Focus Adolescent Services™

Cocaine Abuse & Addiction

What is cocaine?

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug

-- and it is a drug that can kill. 

No individual can predict

whether he or she will become addicted

or whether the next dose of cocaine will prove fatal.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain.  The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands of years.

Cocaine is generally sold on the street as a fine, white, crystalline powder, known as coke, C, snow, flake, or blow.  Street dealers generally dilute it with such inert substances as cornstarch, talcum powder, and/or sugar, or with such active drugs as procaine (a chemically-related local anesthetic) or with such other stimulants as amphetamines.

Cocaine can be snorted through the nose, smoked, or injected. Injecting cocaine -- or injecting any drug -- carries the added risk of infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, if the user shares a needle with a person already infected with the virus.  The drug can also be rubbed onto mucous tissues.  Some users combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin in a speedball.

Freebasing

Freebase is a form of cocaine that is smoked and is extremely dangerous.  It appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than snorted.  

The cocaine reaches the brain within seconds, resulting in a sudden and intense high.  However, the euphoria quickly disappears, leaving the user with an enormous craving to freebase again and again.  The user usually increases the dose and the frequency to satisfy this craving, resulting in addiction and physical debilitation.

Crack

Crack is the street name given to one form of freebase cocaine that comes in the form of small lumps or shavings.  The term crack refers to the crackling sound made when the mixture is smoked (heated).

Smoking crack is very dangerous since it produces the same debilitating effects as freebasing cocaine.  Crack has become a major problem in many American cities because it is inexpensive and easily transportable -- sold in small vials, folding paper, or tinfoil.

NEXT:  Effects of Cocaine Use

Effects of Cocaine Use  -   Cocaine Treatment & Recovery

Counseling & Therapy  -  Directory of Family Help

Drugs & Teen Substance Abuse  -  Hotlines & Helplines

Self-Help & Support Groups

Help & Recovery Support

Australian Drug Information Network ~ Comprehensive Australian and international alcohol and drug information.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse ~ Information and advice from Canada's national addictions agency.

Chemically Dependent Anonymous ~ 12-step fellowship that does not make distinctions in the recovery process based on any particular substance, believing that the addictive-compulsive usage of chemicals is the core of addictive disease and the use of any mood-changing chemical will result in relapse.

Christian Recovery International ~ A coalition of ministries dedicated to helping the Christian community become a safe and helpful place for people recovering from addiction, abuse or trauma.

Cocaine Anonymous, 310-559-5833 ~ 12-step recovery to individuals who are suffering from cocaine addiction.

National Clearinghouse for Drug and Alcohol Information ~ The world's largest resource for current information and materials concerning substance abuse.

More Information

Coca-Cola Used to Contain Cocaine ~ Interesting trivia.

Cocaine Industry 'Killing Rainforest' ~ Cocaine-users across the world are helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest.

Cocaine Production Poisons Peru's Rivers ~ In Peru's principal cocaine producing region, the Huallaga Valley, 25 rivers are dying as a result of drug-related contamination.

Comparing Methamphetamine and Cocaine ~ Methamphetamine and cocaine belong to the broad class of drugs called psychostimulants that also includes amphetamine and methylphenidate.  The two drugs often are compared to each other because they produce similar mood-altering effects and both have a high potential for abuse and dependence.  Methamphetamine and cocaine also share other similarities.  However, the two drugs also exhibit significant differences.  Here are some of these similarities and differences.

Drugs and the Environment ~ The U.S. consumes nearly 260 metric tons of cocaine every year, which is grown and processed in the fragile environments of South America.  The result has been the destruction of almost 6 million acres of fragile tropical forest over the past 20 years in the Andean region of South America.

Tips for Teens: The Truth About Cocaine ~ The longer you ignore the real facts, the more chances you take with your life.