Cocaine and Crack. A strong nervous system stimulant.

Cocaine and Crack:

A strong nervous system stimulant.

Cocaine: Usually white crystalline powder sniffed up the nose through a small tube. Sometimes dissolved and injected.. Also Known as: 'coke','charlie','snow' 'C', white, Percy, and toot.
Crack: Can be smoked (irregular, raisin-sized lumps also known as 'rock', 'wash' stones, pebbles, base, or freebase)
Usually smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil
Use of crack/cocaine has risen rapidly

First prohibited by the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920, now controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
Class A drugs
Penalties for possession: maximum seven years' prison and/or fine. Penalties for possession with intent to supply, or supplying: maximum life imprisonment and/or fine.

First produced in 1855: became a popular stimulant and tonic
Extracted from leaves of the South American coco plant. Indigenous people chew the leaves to boost stamina
Formerly used medically as a local anaesthetic
1885, Originally Coca Cola contained cocaine (extracts of coca leaves and cola nuts ), all traces of cocaine were not removed until 1929

Creates a sense of well-being, alertness, exhilaration and confidence, mental clarity and indifference to hunger, pain and fatigue for up to 30 minutes
Constricted peripheral blood vessels, dilated pupils, increased body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure
Users often left craving more
Crack has the same effects as cocaine, smoked crack tends to be much stronger and more addictive than snorted powder cocaine

Users feel tired and depressed for one or two days sometimes longer
Can cause chest pain and potentially fatal heart problems
Heavy use can cause convulsions
A habit can be expensive and hard to control
To maintain the effects, doses have to be repeated around every 20 minutes. Users who binge taking large doses can suffer extreme agitation, paranoia and hallucinations that fade as the drug leaves the body
Prolonged sniffing of cocaine powder can cause damage and ulcerations to the nose's mucous membrane and destroy the septum separating the nostrils
Long term injecting causes abscesses and exposes users to other associated risks
Pregnant woman using cocaine risk premature delivery, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and sudden infant death. The mother is at increased risk of haemorrhage, miscarriage, toxaemia and nutritional deficiencies. The baby is often dependant on cocaine
Crack dependency can produce aggressive paranoid behaviour.
Possible long-term changes to the nervous system.
_{(image showing the degenerative effects of crack use)}

Users develop strong psychological dependence, especially with crack. Fatigue, lethargy and depression follow use, reinforce the craving for more and last up to three months. Cocaine/crack may or may not physically addictive
Prolonged frequent use replaces euphoria with restlessness, hyper-excitability, nausea, insomnia, and weight loss. Users become chronically nervous, excitable and paranoid
No widely excepted substitution treatment. Counselling, group work, support for reintegration into the community and acupuncture are all being used