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Cocaine
Paraphernalia
and Doses (Lines) |
Crack
Cocaine |
Homemade
Crack
Smoking Pipes |
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| Synonyms:
Methyl Benzoylecgonine |
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| Drug Class:
CNS Stimulant, Local Anesthetic |
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| Street Names:
Blow, Coke, Flake, Nose Candy, Powder, Rock, Shale, Snow, Toot,
White |
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| Cocaine Doses:
Bumps, Lines |
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| Description:
Cocaine is a potent, naturally occurring central nervous system (CNS)
stimulant. It is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, found
primarily in various regions of South America. Cocaine is a
powerfully addictive drug of abuse. Once having tried cocaine, the
typical user cannot predict or control the extent to which he or she
will continue to use the drug. The major routes of administration
are sniffing, injecting, and smoking (including
free-base and crack cocaine). Powdered cocaine is typically sniffed through the nose, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through
the nasal tissues. For this purpose, users typically roll a dollar bill into the form of a
straw or cut a plastic straw into small segments. A razor blade and
small mirror might be used to chop the drug into single doses known
as "lines". (See picture above.) When injected, the drug is released directly into
the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke
into the lungs where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as
by injection. |
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| Excretion:
In the 24-hour
urine,
approximately 35% to 54% of a cocaine dose is excreted as
benzoylecgonine, 32% to 49% as ecgonine methyl ester, 1% to 9% as
unchanged cocaine, and an unquantified amount as ecgonine. Cocaine's
primary urinary metabolite, benzoylecgonine, is the target compound for most types of
cocaine urine screen tests. |
| Drug Class:
CNS Stimulant |
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| Street Names:
Crack, Free-base, Rock |
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| Description:
"Crack" is the street name given to cocaine that has been
processed from street cocaine to a free base for smoking. Crack cocaine is
processed with ammonia or sodium
bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the
hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked.
The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when
the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium
bicarbonate. Smoking
allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very
quickly and brings an intense and immediate high. It appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even
more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than sniffed. |
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| Excretion:
See Cocaine above. |
| Baselt, Randall C.,
and Robert H. Cravey. Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in
Man. Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc., 1989. |
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| Drug Photos from
the IPRC Website. Indiana Prevention Resource Center.
07 Sept. 2001 <http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/prevention/iprcpics.html>. |
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| NIDA Infofax
13546 - Crack and Cocaine. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 07 Sept.
2001 <http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html>. |
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| South Coast Drug
Information - Image Gallery. 07 Sept.
2001 <http://telcom.coos.k12.or.us/drugs/images.htm>. |
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