa streets every night to distribute clean needles (for those who inject crack cocaine and/or other drugs) and other free items including condoms, in exchange for used needles. People who operate these vans often found saying to other that 'everyone matters'. 

Additionally, the Oasis clinic and harm reduction centre at the Sandy Hill Community Centre hands out free, clean needles, condoms, pipes, mesh filters (holds the crack cocaine to burn), clean water and vitamin C.  


If your going to use crack cocaine, as least do it safely ....right? 


 Crack cocaine (and other drug) addicts without any violence on their criminal record, that have a criminal charge related to a drug addiction (i.e. stealing) are eligible to apply for treatment through the Ottawa Drug Treatment Court (associated with Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services). The program runs over the span of year, where participants go through counselling and are required to appear in Court twice a week. Upon the successful completion of this program, participants are given a sentence other than jail time to serve for the criminal charge related to their drug addiction. 


Another option is the Ontario Works Addiction Program (associated with Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services and the City of Ottawa). The general idea behind this out-patient program is individual and group counselling as well as education sessions, over a period of time.


There are number of other drug rehab centres within Ontario to help crack cocaine addicts deal with their addiction. As mentioned before, as of yet, there is no pharmacological treatment (i.e. no drug) that can be taken to treat cocaine addiction. That being said, it is a hot topic in scientific research. 


*Ottawa Public Health does not distribute kits for making crack pipes since the city's council voted against the crack pipe program in 2007. Many counselor's, at the time, believed that distributing these kits only encourages crack cocaine addicts to continue using the drug. 

Interesting..

With increasing rates of crack cocaine addicts in Ottawa, Ottawa is home to a number of crack houses - where crack is dealt and often produced. 

So what's it like being a police officer.. and dealing with crack cocaine?


Last year alone, Ottawa Police seized 600 grams of crack.

Every night, there are a number of police officers that patrol the downtown core of Ottawa, where most crack cocaine addicts can be found. They are on the look for traffickers, which are those individuals who are selling small amounts of crack cocaine to finance their own crack cocaine addiction. However, in actuality, officers want to get to the core of the problem - the major crack cocaine dealers. This is the tough part, as these major dealers are good at staying as far away as possible from the police as they can. It can be tough and often costly (resources, undercover agents etc.) to find the true culprits. Whats unfortunate is that the traffickers are the ones who often get caught the most, and end up serving time in jail, whereas these major drug dealers are often never found.

A police officer with the City of Ottawa, Sgt. John Gibbons:


"If somebody dropped a bomb in a subway that ruined the lives of 60 people, they'd be going away for quite a while. Someone who hooks 60 people on drugs ruins lives and changes the nature of a community. They should be looking at serious time."

Often a drug addiction involves crime...
A jobless addict has three options to help them get their next hit: to beg, to borrow, or to steal. When there desperate, and borrowing is not an option anymore, petty crime, like stealing, occurs. Since the number of crack cocaine addicts in Ottawa has rised in recent years, Ottawa police officers have seen an increase in crime rates.

Ottawa and crack cocaine .. is it a problem?


Yes. Really? Yes.


The words Ottawa and crack cocaine just don't go together.. or do they? Indeed, they do. In fact, it's estimated that Ottawa is home to about 5,000 crack cocaine addicts ... 5000 people! For a city that doesn't have that many people, that is quite a high number of purely crack cocaine addicts. There are addicts everywhere; although the main problem exists in downtown Ottawa, there are many crack cocaine addicts living in middle-class neighbourhoods, including Orleans, Kanata and Barrhaven. Your neighbour might be an addict.. who really knows?


So why is crack cocaine Ottawa's drug of choice? It's cheap and it does the job - deliver a fast high. The first sign of Ottawa having a crack cocaine problem arose when the number of hepatitis C, HIV, lip sores, asthma and pneumonia cases increased significantly.


There have been cases of Ottawa residents who have lost everything, all of their earnings, their jobs, their families, their children, their home, their health and most of all, their self-respect...


... because of their crack cocaine addiction. 

A City on Crack?

Fact or Fiction? 


There is a drug available as a form of treatment for crack cocaine addicts. 


FICTION.
To this date, there are no drugs or chemicals that can be taken as a method of gradual and safe withdrawal (and hence, treatment) for crack cocaine. 

Can crack cocaine addicts develop tolerance? Do they experience withdrawal symptoms?


Yes and yes. 

When crack cocaine is taken over a long period of time (chronic use), it can lead to the development of tolerance, where the effects from the first administration of crack cocaine are not produced by a second administration in a given period of time, unless a higher dosage is used. 'Nothing compares to the first hit', as addicts commonly put it. Some addicts continue to take higher doses of crack cocaine in order to intensify and prolong the 'good euphoric feeling' that it brings. 

After the initial 'high' feeling experienced from taking in crack cocaine, chronic users tend to experience withdrawal symptoms, also known as a 'crash'. This period consists of intense craving, depression and exhaustion (emotional withdrawal symptoms as opposed to physical withdrawal symptoms). Sadly,  there becomes a point where chronic users need to take in crack cocaine to feel normal, everyday pleasure. 

Fact or fiction?


Heavy crack cocaine users may experience formication - the sensation of creatures crawling under the skin. This may cause the addict to pick at their skin and produce infections.


FACT.

An illustration of what's happening in your brain when you smoke crack cocaine...

Why shouldn't I smoke crack cocaine? 

Well, here's are some Physiological effects of crack cocaine:

• Constricted blood vessels (vasoconstriction)
• Elevated blood pressure (hypertension)
• Increased heart rate (Tachycardia)
• Increased temperature
• Pupil dilation 
• Increased alertness
• Locomotor hyperactivity

and.. here are some cognitive/behavioural effects of crack cocaine:

• Euphoria
• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia 
• Increased energy
• High self-confidence 

Does crack cocaine have any effect on our brain? 
Yes, it does.

• The Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) is a cluster of cell bodies, found in the midbrain, whose axons synapse (junction) with an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The chemical neurotransmitter, dopamine (involved with reward and pleasure), is released in the nucleus accumbens; this results in a 'feeling of pleasure'.

• This is what occurs under normal body conditions, during pleasureable activities. Dopamine is released from a VTA cell body terminal bouton (pre-synaptic neuron); it travels across the synapse (gap between two nerve cells) and binds to a receptor on a neuron found in the nucleus accumbens (post-synaptic neuron) resulting in the 'pleasurable feeling'. Dopamine is then reabsorbed by the VTA cell body terminal bouton, with the help of a dopamine transporter (a protein molecule).

• When crack cocaine enters our body, it affects the normal dopamine cycle by attaching itself to the dopamine transporter. This prevent dopamine from being reabsorbed by the VTA cell body terminal bouton, and hence, allows dopamine to continuously bind to the receptor on the neuron found in the nucleus accumbens. This allows for elevated levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, producing a continual pleasurable or 'euphoric' response. 

The method of 'smoking' crack cocaine is ideal for addicts, as it has a very fast onset of action, somewhere between 10-15 seconds. However, it only provides a brief high, of roughly 10-15 minutes. Since crack cocaine is rapidly broken down and provides a short high, this promotes further use of it. 


In many cases, crack cocaine addiction gives addicts a diminished sense of responsibility which can lead to a number of other problems, including unsafe sex and then potentially, HIV. 

Maybe smoking crack cocaine is not such a good idea anymore..

Interesting...


Crack cocaine get's its name from the 'crackling' sounds it makes when heated and smoked. 


Neat, eh? 

So, what exactly is 'crack cocaine'?

Cocaine, also known as benzoylmethylecgonine, is a powerful stimulant that comes from the coca leaf, which grows on the coca tree (Erythroxylum coca). This tree is found in many regions in South America including Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Cocaine is known to have a wide range of physiological and cognitive/behavioural effects and is considered to be an addictive drug.

 

There are 4 main ways cocaine can be taken:

• 1) The coca leaf: many South American natives indulge in the practice of chewing coca leaves (which contains about ~1% cocaine). This is an easy and practical way to get cocaine into the body, as coca leaves are readily available and need not be manipulated. Coca leaves are commonly chewed for medicinal, social and religious purposes. 

• 2) Coca paste (cocaine sulfate): comes from mixing cocaine leaves in a solution of water and dilute sulfuric acid; coca paste is commonly combined with tobacco and smoked in many regions in South America.

• 3) Street cocaine (cocaine hydrochloride): white, crystalline powder form of cocaine produced by combining paste from the coca leaf with hydrochloric acid to form a salt (water-soluble); it is commonly injected (by first dissolving it in water) or taken intranasally (snorted).

• 4) Crack cocaine (freebase cocaine): cocaine hydrochloride is treated with ammonia and ether or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda); water is then added and it is heated to remove the hydrochloride; this results in crack cocaine. Freebasing is a term used to describe the practice of smoking cocaine. It is important to note that crack cocaine is not burned like tobacco but rather heated until it vaporizes. Crack cocaine can be smoked from a pipe, burnt on a piece of tin foil, or mixed with tobacco/marijuana and smoked like a cigarette/joint. It can also be injected (not as common). 

Crack Cocaine

Once inside the body, every form of cocaine (including crack) is metabolized (broken down) to benzoylecgonine.

In my forthcoming blogs, I will be talking more about crack cocaine and then getting into it's implications in Ottawa, Canada. My next blog will be detailing how crack cocaine affects one's body.

Stay tuned!

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

My name is Amisha and I am undergraduate student who is fascinated by how and why people get addicted to things -- particularly drugs. Through my blogs, in the next couple of weeks, I hope to inform you about crack cocaine and its problem in Ottawa, Canada. I will be addressing the following topics:

General:

• What is crack cocaine?
• How does it affect one’s body? 
• Why do people get addicted?

Specific to Ottawa:

• Who said Ottawa has a crack problem? 
• Life of a crack cocaine addict in Ottawa
• Crack cocaine from an Ottawa police officer's perspective
• What is being done to help crack cocaine addicts in Ottawa?

I hope my blogs are educative and informative about crack cocaine and it's implications in Ottawa.

Amisha