Though the urban crack wars of the 1980s have passed into legend, there is still today a pressing need for crack cocaine treatment. The drug is so strong that just one smoke can turn a would-be recreational user into a hardened addict. One use can also kill. Since the drug is notoriously inexpensive, it preys upon those least able to fend it off, damaging entire neighborhoods.
Source
The South American cocoa leaf is the source for cocaine and all its derivatives. The Indians habitually sucked or chewed the leaf for its stimulant properties. Those properties were relatively weak. However, chemists discovered the active ingredient and processed the leaf into true cocaine in the mid 19th Century. It wasn’t till the 1980s that drug dealers derived a form that could be smoked without risking blowing themselves up.
Effects
Once the user smokes crack, it only takes 8 to 10 seconds before a huge dopamine spike asserts itself. The expression of this spike is a strong feeling of elation. That elation doesn’t last long, though, perhaps 10 minutes. What follows is an equally huge “crash” that leaves the user eager to have that just-passed elation return, which seemed to obliterate all the user’s worldly concerns if only for a few minutes.
Responsibility
The elated feeling the user craves is never more than several dollars from being theirs again. This makes the drive to get the next hit nearly irresistible. A vicious rhythm asserts itself in which the addict scrambles from hit to hit. During this grim process, he or she is willing to beg, borrow or steal. He or she will be willing to sell whatever they own, including finally, their own bodies.
Physical Symptoms
Addicts damage their brain, lungs and heart by smoking crack. The heart is subject to arrhythmia and heart attack. The brain is subject to producing hallucinations and to stroke. Lung damage can make breathing difficult, and the lungs might even collapse altogether. Everything from sexual dysfunction to the user’s characteristic dilated pupils attests to a distressed circulatory system.
Treatment
Treatment begins with detoxification, which takes place on an inpatient basis in a controlled environment such as a hospital. Withdrawal from any cocaine addiction can continue for several days to a week, and is indicated by craving the drug, irritability, sleep problems and loss of appetite. The patient may be administered propranolol to ease the withdrawal and vigabatrin to treat seizures.
Psychological Help
The psychological and social problems the addict faces will typically be more of a problem than the physical challenges. Unless there’s real physical damage, the patient can receive outpatient counseling. Those with especially difficult recoveries are assigned to inpatient rehab under strict care. After successful medical detoxification, they may receive therapy in a group home.