Cocaine is a stimulant, which means that it produces a fast, intense feeling of power and energy. Then it wears off (crack wears off very quickly) and the user feels depressed and nervous and craves more of the drug to feel good again.
Cocaine, whether in the form of powder cocaine hydrochloride or freebase crack cocaine, is a powerful stimulant drug derived from the coca plant. When used, crack overloads your brain and body with dopamine, triggering intense cravings and addiction even after a single-use.
Feels crack
By smoking crack, you flood your lungs and bloodstream with a large dose of the drug. This initiates a short-term rush of euphoria within seconds and an intense high that lasts around fifteen minutes total.
During a crack high, some describe a sense of potential or endless possibility. Others become overly focused on tiny details or repetitive movements like rubbing their eyes, or see or feel things around them that are better than typical reality.
After the first dose of crack cocaine wears off, those who have tried the drug often report feeling let down, depressed, uncomfortable, and unable to sleep properly. Many have an unpleasant chemical taste in their mouth.
The good news is that people can and do stop using crack. Even people who are not ready to give up crack can learn ways to use it more safely, and to plan for the day when they are ready to give it up.
Smoking crack and injecting powder cocaine lead to immediate and intense effects, so both are dangerous for addiction and overdose. Smoking may be safer since injecting can damage veins, cause abscesses and increase the risk of catching HIV, hepatitis and other serious infections. If you inject:
Back cracking also causes endorphins to be released around the area that was adjusted. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the pituitary gland that are meant to manage pain in your body, and they can make you feel super satisfied when you crack a joint.
So why do so many people find relief in cracking their knuckles? Cracking your knuckles "feels as if it relieves tension in the joints," Dr. Fackler says. "When that phenomenon happens, it causes a distraction of the joint and separates the joint for a brief second. If traction is applied to the joint, it feels as if it loosens up and is more mobile."
There are several types of arthritis, but knuckle-cracking is most commonly associated with osteoarthritis. In simple terms, "Osteoarthritis is a disease where the articular cartilage, located at the end of the bone on each joint, starts to break down and flake off," causing pain, stiffness and swelling over time, Dr. Fackler explains.
So, as it turns out, you can crack your knuckles, limitlessly, without the consequences of arthritis. Just don't be too caught off guard if your rings fit a little tighter after a knuckle-cracking session. Cracking knuckles can cause temporary swelling or a subtle increase in the size of your hands, but is ultimately harmless. "There are no long-term studies that show knuckle-cracking causes any damage," Dr. Fackler says. Until then, "When it comes to your fingers, don't even worry about it."
These complications are most likely to occur when your skin's protective mechanisms are severely compromised. For example, severely dry skin can cause deep cracks or fissures, which can open and bleed, providing an avenue for invading bacteria.
As you smoke your second rock, it may strike you that the crack high combines the best aspects of marijuana and cocaine. The pleasure of pot is not just a high, but a buzz; smoke a joint and space out. Cocaine, in contrast, is a clear high, a stimulant to sociality; do a line and get into some serious play or some pleasurable work. Crack is both spacey and intense. It has the head rush of marijuana or amyl nitrate with the clarity induced by a noseful of powder cocaine.
What if there were a drug (I inquired of the mirror) that could chemically induce feelings of upper-middle-classness. It would be attractive to the poor, and wildly popular among those who had no prayer of ever achieving that comfortable station in life. And it would be despised by people who had worked long, hard years to obtain that same mental state without resorting to the drug. It would be popular, cheap, and the cause of anti-social behavior. It would be a lot like crack.
There's something about the sound of a crack in your back as you stretch that can feel just so darn satisfying. In fact there are entire social media feeds devoted to this "ahh" feeling: video after video of people instinctively groaning in pleasure as their back loudly pops.
The first thing to understand, says Dr Giovanni Ferreira, a physiotherapist and researcher at University of Sydney's Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, is that the cracking has nothing to do with joints being put back into place.
Ferreira says cracking joints may trigger a release of "feel-good" chemicals, like endorphins, which help relieve pain. Then there is the power of the mind. There is research suggesting that a placebo effect may be involved, with people enjoying the feeling and the sound despite clinical effects of spinal treatment often being the same with or without a "pop".
Not everyone needs to see a therapist, Downie says, particularly if you only occasionally twist and pop your back without issue. But if you find you regularly have an urge to crack, there may be underlying problems to address.
Usually, joint cracking is harmless. There is no strong evidence it causes arthritis. But there are some risks, Downie says, particularly with the neck region, such as increased pain, headaches, pinched nerves and, on very rare occasions, blood supply disruption leading to stroke.
There's something about the sound of a crack in your back as you stretch that can feel just so darn satisfying. In fact there are entire social media feeds devoted to this \\\"ahh\\\" feeling: video after video of people instinctively groaning in pleasure as their back loudly pops.
Ferreira says cracking joints may trigger a release of \\\"feel-good\\\" chemicals, like endorphins, which help relieve pain. Then there is the power of the mind. There is suggesting that a placebo effect may be involved, with people enjoying the feeling and the sound despite clinical effects of spinal treatment often being the same with or without a \\\"pop\\\".
Ferreira agrees: \\\"You need a treatment approach that will be more active than passive \\u2026 If someone goes to a health professional and all they talk about is the massage they will give or the back cracking, that's a red flag.\\\"
Users typically insufflate (snort) or first dissolve in solution, then inject powdered cocaine. However, people who use crack typically smoke the substance. While uncommon, crack can be dissolved in aqueous solution and injected, similarly to its powdered counterpart. Smoking the drug produces a faster, more intense high than snorting does because it reaches the bloodstream and brain more quickly. However, the effects of smoking cocaine are shorter in duration, lasting only 5 to 10 minutes verses 15 to 30 minutes for insufflated powder.
The short-term physical and mental effects of using crack are generally more intense than the effects of snorting powdered cocaine and similar to those of injecting cocaine. These effects are also similar to those of other commonly abused stimulants, such as methamphetamine.
The fleeting high from smoking crack can be outweighed by a host of negative effects. Though these can vary as widely as the positive effects listed above, commonly reported side effects of crack use include:
Crack cocaine gives the user an intense, euphoric feeling. The first time a person uses crack, he or she feels an initial high that cannot be recreated by subsequent use. Users sometimes describe this as a feeling unlike anything else in the world.
Long-term crack cocaine use puts the user at risk of not only the mental effects listed previously, but also serious damage to their health. Some lasting health effects of crack cocaine smoking include:
People of any age and gender can become dependent on crack. Crack dependency occurs after users develop a tolerance to the drug and begin using more often and in larger amounts to achieve the desired effects.
This frequent exposure to crack cocaine causes users to depend on the substance to help them avoid negative moods and feelings; those ensnared by crack dependency will experience extreme anxiety when they are not able to obtain the drug.
Inpatient treatment centers are a desirable choice for many crack abusers because these centers keep the user away from the drug and anyone using it. Inpatient programs can also provide the intensive counseling and therapy many people require to recover from crack cocaine addiction. Additional aftercare or sober living programs can help ex-abusers maintain their sobriety and rebuild their lives once they leave the safety of inpatient treatment.
Addiction is not a disease that should be faced alone. If you or someone you love needs help addressing a problem with crack cocaine, you can call American Addiction Centers (AAC) free at "props":"scalar":"","helpline":"true","children":"" at any time, day or night. All calls are confidential. 2ff7e9595c
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