Cocaine and Crack – How It’s Used, Effects, and Signs of Use

Cocaine use is nothing new to many people. You may have never tried cocaine yourself, but I’m sure you have seen movies or TV shows with people doing cocaine. Cocaine is an extremely addictive substance that has been around in its current synthetic form for over a century. Cocaine is one of the most psychologically addicting substances on the planet. During the peak of my addiction, I was using cocaine and heroin multiple times a day. I needed the heroin to avoid withdrawal and to “come-down and relax” but cocaine was always the main attraction for me.

Cocaine was like having an orgasm. It’s intense and short-lived. Heroin was like cuddling up with my girlfriend after sex, watching a movie. It’s pleasurable but a less intense, longer-lasting type of high. I always had to use both together, but cocaine was the main attraction.

What Is Cocaine and How Is It Used?

Cocaine comes from the leaves of the coca plant mostly found in South America. Natives in Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, and other South American countries have been using the Coca plant for various uses for hundreds of years, including chewing on the leaves as an anti-depressant and energy stimulator. Cocaine in its powder form is created when the leaves from the coca plant are crushed, mixed with other chemicals (including gasoline or other fuel) and dried to make cocaine powder. When powder cocaine is mixed with baking soda and water then cooked it creates cocaine rocks or more commonly known as crack. The name crack refers to the crackling sounds it makes when being smoked.

Cocaine can be used through 6 different methods:

Insufflation – Snorting, Blowing, Sniffing, Tooting, railing
Inhalation – Crack, Smoking, Blasting, Freebasing
Injection – Shot, Shooting up, Shooting the Ball, Speedballing (speedball typically refers to mixing cocaine and heroin)
Orally – Nummy, Nummer, Coating, Taste
Anally – Suppository, Back Ending, Weasel Pop, Back Dooring
Ingested – Drinking as a tea or swallowing the coca leaves.

I have used cocaine using all of these methods except anally. The first 3 methods are the most commonly used routes of administration with the first 2 being the most common. I believe any method of using cocaine is dangerous because you run the risk of overdose, health problems, and becoming addicted. But using cocaine in crack form (smoking it), or injecting it, is the most addicting and dangerous high I have ever felt in my life.

Cocaine’s Effects

Health problems associated with cocaine use can be vast and affect anyone who uses or abuses the drug. Short-term and Long-term effects of cocaine use:

Cocaines High

The length of time of cocaine’s euphoric effects (the high) depends upon the method of administration. The faster the drug is absorbed, the more intense the resulting high, but also the shorter its duration. Snorting cocaine produces a relatively slow onset of the high, but it may last from 15 to 30 minutes. In contrast, the high from smoking or injecting is more immediate but may last only 5 to 10 minutes. (Source) I have smoked and injected cocaine many times and I would argue that the actual HIGH only lasts about 2-3 minutes, followed by 10-15 minutes of steadily decreasing pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBl_eKcfAGc&t

What Is Smoking Crack Like? | FREIGHT TRAIN THROUGH THE BRAIN!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBl_eKcfAGc&t)

What Is A Bell Ringer?

You may hear people talk about getting a “Bell Ringer” when they are referring to using cocaine, specifically when using crack or injecting cocaine. When a large hit of crack=cocaine is taken or a big injection of cocaine is shot up then the user gets an intense ringing in their ears. One of the side effects of large hits of cocaine is audio/visual distortions. I used to turn my radio up loud before I did a hit because I knew the music would get a weird sound once I got high.

I would describe it as similar to the sound of a jet or large airplane passing over your head. When you first take the hit it’s like when you first hear the jet, about 15-20 seconds later the sounds get stronger and stronger until it’s at its loudest, similar to the jet being over your head. After about a minute or so the sound starts to fade just like the plane going past you in the other direction.

Craving More and More

This is usually the goal of cocaine addicts. They are seeking this “bell ringer” hit over and over and over again. As I stated before the pure high of the bell ringer only lasts about 1-2 minutes so the addicts are constantly seeking this peak high which is why cocaine is so addicting. The more cocaine a person uses the higher their tolerance will get. This will cause them to seek out larger and larger quantities of the drug because they need to take bigger and bigger hits to get that “Bell Ringer”.

Cocaines Crash or Comedown

This short 5-30 minute high is followed by a comedown or crash. The comedown to me is like a severe depression combined with an overwhelming obsession to use more. A cocaine or crack addict who recently used, and is out of drugs, will do crazy things to get high again. The addict flooded their brain with dopamine during the high, and after it wears off their brain doesn’t return to normal, it dips way down to depression levels.

This comedown period is the most dangerous period to encounter a cocaine addict. This period can be described as 20-30 minutes of pure desperation. I have never experienced such an extreme high followed by such an intense low in this short of a period of time. This comedown period is when most cocaine addicts commit crimes or do things they will later regret such as stealing from friends and family. The addict’s brain is crashing from low dopamine levels. This is why the person is willing to do things they normally would never consider to get more cocaine, its the only way they know to get out of that deep depression. The problem is if they use it again, it will temporarily get rid of this depression but inevitability the crash will come again and it will be worse each consecutive time.

Cocaine Induced Paranoia

When a person is using cocaine especially if they are smoking it (crack) or injecting it, they often lose track of time, become obsessed with little things, and get paranoid. The high is so intense and the comedown so low addicts will lose track of how long they have been getting high, and what or where they are supposed to be going.

I would start smoking and after about 3-4 hits the paranoia and anxiety would start to kick in. My house was in a rough part of the city so I would think either the cops or my neighbors were outside watching, spying, and plotting against me. Every time I took another hit I would get excessivly more paranoid. I would start to board up the doors and windows of my house. I’m not talking about putting the blinds down, I’m talking hammering boards in front of every door and window of my house. After my 2 or 3 day binge I would finally drink some whisky and fall asleep.

When I woke up I couldn’t leave my house. Every door and window was nailed shut with boards upon boards. The Worst part is a week or two later I would do the same thing. PURE INSANITY!!!

-Brandon – Recovering Cocaine Addict and Alcoholic

Cocaine-Induced Psychosis

Many people who use cocaine feel some level of paranoia but this can lead to cocaine Induced Psychosis. Cocaine-induced psychosis can last for days, weeks, months or even permanent. Symptoms of Cocaine-induced psychosis are similar to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. They include:

Violence
Paranoia
Anxiety
Anger
Hallucinations/Delusions
Delirium
Suicidal/ homicidal thoughts

Doctors and scientists believe this may be caused by extreme brain dysfunction and low dopamine levels. The person filled their brain with false dopamine levels for so long, their brain stops making normal levels of the chemical and now the person is experiencing a permanent low level of dopamine. Up to 50% of cocaine users may experience cocaine-induced psychosis at some point, in the majority of those cases the psychosis only last a short period of time.

Along with Brandon, I can personally attest to this cocaine-induced paranoia/psychosis on multiple occasions. I would pull my car over near my work at roughly 4 pm knowing that I have to be at work by 4:30. I would shoot multiple speedballs (cocaine and heroin) within a short period of time. As soon as the cocaine was in my body and brain, its effects took over. I would experience the super high for a few moments and then start looking for pieces of crack or baggies that I thought I dropped on the floor. While on the floor I would see bugs in my car and on my skin. It was pure insanity, I would think there were people in all the cars around me watching what I was doing and plotting on me.

“I was on my hands and knee’s for hours picking up crumbs thinking it was crack. I swore it was only 5 minutes.”

Cocaine Bugs

Many cocaine users will get “Coke Bugs or Crack Bugs” during excessive use of cocaine. Coke or crack bugs are hallucinations caused by excessive cocaine use in which the person thinks, feels, and sees bugs on or below their skin. They will cut themselves and itch themselves until they’re bleeding to get the bugs out. The bugs, of course, are not real they are a hallucination caused by excessive cocaine used and the other chemicals used to cut the cocaine.

Cocaine In society

Cocaine is a relatively common drug, especially for the party scene. People like to use cocaine when they are drinking to give them the energy to party longer and harder. When cocaine is used at parties it is almost always in powder form and is snorted. Powder cocaine being snorted is substantially more acceptable to society than rock cocaine (crack) being smoked, or injecting cocaine.

Cocaine really got its boom during the late ’60s and ’70s in the United States. During the disco era, cocaine was widely used at clubs and bars and became almost socially acceptable. Partygoers and clubbers knew that if they did cocaine throughout the night it would allow them to drink more and stay out later without feeling too tired from the effects of alcohol.

Statistics About Cocaine Use In The U.S. and around the world:

Coca Paste (paco, basuco, oxi) is a crude extract of the coca leaf which contains 40% to 91% cocaine sulfate. (Source) Coca paste is leftover during the production of cocaine powder. Since it is so cheap, even cheaper than crack, it has spread at a rapid paste throughout poor neighborhoods and communities in South and Central America.

Cocaine continues to be the bread and butter for Mexican drug cartels. They have expanded into heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine over the past few decades but cocaine continues to be their largest source of income.

What To Do If You Think Someone Is Using Or Abusing Cocaine

If you believe someone you know is using cocaine watch for the signs and symptoms in the charts above. Don’t try and confront someone who is clearly in a state of cocaine-induced paranoia or psychosis as they can be prone to violent outbursts and unpredictable behavior. If you need to call the police to have a mental health arrest, do it. A mental health arrest does not charge the person with a crime it simply allows the police to bring the person to the hospital for evaluation and hold them for a few days.

Wait until the person is in a semi-normal state of mind and talk to them about the issue and see if they are open to treatment. Many cocaine addicts will beg for money and say things like ” I can feel better if you just give me $20″, or “I’m gonna go nuts again if I don’t use more”. Using more cocaine is never the answer. Contact a medical professional or certified addiction treatment center or counselor to help you navigate this hard time.