How Crack Affects Your Ability to Function

Drug abuse and addiction has become an epidemic in not only the United States, but other parts of the world. Crack, which is the solid form of cocaine, is among one of the drugs to which a generous portion of the population is addicted. According to the National Institution on Drug Abuse, 33 percent of emergency room visits are from people addicted to crack cocaine. Additionally, 16 percent of jail inmates committed their crimes to get money for crack. These statistics come from the fact that crack cocaine causes the user a functional inability.

Short-Term Effects of Crack

Crack cocaine is a stimulant users mostly smoke. Smoking this substance causes it to affect the user immediately. Almost instantaneously upon smoking crack, the person experiences an extreme sensation of euphoria. This feeling comes from the drug interfering with the balance of dopamine in the brain. The heart rate also increases, making the person feel as though he or she has a surplus of energy. A person who has just smoked crack will feel like the king or queen of the world, and this high will last anywhere from five to 15 minutes. When the crack high ends, the individual crashes and may become depressed. The need to smoke more crack to obtain the feeling of greatness overwhelms that person.

The Mission to Get More

Crack affects the brain more than any other part of the body. The user may feel that he or she cannot live without this substance. Because the high only lasts a short amount of time, an addicted person can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on re-boosting the psyche to experience extreme pleasure and euphoria. When the individual runs out of money, he or she will literally do anything to get more crack. Getting another hit becomes the main priority in that person’s life, which causes the individual not to function in other areas. Ninety percent of crack users do not keep up with hygiene, child care, or proper diet. Weight loss is a very common symptom of crack abuse, as is sexual dysfunction. Someone who abuses this substance may also appear to be homeless because of the lack of changing clothes, and bathing in severe cases. Some crack users may disappear from work for hours or days, or lose their jobs altogether. Students that were once in school will drop out to pursue getting more crack just to feel the pleasure it brings. Individuals who are generally good citizens may end up with a criminal record during a crack binge. It is not uncommon for a crack addict to steal money from family and friends, and then graduate to a greater crime such as robbing a person on the street or holding up a convenience store. The game of crack smoking is one that is very dangerous. It can affect the lives of many people. The user will be left with no money, no friends, and nothing to show for the few minutes of pleasure that crack brings.

Recovering from Crack Addiction

The positive side to crack addiction is that it is mostly psychological and emotional, unlike other drugs. Very rarely does a person suffer from physical withdrawal symptoms after stopping crack smoking. If physical symptoms do occur, they will most likely consist of shaking or sweating while the drug is leaving the system. The worst of the withdrawal is in the mind. The person may suffer with anxiety, depression, and an incessant longing for more of the drug. The individual may also have sleeping problems and irritability. Withdrawal symptoms of crack usually last approximately 72 hours.

Preventing Relapse

A person with a crack addiction has to go through three stages: detox, treatment, and aftercare. Detoxification is the easiest part of the process because it moves quickly. After detoxification, the individual will need to seek counseling to prevent a relapse. He or she will have to change the established circle of friends as well. Additionally, the person may want to continue with therapy for a great while after stopping. Crack addiction recovery is a long-term process. The fight continues for the rest of the person’s life. Functionality will return, but not without a great amount of effort from the affected party.

Source

National Institute on Drug Abuse Cocaine Facts

How Crack Destroys the Brain

Crack is a more addictive form of cocaine. While cocaine in powdered form acts quickly on the brain and body, crack takes effect even more quickly. Because it is more concentrated than powder cocaine, crack's effects are much more intense, which is part of the reason why it is so much more habit-forming than cocaine.

Crack Facts

• Nearly 10% of people who try crack become addicted to it within one year, compared with less than 4% of people who become addicted to cocaine in the same time frame.
• One gram of cocaine has an average price of about $80-100, whereas one rock of crack has an average price of $10-25.
• Crack is about five to six times more powerful than cocaine.
• Crack takes about ten seconds to affect the user, producing a nearly immediate high.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that govern a variety of physical and mental processes. Feelings like happiness, sadness, and hunger are all governed by neurotransmitters as are energy levels, pain, and physical pleasure. The levels of specific neurotransmitters in the brain tissues determine whether people feel these mental and physical feelings. Cocaine, the drug crack is derived from, prevents several neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The neurotransmitters it affects are all associated with pleasure, including dopamine and serotonin. When a person is high after using crack, they are feeling the effects of an excess of these neurotransmitters.

The Physical Effects of Crack

People usually feel a euphoric rush of pleasure and happiness when they smoke crack. The high from crack abuse usually only lasts a few minutes, so it is common for users to smoke more crack after they come down from the high, often in increasing doses. This kind of behavior is called a binge and is itself dangerous, since crack elevates the heart rate and blood pressure and causes a high risk of stroke or heart attack.

How People Become Addicted to Crack

There are two aspects of addiction: neurological, which involves physical changes in the brain, and psychological, which involves changes in the mind. Addiction to crack occurs because of its effects on the neurotransmitters in the brain. Smoking crack in binges causes neurotransmitters to remain in the brain for longer periods of time than they are meant to, since crack interrupts neurotransmitter reuptake. Eventually, the brain adjusts to the frequent elevated levels of neurotransmitters, which has two serious consequences:

1. The crack user must increase the amounts of the drug that they use to feel the same high they used to. When a person frequently increases the amount of crack that they use, they constantly put their health and life at risk. Once a person becomes addicted to crack, they significantly decrease their life expectancy to about five years after their addiction takes hold.
2. In the absence of the drug, normal levels of neurotransmitters are not as effective in governing emotions and other processes. This effect of addiction on the brain only serves to strengthen the user's psychological dependence on the drug. When a person first begins using crack, their mind associates the drug with feelings of pleasure. However, as the addiction begins to form and the brain makes structural changes to protect itself against the drug's effects, neurotransmitters stop functioning as normal. The person needs higher levels of neurotransmitters in their brain in order to feel normal, just like they need more and more crack to get high. One effect of crack addiction is anhedonia, the inability to feel happiness or pleasure. The only way to feel happy, as a crack addict, is to use crack. The mind eventually identifies crack as its only source of happiness, further strengthening the addiction.

Crack addiction causes a feedback loop in the mind and the brain. When the person first begins using crack, it only takes a small amount of the crack to get high, but as time goes on they must increase their use of the drug more and more. As this happens, their ability to feel happiness and pleasure without the drug diminishes until they are unable to experience any positive feelings without crack. Even a person who has been addicted to crack for a short time will have a difficult path to recovery because of this feedback loop.

Source

National Institute on Drug Abuse: Cocaine Meta: How crack destroys the brain is by preventing several neurotransmitters, which govern a variety of physical and mental processes, from being reabsorbed.