Crack Addiction Treatment That Helps You Break the Cycle

What Is Crack?

Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine that has been processed into small rocks or crystals that are typically smoked. Crack is a powerful stimulant drug made from the coca plant, and both powder cocaine and crack cocaine affect the central nervous system.[1]

Because crack is smoked, the effects reach the brain quickly. It produces a sudden rush of energy, euphoria, alertness, increased confidence, or emotional escape. The effects are generally short-lived as well, which can drive someone to continuously use it over a short amount of time.[2]

Smoking crack also carries serious risks for the user’s physical and psychological well-being. Cocaine is a stimulant, and smoking crack can raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature; heighten levels of agitation and anxiety; and increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and overdose. Crack use may also contribute to an escalation in risky behavior, financial difficulties, deteriorating interpersonal relations, and deteriorating mental health.[3]

Crack Addiction and Abuse

Addiction to crack develops through the way it affects dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for reward, motivation, and learning. Crack use floods the brain with dopamine, which is what creates the “high” associated with its use and reinforces the desire to continue using again.[4] Because smoking crack delivers cocaine to the brain within seconds, nearly as quickly as injection and much faster than snorting, it produces an intense but brief rush that may be followed quickly by a crash.

At first, a person may use crack for the high it produces, along with the energy and confidence, diminished social inhibitions, or a temporary reprieve from stressors or emotional pain. Repeated use, however, can condition the brain to associate crack with relief, reward, and even survival. Over time, natural rewards such as tasty food, quality time with a loved one, accomplishing a goal, or hobbies and activities start to appear uninteresting, which can increase cravings for crack and make continued use feel necessary just to experience pleasure or feel normal.

Repeated crack cocaine use also builds tolerance, meaning that a regular dose no longer has the effect it once did, requiring larger amounts or more frequent use to achieve the desired effects. When the initial high wears off, potential negative consequences may emerge, including fatigue, low mood, anxiety, irritability, and strong cravings. This creates a vicious loop of using, crashing, craving, repeating.

Eventually, rather than continuing to use solely to experience a high, a person may begin using in order to avoid unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, manage cravings, or function.