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!