Crack (drug)

Grains of cracks (one inch ruler above)

Crack is a drug made from cocaine salt and sodium hydrogen carbonate (baking soda). It is smoked in small pipes and works extremely quickly in about 8 to 10 seconds. In addition to methamphetamine, crack is considered to be the drug with the highest psychological dependence potential . This form of smokable cocaine, in contrast to the cocaine base (freebase), has established itself in the scene because it is much simpler, safer and can be produced with more readily available resources. Their color varies between yellowish white and pink.

The name "crack" is due to the cracking that occurs when the small lumps are burned. Crack are crystal grains ( "Rocks"), which at 96 ° C with knackendem ( English : to crack ) or crackling (ger .: to crackle ) noise as the free base evaporate. Another theory of the name “crack” relates to the cooling of the synthesized and heated substance by pouring it over a block of ice, which then bursts open.

Manufacturing

Crack is made by mixing cocaine salt with sodium hydrogen carbonate (baking soda) and heating it. In the USA, baking powder is used for this purpose, which there consists exclusively of sodium hydrogen carbonate, while in Germany, acidifiers and starch are usually added to baking powder, which makes it unsuitable for the production of crack. During this caking, an ion exchange takes place: If cocaine hydrochloride was used as the starting substance, the crack is produced as a mixture of table salt and cocaine hydrogen carbonate. According to various sources, this process does not lead to a purification effect. According to other sources, there are other manufacturing variants that go hand in hand with an increase in purity. A purity content of 80–100% is stated, compared to 30–60% for the “usual” street cocaine (salt form).

effect

The effects are similar to those of other cocaine preparations, only much stronger. The body absorbs crack through the lungs much faster than snuffed cocaine through the nasal mucous membranes. After about 10 seconds, the cocaine molecules reach the nerve cells of the brain.

The intensity depends on the amount and physical condition. Crack has a euphoric and mood-enhancing effect, so that the consumer feels full of energy. He perceives heightened alertness, feels more alert and his performance increases. He feels a strong urge to speak and increased sexual desire. There is also a tendency to overestimate oneself up to megalomania .

Uncontrollable tremors or twitching may occur during consumption. Feelings of weakness, paranoia, itchy skin and high blood pressure or feelings of loneliness can also occur. The environment can appear hostile, it can lead to schizophrenia- like states as well as paranoia and delusions. Crack can trigger drug psychosis , and overdosing can lead to cardiac arrest.

However, the intoxication only lasts 5 to 15 minutes. Shortly afterwards, there is usually a strong desire to create another high ( craving ). This phenomenon is the main reason for the very high potential for dependence .

Dependency potential

Crack is the drug with the highest potential for addiction . There is even a risk of addiction for first-time users. As with cocaine (hydrochloride), there is a great danger that after consumption (or “coming down”) the need to consume more arises very quickly. This is called " craving ", which is felt to be much more serious in comparison to cocaine, given the faster rising and falling effects of crack, so that the next " Stein “is smoked. This can lead to extreme consumption dynamics, which on the one hand can result in long “binges” (episodes with rapidly successive acts of consumption) and, on the other hand, in a rapid development of a dependency in which one gets used to the substance within a short period of time . To achieve the same effect, the doses must therefore be increased ( tachyphylaxis ). The withdrawal symptoms, which occur immediately after smoking and which can last for weeks, are unanimously described by all users as very unpleasant.

The following physical withdrawal symptoms can occur:

• uncontrolled muscle twitching, tremors and even chills,
• Feeling weak and tired,
• Itchy skin,
• High blood pressure,
• Circulatory breakdowns.

In addition, for long-term users, as with long-term addicts of cocaine, tooth loss is a serious health issue.

The psychological side effects are also often serious:

• Change of character
• The consumer feels lonely and is often perceived as aggressive by the environment .
• Delusions, psychoses, dermatozoal delusions
• Social isolation

Availability, prices and distribution

Crack is traded in the form of small lumps, also known as "rocks", which are sold in quantities of a tenth of a gram from around € 5. A unit of consumption is relatively cheap; Due to the often extreme dynamics of consumption, however, it can happen that a great deal of money is spent on the drug within a short period of time.

The Munich songwriter Konstantin Wecker stated after his arrest that he had paid a gram price of 100 marks for 1.6 kilograms of cocaine (which he boiled to crack) - around 160,000 marks in total - within six months.

In Germany, crack is particularly widespread in urban scenes of users of hard drugs, with a clear focus in Frankfurt am Main , Hamburg and Hanover . Many habitual crack users were previously addicted to heroin and / or cocaine .

Many consumers finance their addiction through acquisitive crime and prostitution , as they have no other option to raise the large sums of money that their addiction demands.

Legal position

Like cocaine, crack has been listed as a Schedule I drug in the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs since 1961 , which makes non-governmental manufacture, export, import, distribution, trade, use and possession illegal.

Germany

Due to the listing in Annex III of the Narcotics Act , cocaine (methyl (3 β - (benzoyloxy) tropane-2 β -carboxylate)) is a marketable and prescription drug. This does not apply to d-cocaine (methyl (3 β - (benzoyloxy) tropane-2 α -carboxylate)), which is listed in Appendix II, which means that it can be marketed but not prescribed. Dealing with cocaine is a punishable offense without proper authorization. More details on this can be found in the article on German narcotics law . For eye surgery, an ophthalmologist may prescribe cocaine solution up to a concentration of 20% for practice needs (evidence of Horner's syndrome ).

Australia

In Australia, crack and cocaine are classified as Schedule 8 controlled drugs , which means that they can only be used for certain medical indications.

Canada

In Canada, crack, like other coca products, is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act .

United States

In the USA, crack, like cocaine, is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.

United Kingdom

In the UK, crack is treated as a class a drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 .

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, crack is on List I (heavy narcotics ) under the Opium Act.

Cinematic reception

• Jungle Fever - Director: Spike Lee - Crack is not the main subject, but it is clearly thematized, the brutalization by crack is shown.
• New Jack City - cast: Wesley Snipes , Ice-T and Mario van Peebles - shows the rise and fall of a drug lord in New York.
• Traffic - Power of the Cartel - Director: Steven Soderbergh - One of the characters consumes Crack several times in the film and the consequences can also be observed.
• Life Is Hot In Cracktown - Director: Buddy Giovinazzo - A social study in the form of a feature film, based on Giovinazzo's novel of the same name.
• Bumfights - The "actor" Bling Bling consumes crack several times in a casino.
• "Crackheads Gone Wild" - A documentary about crack addicts in Atlanta.
• "Haltlos" (Original title: "Floundering" ) - Director: Peter McCarthy - On a whim, the protagonist decides to join a group of crack smokers after he has accused them of having destroyed their lives.
• Half Nelson (2006) - directed by Ryan Fleck; with Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps.
• The Fighter (2010) - Director: David O. Russell - Christian Bale plays the crack-addicted brother and coach of the title character; the making of the HBO documentary High On Crack Street is built into the feature film.
• Last Days Here , documentary from 2011 about the crack-addicted Bobby Liebling , front man of the band Pentagram.
• Keep the Lights On (2012) - Director: Ira Sachs . The film is about the love story between the film director Erik ( Thure Lindhardt ) and the crack dependent publishing lawyer Paul (Zachary Booth). - Real role models for the two characters were Ira Sachs himself and his former lover Bill Clegg; a literary agent who discussed his excessive consumption of crack and alcohol in his book "Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man".
• Snowfall (since 2018) - TV series about the spread of crack in Los Angeles in the 1980s

literature

• Heino Stöver, Michael Prinzleve (ed.): Cocaine and crack. Pharmacodynamics, dissemination and offers of assistance. Lambertus, Freiburg 2004, ISBN 3-7841-1494-6 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Crack  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Commons : Crack (drug)  - Collection of images

• drugscouts.de about crack and freebase
• Cocaine & crack . In: Erowid . (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Crack / Freebase . ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: drugscouts.de 
2. ^ Crack and Freebase . ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: pille-palle.net  
3. ↑ crack . In: drug-infopool.de
4. ↑ Miriam Stoppard: All About Drugs . Urania-Ravensburger, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-332-01083-2 , p. 79 ff.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Schmidbauer, vom Scheidt: Handbuch der Rauschdrogen München: Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung, 2004. ISBN 3-596-16277-7 , page 123 ff.
6. ↑ The first kick is the beginning of the end ( memento from October 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). In: time4teen.de
7. ↑ Crack - the devil drug . FWU media
8. ↑ ^{a b} crack . In: suchtfragen.at
9. ↑ Classic Drugs: Cocaine, Crack ( Memento from February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) In: drogenscreening.info
10. ^ Cocaine and Crack . European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
11. ^ Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 . International Narcotics Control Board. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
12. ↑ BtMG Annex III
13. ↑ BtMG Annex II
14. ^ DEA, Title 21, Section 812 . Usdoj.gov. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
15. ↑ Title 21 USC § 812 (b) (2) .
16. ↑ Eric Sterling: Drug Laws and Snitching: A Primer . PBS. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
17. ↑ List I of the Dutch Opium Act , accessed December 15, 2016

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !