Crark and Cocaine - Essay Example

Cocaine refers to an addictive stimulant that is said to affect the brain of the user. The drug isvery addictive and those who use it continue to yearn for it so that they can function properly. It was extracted from a plant leaf known as the Enythroxylon of a coca bush which is grown in Peru and Bolivia. It was developed with the objective of treating people who were suffering from different kinds of illnesses. The drug is abused by the young people in the society, but on the other hand can be administered by a doctor for medical uses such as treatment of local anesthetic for the eye, ear and throat during surgeries. The drug is commonly known as ; troop,cookies,candy,badrock,dice,hardball,devildrug,Frenchfries,tornado,sleet,rocks,paste,grit,raw,crumbs,hot cakes amongst other names in the streets. The major symptoms and signs that show that a person is actually consuming crack include intense feeling of craving for it, irritability, fatigue, agitation and strong feelings of anger (Abadinsky 19). There are two kinds of cocaine commonly referred to as hydrochloride salt and the freebase.The hydrochloride salt is a type of cocaine that is found in powder form that is dissolved in water and taken through methods such as the intravenously which passes the drug to the vein and the use of intranasal means that is passed through the nose of the users. The freebase is a type of compound that is not neutralized by any type of acid to make it a hydrochloride salt. History The drug was first developed in 1970 during the cocaine boom and it continued to be experienced into the 1980s.The cultivation of cocoa leaves is believed to be the genesis of cocaine which was being grown in Peru, Columbia and Bolivia and as result it found its way into the American market. In the early 1908s, there was a lot of cocaine that was shipped and it later flooded into the United States Of America market. Much of these drugs went into Miami through Bahamas .Due to the large quantities of cocaine into the market, the drug traffickers and peddlers decided to convert the cocaine powder into crack so that it could be sold into smaller quantities. Thus, due to its cheapness, simplicity in production, readiness to use and the large economic profits that the peddlers got from crack, it became very popular in the market. The packaging of crack also attracted a very large number of users from the poor neighborhoods who could not afford to go out to the clubhouses or those who felt uncomfortable taking it in social places. People had the assumption that the drug was more pure as compared to other powders in the market thus attracting a very large number of users. For example, it is believed that on average, crack contains 55% purity on every $100 per gram of crack .As for the price, crack went for as low as $2.5 in the market for a single piece. People actually started freebasing the drug so that they could get a better feeling once they started smoking it.Freebasing involved smoking the rocks with either and a flame and this proved to be very fatal leading to the death of several users of cocaine. As a result of the many fatalities and the unsafe mode of sniffing the drug, the drug peddlers decided to come up with a more safe method of smoking cocaine known as crack (Brownstein 34). The crack business in the United States is mostly controlled by the Mexican criminal gangs whereby they have controlled the central, pacific, great lakes, southeast and the west central regions. The Dominican and Columbia groups tend to control the northeast and the Florida regions. How crack cocaine is made. Crack cocaine refers to a highly and addictive type of stimulant that is prepared using the cocaine powder. There are two forms of cocaine commonly are known as hydrochloride salt and freebase.The hydrochloride salt is a form of cocaine that is in powder form that is dissolved in water and later on taken through intravenously by the vein and intranasal through the nose.Freebase compound is not neutralized by any type of acid in order to make it a hydrochloride salt. It is usually made by dissolving the cocaine powder in a mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water which are then boiled until it forms a solid substance .Once the solid substance has been formed, then, the solid particles are removed from the liquid, dried and finally they are broken into small chunks known as cracks. They are usually white in color varying in different shapes and in sizes. The weight varies between 0.1g to 0.5 grams and they contain over 75% of pure cocaine. As the cocaine is being heated, it makes a crackling sound hence the use the word crack to describe the drug (Sadock 22). The drug is normally smoked, injected and snorted and the effects can be felt immediately which can last up to 30minutes depending on how much was snorted by the person using it and the how tolerant the person consuming it is. To smoke crack, the user places the chunks into a small glass with a pipe and the puts steel wool at the end of the pipe and then on the other side of the side of the filter the crack is then placed. Then it is heated, and once it is heated from below, the vapor can be inhaled by the user. Once it is inhaled, it goes up the lungs and thereafter up into the bloodstream. The Trend of crack cocaine from 1980's. The consumption of this drug is usually in all genders depending on where one lives. The drug became very popular in the mid 1980s because of the immediate euphoric effect of the drug .The drug was very cheap to use and to prepare thus it was easily affordable to most people especially the urban poor. In the 1980s, the users who were admitted in hospitals because of using the drug rose from 4.2 million to 8.5 million citizens in the United States. Cocaine related incidents continued to rise as it was reported between 1985-1986.For example in 1985, the number of crack related cases rose by 12% and in 1986 the number of related cases rose by over 110%.It is estimated that between 1984 and 1987, the number of usage of the drug rose by fourfold amongst its users. The highest number of users of crack is believed to be the African-American men of the age between 18-30 years with low social economic background. In a report that was released by the National survey on drug Abuse, it was estimated that that over 6 million of teenagers aged over twelve years in the United States of America residents have consumed this drug once in a while (Sadock 22). According to the survey, over 150,000 teenagers between 12-17 years have consumed the substance while over one million of youngsters aged between 18-25 years have also consumed the drug once in their lifetime. According to a survey released in the United States in the Michigan University, over 4% of the senior high school students are also believed to have consumed the substance while 2.5 % of the students in junior school are also suspected to have indulged in the consumption of the alcohol. In a monitoring survey released in 2007, it indicated that those who had tried the consumption of crack in 8th grade remained at 3.1%, in 10th grade it was 10% and those at 12th grade had the highest percentage at 7.8%.It was estimated that currently, the use of crack was at 0.9% of those in 8th grade, 2.0% of those in 12th grade and 1.3 % in 10th grade (Webb 146). Reasons for using the Drug Crack and other drugs are used because they tend to stimulate the reward system of the brain and once the substance has been snorted in, then it prompts the release of a chemical known as dopamine which is a neurotransmitter which tends to over stimulate the brain. Once in the brain, the drug usually gets to the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) area of the brain thus interfering with the chemical dopamine. It is thus released by the cells during the pleasurable moments. Once released, it goes through the nerve cells known as the synapse and holds the receptors. Once crack attaches itself to the transporter of dopamine, it prevents the normal reabsorption process from taking place and it thus continues to stimulate the receptors thus resulting to the euphoric feeling of the user (Brownstein 34). Due to the over stimulation of the brain, the people consuming it usually get euphoric feelings, they get hyper stimulated and they tend to become more alert and gain a lot of confidence in whatever they pursue. As crack goes down the bloodstream, the user first feels more energized, very alert and afterwards the user becomes very sensitive to touch, sound and sight. The heart rate of the user goes up, their pupils dilate and their body temperatures also tend to rise above the normal rate. Once the user continues to use Crack, the brain responds by either destroying some of the dopamine or by closing down all the receptors of the drug thus making the user more insensitive to it and they continue having the urge and desire to take in more of the substance. This eventually leads the consumer becoming addictive and they become so dependent on it for them to function normally. For some other people, the drug tends to reduce their appetite for food and they become more talkative. Therefore, people normally take them in so that they can fit socially in the society and have a feeling that they can control things around them. For some very positive reasons, the drug has been used for medical reasons to treat the terminally ill patients such as those who suffer from cancer. It was noted that when it is administered to these ill patients, they tend to respond positively both intellectually and emotionally (Sadock 22). Effects of the drug mentally and physically. The abuse of cocaine leads to many complex problems that lead to the users' biological changes in the brain, myriad of social, family and environmental factors to the users. The other effects of consuming the drug involves problems such as the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies that later on lead to adverse health consequences and sometimes leads to death of the user. Once the pleasurable moments start wearing off, the users of these drugs start experiencing withdrawal effects .The symptoms of persons who have suffered from consuming cocaine include insomnia, depression, aggressiveness, being restless, being anxious, paranoid and experience a lot of irritability. People who have started using this drug find it very hard to stop using the drug. Due to the feeling of over confidence and power, the users tend to feel that they are functioning better than everybody else. They also tend to indulge in over consumption of alcohol because they normally do not have the after effects of consuming alcohol thus they are more likely to cause accidents (Webb 146). High consumption of these drugs normally causes the users to become psychotic, erratic, violent and paranoid. The use of the drug also causes a lot of serious medical problems such as increased high blood pressure, higher respiratory rates and it increases the chances of cardiac arrests and eventually it could lead to death. Other medical conditions include heart failure, migraines, risk of hepatitis and HIV, fluids in the lungs, bronchitis, asthma and a loss of senses of smell.HIV -Aids is spread to the sharing of the cocaine needles amongst the users. The neural after effects of consuming crack cocaine tends to change the metabolism of the body such that changes occur in the monoamile metabolites of the D2 receptors which try to compensate for the over stimulated brain. When crack is consumed together with alcohol, it forms a substance known as Cocaethylene which destroys the liver and it is very toxic and fatal and it may lead to the death of the user. Other medical problems include the transfer of pathogens amongst the users of crack because they normally share the pipes while smoking. When the pipes are shared amongst the users, they tend to spread viral and bacterial infections amongst themselves.Tuberclosis could also be easily spread amongst the users of clack cocaine as they are normally prone to it because of the infections of the lungs. The drug users could also overdose themselves as they always have that desire to get the euphoric feeling thus, as they try to satisfy those feelings, they could take the drug in excess. As the users use the method of smoking and use of pipes, they likely to burn their lips, fingers and tongues as they try to shorten the time between the evaporation stage and the loosing strength of the crack. It is also very normal to find that those people who prepare crack are likely to add some substances that may add the toxic level of the drug thus posing both short term and long term health risks to the users of the drug. For example, the macadamia nuts may be used to burn the crack and are likely to produce very dangerous smoke. It is also believed that those who constantly snort the substance are likely to have problems of severe nose bleeding, swallowing problems, very runny noses and their voices tend to be very hoarse. Those who swallow the rocks are likely to suffer from bowel gangrene due to the reduced flow of blood into the bowel system (Brownstein 34). The social consequences are also very large and heavy. Most consumers of this substance tend to alienate themselves from the social circles such as their friends and their relatives. Most of these consumers tend to spend much of their time looking for the drug and once they get it, they tend to over consume it. This is because the body gradually gets addicted to it and the body is always craving for more. Once the substance is over, they tend to spend more time thinking how to replenish finished stocks, thus, for them to get the drug they are likely to engage in any kind of activities so as to maintain their status. Doctors claim that babies who are born while being exposed to crack tend to be born with permanent impairment to their cognitive senses. It is said that babies who were exposed to crack while in the uterus are likely to be born premature and that they are smaller as compared to other babies born under normal circumstnces.Exposing babies to crack leads to delay in their developmental and cognitive stages of growth. Mothers who smoke crack also tend to have miscarriages as they are not able to carry their babies to term. Due to the low birth, babies who are born of mothers who consume crack the babies are likely to die during their first months of birth. They have increased chances of getting mental dysfunctional together with a risk of cerebral palsy. The babies also tend to have very small heads with a very small brain capacity. The babies also have an increased chance of heart and urinary track disorders. Due to the nature of the drug, people also tend to turn to criminal gangs for crime so that they can be in a position to sustain their criminal activities. Women have been known to turn to prostitution and those who have given birth as a result have their babies referred to as crack babies (Winger 162). Treatment of abuse of cocaine The following are strategies that can be used in treating the addicts of crack cocaine. They include the examining of the psychological, social and pharmacological aspects of the patient. Pharmacological approaches The current anti-cocaine drug medication is known as selegeline that is taken in multi-suite phase III clinical trials. The trials evaluate two innovative routes of selegeline administration, transdermal patch and the time-released pill. Another type of the medication that can be administered to the patient suffering from excessive use of the drug involve the use of disulfiram that is highly effective in treatment of the after effects of use of alcohol and cocaine. The behavioral approach is a useful approach that could be used to solve problems related to the abuse of cocaine. The approaches are classified under this approach include; residential and the outpatient approaches. The behavioral approaches have been noted to be effective in the sense that the person addicted in abusing the drug can easily be relieved from its intake in a significant way. For instance, if a patient suffers from relapses, then, the relapse component should be administered in such a situation (Brownstein 34). Behavioral therapy component is now being considered to be a more effective contingent management program that aids in treatment of persons who are addicted in the use of the drug for a long period of time. This contingency program helps in determining the voucher-based system that can give results that are aimed at treating the illnesses that a patient is suffering from with ease. In case a patient engages himself or herself in activities such as eating healthy foods, going to the gym, movie or diner, then, this can boost his or her immune system in the right way. The effects of the drug also depend on the purity and the method that was used to administer the drug. The Law Enforcement Approach. The Harrisons Narcotics Tax Act banned the use of cracks for non medical purposes in 1914.The same law banned the importation of the drug into the United States of America. Another law known as the Controlled substance act of 1970 also declared crack as a very addictive substance under Schedule II.The drugs that are registered under schedule II mean that the drugs can be potentially dangerous if not well monitored but they can be used for medicinal purposes such as anesthesia for surgeries. This law allows crack to be used as an anesthetic for surgery purposes in the theatres. Reports indicated that over 83% of the people who were arrested with crack are said to be Africa America, 9% are said to be Hispanic while 7% of those arrested were Caucasian. Those that were held captive by the law enforcers due to the possession of the drug normally got a harsh treatment from the law as compared to other drug users and peddlers. For example, if one is impounded with crack, one is entitled to imprisonment of nine and a half years more as compared to those in possession of other drugs. The Government of United States normally uses it customs officers to stop the illegal entry of the drug through its borders (Abadinsky 19). The drugs normally get into the country through the Mexican borders. For example in 2002, the customs officers impounded over 77,500kg of the drug as it was being smuggled through its borders. The anti Drugs Abuse act of 1970 stipulated that a prison sentence of between 5-40years should be accorded to any one who was found in possession of 5grams of crack. Most of those who have been imprisoned because of being in possession of crack are blacks because over 86% of those who consume it are blacks as compared to 30% who consumed the powdered cocaine. The Government of the United States of America has been in the fore front to fight the abuse of these drugs. For example, it estimated that in 1986, the Government spent over $ 4 billion in the fight against drug abuse (Webb 146). It is estimated that between 2004-Jan 2005, of all the cases persecuted, 95.2 % of them were crack related cases. The cases increased by September 2005 whereby it is believed that the out of the cases prosecuted 95.3 % were concerned with the peddling of crack cocaine. Conclusion The abuse of crack has led to many deaths of young people especially the African-American due to its affordability. The Government should step up it security at its borders so that it can prevent the sale of drugs to the young people by the drug barons. The law should be very strict on how to deal on those caught peddling the drugs. The effects of the drug on the user are usually negative and it is therefore imperative that young people should avoid using these drugs and avoid bad company that would lead to its indulgence. Treatment of those who have already involved in it should be done systematically bearing in mind the social, physiological, environmental and psychological circumstances that surround the user of the drug. Works cited Abadinsky, Howard. Drug Abuse: An Introduction. United States of America: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1997. Brownstein, Henry H. The Rise And Fall Of A Violent Crime Wave: Crack Cocaine And The Social Construction Of A Crime Problem. States of America: Criminal Justice Press, 1996. Cooper, Edith Fairman. The Emergence Of Crack Cocaine Abuse. United States of America: Nova Publishers, 2002. Sadock, Benjamin J. and Kaplan, Harold I. and Sadock, Virginia A. Kaplan & Sadock's Synopsis Of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry. 10th ed.States of America: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007. Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The Cia, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion. 2nd ed.States of America: Seven Stories Press, 1999. Winger, Gail, and Woods, James H and Hofmann, Frederick G. A Handbook On Drug And Alcohol Abuse: The Biomedical Aspects. 4th ed.States of America: Oxford University Press US, 2004. Read More