1. WHAT IS CRACK COCAINE?
Cocaine is a drug which is derived from a plant,called a coca plant. Cocaine comes in two forms:
A) powder form, which is simply known as Coke or Cocaine,
B) Solid form, which is known more commonly as Crack (because of the Crackling sound it makes when consumed) or Rock (because of it’s Solid form). Coke is usually Snorted through the nose and usually takes around 10-15 minutes to take effect on a person.
Crack on the other hand, is smoked, usually through a glass pipe
and takes immediate effect on a person, giving a feeling of euphoria
for around 10 minutes…before bringing you down…causing you to
want that next HIT, to get back that euphoric experience.
2. HOW ADDICTIVE IS CRACK COCAINE.
Speaking as a person who has first hand experience with CRACK, let me start by saying this.
The first time I was told by my girlfriend, that she was bringing something to my flat to smoke…I argued with her, saying that if it’s a joint, I don’t want her bringing it near my flat. You see, I was very anti drugs, and to be honest… the only drug I really was familiar with, was cannabis.
Little did I know that, what she in fact was bringing to my flat to smoke..would change my LIFE FOREVER.
Anyway, she arrived at my flat and took out a glass pipe… rolled up
some pot scourer and inserted it into the glass pipe.
She then took out a tiny packet and unwrapped it.
Truthfully speaking…I had never heard of CRACK, nor had I ever seen it before.
I therefore, in my naivety thought that this was some form of Cannabis… WOW WAS I WRONG.
She put a tiny piece of the fragment on the scourer, put her lips on the pipe… lit up the fragment and took a deep puff.
She suddenly went into a very chilled and relaxed state for the next five minutes.
She repeated this again, only this time, when she exhaled she opened my mouth and blew the smoke directly into my mouth.
I felt a feeling of euphoria that I had never before experienced.
I WAS HOOKED…EASY AS THAT!!!
According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, Crack is the second most used drug used in the USA.
3. NEVER JUDGE PEOPLE.
At school and basically until the time I became addicted to drugs,l always judged people who smoked Weed(Cannabis).
That was the only drug I was familiar with, and to me people who smoked Weed…were the SCUM of the earth.
I always believed that they were people who came from broken homes and were just the lowest form of Humanity.
I wanted nothing to do with them or their bad habits.
Today, when I look back on that… I’m very EMBARRASSED for having been such a Judgmental person.
Like the old saying goes “you can’t judge a book by its cover” Addiction can happen to anyone, from all forms of life.
Never judge people with an Addiction, instead be grateful it’s not you and just maybe…you can be the person to offer them the help, they so desperately need.
4. PEER PRESSURE
According to the MERRIAM-WEBSTER Dictionary:
Peer pressure is described as “A feeling that one must do the same things as other people of one’s age and social group in order to be liked or respected by them”
That definition almost always is linked to the reason, people start smoking, drinking and doing drugs from a young age.
A lot of PEER PRESSURE begins at school…for example, you want to be part of the group, they all smoke and even though you don’t, when someone offers you a cigarette to try…chances are, that because you are so desperate to be part of the group, you’ll take the cigarette and no matter how bad it tastes, you’ll act asif you’re really enjoying it.
From there on, the more you’re with “THE GROUP ” the more you’ll want to be part of the “IN CROWD ” so the more you’ll smoke whenever you are with them,and the more you’ll start enjoying it…until it’s a habit that you can’t break.
The exact same scenario applies to drug and alcohol abuse.
DON’T LET PEOPLE INFLUENCE YOU.
Be proud of who you are…because only you can make that decision of whether to be a leader or a follower.
5. THE HIGH OF CRACK
I actually have a website which was called 2high2low.
I recently changed the name to “cocainewayne”, due to the fact that people didn’t really understand the meaning of the name 2high2low.
Well, let me explain.
When people smoke Crack, it gives a feeling of euphoria, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
TRUST ME I KNOW.
When Crack is smoked, the brain releases DOPAMINE (often described as the brains “pleasure chemical”) and during this time, the effect of the Crack, prevents the brain from turning the dopamine signal off.
According to the website: the conversation.com, in experiments done… cocaine causes dopamine levels to rise to three times the normal level.
There is an old saying , which also features in lots of songs :
“Chasing the dragon “…what this relates to is ,when people get high for the first time on Crack or other illicit drugs , they get an unbelievable feeling… the likes of which they’ve never felt before.
“Chasing the dragon ” is a reference used by addicts , which means, they keep using the drug in order to try and achieve that same high again, but they never seem to be able to get the pleasure of that first HIGH…so they keep chasing it…hence “chasing the dragon .”
I on the other hand achieved that same HIGH and Euphoria, each and every time I smoked Crack…It always left me craving for more.
6 AND 7. THE LOW OF CRACK AND THE SIDE EFFECTS
When a person uses Crack , there Unfortunately comes that time of the day or night when they run out of both Crack and money.
(2high2low) Now it’s time for the second part of the name (2low).
When people start coming down from that HIGH, the feelings and emotions they encounter are always the same .
Again , the facts here come straight from my 17 year relationship with Crack …so again I say TRUST ME I KNOW.
Each time I started to come down from my HIGH , the symptoms were exactly the same .
Most drugs are classified as either “uppers” or “downers” which refers to the physical and chemical reactions which occurs in the body while under the influence of these illicit substances.
Crack is an “UPPER” and within 20 minutes after a person finishes using …here’s what happens
Irritability… because the drugs are finished.
The need for sleep…but unfortunately you can’t sleep because Crack is an “upper” so you lie in bed exhausted but unable to sleep.
Fatigue sets in… which is extreme because, no sooner have you finally fallen asleep, when it’s suddenly time to wake up for work.
Thus irritability, frustration and severe depression starts to take control of you.
Not to mention the EXTREME CRAVINGS which is uncontrollable.
Your body starts to become really sore and the pain in your muscles and joints is intense.
These are the effects I endured each and every time I came down from Crack use.
There’s another saying used often in rehabs…”Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired”
Those words perfectly describe the lows of drug use.
8. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DAMAGE
This is a list of the Long term effects, caused to my body after 17 years of Crack Abuse.
Depression
Hypertension
Damage to most of my teeth
Massive mood swings
Auto immune disease in my joints…which accelerated due to drug abuse .
Even though I am 8 years clean, I still have nightmares at least 5 nights a week related to drug use.
But by far the most damage caused by drug abuse, is damage to my relationship with my family…
9. REHABILITATION
I was in rehab, three times…and according to my rehab counselors at Horizons rehab “only 10 percent of addicts, will stay clean and sober, once they leave rehab ”
Think about it…only one in ten people will stay clean.
The biggest mistake people make, is sending a family member who has an addiction, to a rehab center which is like a five star hotel.
Normally a family or family member, sends an addict to rehab and instead of sending them somewhere that truly scares them into staying sober , they send them to a beautiful rehab on the coast…which is paradise and a lovely vacation in the eyes of the addict.
I went to a government rehab facility, where I shared a dorm with 10 other people and where everything was very military like.
It’s a place I never wanted to go back to , even though the temptation of the drug was too intense each time I came out.
10. CONCLUSION
DRUG ADDICTION is a terrible disease, one which I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.
But it’s a reality and something which can happen to anyone.
By the grace of God and a great family support system, I’ve managed to overcome my addiction.
According to me, the first three months are the most difficult, after becoming sober.
I had to make a complete change in my life to avoid any chance of a relapse…which meant staying away from any “TRIGGERS”(something ,someone or somewhere that triggers emotions and reminders, that bring on a desire to use drugs again)
The best thing , I felt that helped keep me clean, was joining a gym.
This also releases DOPAMINE in the brain, but for all the right reasons.
The more I attended gym , the more I wanted to stay clean and become myself again.
The best advice to give a person is live your life to the fullest…
ONE DAY AT A TIME.