Crack Cocaine Route Of Administration

Crack cocaine is an illegal and highly addictive stimulant drug. Like white powder cocaine, it comes from the coca plant of South America.

Crack’s cooking process allows drug dealers to increase their product, which in turn means that crack cocaine is widely available in many areas.

As a result, crack cocaine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the U.S., and crack cocaine use has become a public health crisis.

People may consume crack cocaine in a variety of ways including snorting, smoking, injecting, or eating the substance.

Methods Of Crack Cocaine Use

Because crack cocaine and powder cocaine begin as the same drug, the effects of crack are nearly identical to the effects of cocaine.

However, because these two forms of cocaine are prepared differently, they are often used differently, too.

Smoking Crack

Powder cocaine use generally involves snorting, or cocaine insufflation. It is also sometimes mixed with water and injected.

Crack, however, is almost always smoked. In fact, one of the primary reasons for cooking crack cocaine is to turn it into a smokable drug.

Powder cocaine has a high melting point, and it produces very little vapor when heated. As a result, smoking cocaine does not produce an intense high.

By adding baking soda to this illicit drug, people who cook crack can lower the melting point and create a substance that produces vapor.

When people smoke crack, they often place crack rocks into a glass pipe.

However, some people also heat crack rocks from underneath a spoon or piece of aluminum foil, inhaling the vapors through a straw.

Learn about freebasing cocaine, another method that is used to make cocaine smokable.

Snorting Crack

Can you snort crack? Much like powder cocaine, crack can be snorted, though it’s less common.

Before crack can be snorted, it must first be crushed into a powder.

Then, it can be arranged into a line and insufflated through a straw.

Injecting Crack

Because injecting cocaine is common, you may wonder “can you inject crack?” It is possible, and somebody with a serious crack addiction may inject the drug to intensify their high.

Likewise, somebody with a cocaine addiction may inject crack if they prefer injection but cannot access powder cocaine.

Like snorting crack, injecting crack also requires that the drug be crushed into powder. Then, it can be mixed with water and injected with a syringe.

Eating Crack

Some people do abuse this drug by eating cocaine, so can you eat crack as well? You can, but eating cocaine, whether crack or powder cocaine, is fairly uncommon for two reasons.

First, this method of cocaine abuse does not produce an immediate high. Unlike smoking and injection, which begin working right away, eating crack means that the drug must be absorbed through the digestive system.

Second, this method of drug use produces a much milder high than smoking or injecting crack. However, the milder high may appeal to people trying crack for the first time and are not sure how the drug will affect them.

Does The Route Of Administration Have Specific Health Effects?

All forms of cocaine abuse may cause adverse health reactions, including drug addiction and a range of other issues that may require a healthcare professional’s help.

Side effects of cocaine abuse include:

• increased heart rate
• high blood pressure
• heart attack
• insomnia
• dilated pupils
• anxiety and depression
• erratic behavior
• psychosis
• seizure
• stroke

However, the specific routes of administration may cause their own short-term and long-term effects, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Health Effects Of Smoking Crack

In addition to the other effects of crack abuse, smoking crack may also cause lung damage. People with asthma may experience worsening symptoms.

However, people with no previous lung issues may still notice respiratory problems after smoking crack.

Health Effects Of Snorting Crack

Snorting crack often creates side effects in the nose and throat.

People who snort crack may experience:

• nosebleeds
• loss of smell
• hoarseness
• sore throat

Health Effects Of Injecting Crack

Injection is one of the most dangerous methods of substance abuse. Injecting drugs can cause marks on the skin called track marks, as well as vein damage and permanent scarring.

Drug injection also increases the risk of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, as people often share needles when abusing drugs.

Needle exchange programs may offer a form of harm reduction, reducing the risk of infection.

Health Effects Of Eating Crack

Cocaine can sometimes cause internal organ damage, especially to the stomach.

People with cocaine addictions have experienced stomach ulcers and similar issues.

These issues occur even when cocaine is smoked, snorted, or injected because cocaine, including crack cocaine, restricts blood flow to the stomach and other digestive organs.

Eating crack cocaine may cause further digestive problems, as this method brings crack cocaine into direct contact with the stomach.

Find A Treatment Provider For Substance Use

When somebody has an addiction to crack cocaine, quitting the drug is the most important thing they can do to prevent negative health outcomes.

Although quitting cocaine is extremely difficult due to the complexity of addiction, this condition is treatable.

With the right detox and addiction treatment, it is possible to heal from substance abuse and its effects.

Spring Hill Recovery Center offers several treatment programs for people who deal with cocaine addiction.

We use an evidence-based approach that follows the ASAM levels of care.

If you or a loved one may need addiction treatment, contact Spring Hill Recovery Center today for more information about your options.