Get Smart About Cocaine and Crack
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Get Smart About Cocaine and Crack - Publishing Hazelden
Cocaine and Crack: An Introduction
Eventually my nose clogged up. I couldn’t breathe through it, so I couldn’t snort coke through it. When my nose shut down, I didn’t know what to do. At first I tried eating cocaine, but that made my throat really numb and it was really hard to breathe. That was kind of scary. Then my nose started bleeding, and that wasn’t a good sign. Then I tried ice picks and vacuum cleaners as creative ways to open my nose. One day I sat and picked and blew hard for a long time because I couldn’t breathe. I looked in my hand and there was this wad of pus and blood; I looked a little more and there was skin and bone—it was a chunk of my septum, that little part that divides your nostrils. Amazingly, I could breathe after that. So right away I put more cocaine in my nose.¹
That person’s words may sound crazy, or like a horrific scene from a movie. But that person is real, and there are countless such stories. Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that, with long-term use, can create drug dependency and truly bizarre behaviors. That’s an amazing thing, given that the drug is derived from a small shrub that grows in the highlands of South America and was once used as a natural medicine and low-powered stimulant.
Cocaine today comes in two basic forms:
Cocaine—a white powder that can be inhaled or dissolved in water and injected.
Crack—a form of cocaine that has been processed to make a hard rock
that can be smoked. The vapor delivers a rapid, short-acting high that is quickly dependence forming.
At one time, indigenous people chewed the leaves of the coca plant. They used it as a mild stimulant to help cope with altitude. Today, those leaves have become an $88 billion criminal cash crop, consumed by seventeen million people worldwide.²
Cocaine is an excellent example of how a drug migrates from a relatively mild, useful, and natural plant-based medicine used by ancient civilizations to a processed medical product, to a powerfully addictive black market boom for organized crime.
In this booklet, you will learn about
the history of cocaine and its development as a major criminal industry
what it looks like, how it is used, what it does to the body, and what it does to the brain
what cocaine abuse and dependence look like, and how drug dependence occurs
treatment options for cocaine-dependent people
advice for parents who wish to prevent children from trying cocaine
signs of cocaine and crack use, and what to do if you suspect a loved one is using
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association released the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This manual is used by behavioral health professionals, such as psychiatrists and psychologists, as a guide to diagnose people with substance use and mental health disorders. In the latest edition, the terminology used for addiction disorders has changed. Instead of separating such problems into categories such as substance abuse, chemical dependency, or addiction, the manual now uses one term—substance use disorder—to include the full range of problematic drug use. To be officially diagnosed with an addiction to cocaine, then, someone would be classified as having a stimulant use disorder (when cocaine, amphetamines, or other stimulants are problematic). The diagnostic manual includes a list of criteria to help health care professionals determine whether a person has a mild, moderate, or severe form of the disorder.
In this book, we have continued to use the terms abuse, dependence, and addiction as a convenience to readers, since these are the terms most commonly understood by the general public.
From Natural Medicine to Big Business
Cocaine is a member of the class of drugs called stimulants. The stimulants in general are known for many benefits, including their ability to increase
alertness
awareness of surroundings
attention
wakefulness
endurance
productivity
motivation
Under the influence of stimulants, people feel more energetic and powerful. Some feel a sense of confidence and even superiority. They may feel increased happiness or euphoria. They don’t feel the need for sleep, and they don’t feel the need to eat as much. Due to these effects, the drugs have been given to soldiers to heighten alertness, stave off sleep, and bolster morale in preparation for battle.
Stimulants include such well-known drugs as
Benzedrine, a brand name for amphetamine, which was used to treat asthma, depression, and obesity.
Adderall, which contains the stimulant dextroamphetamine, and Ritalin, which contains the stimulant methylphenidate. These are used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy (a sleep disorder in which people are excessively drowsy during the day).
caffeine, the world’s most widely used psychoactive drug, known for its quick-pick-me-up qualities and, among some users, an ability to enhance