Consequently, dosage and frequency of use tend to increase rapidly. An enormous craving results from the rapid alternating euphorias and depressions, and the smoker tends to become compulsive and less able to control the amounts of drug used. This posteuphoria period may be so uncomfortable that free base and crack smokers continue smoking, often in marathon binges, until they become exhausted or run out of cocaine.Ĭocaine smoking as either free base or crack is a much more serious physical and psychiatric problem than inhaling (snorting) cocaine HCL. The euphoria suddenly subsides into a feeling of restlessness, irritability, and, in some cases of sustained use, posteuphoria depression. The user experiences a sudden very intense rush with an equally intense high or euphoria lasting from 2 to 20 minutes. Upon inhalation, both free base and crack are rapidly absorbed by the lungs and carried to the brain within a matter of a few seconds. These processes do not remove adulteran such as lidocaine, procaine, and so on. The results of the process is cocaine base (crack) (fig. The mixture is heated and cooled, then filtered to collect the crystals. The mixture is heated, evaporating the ether, resulting in cocaine free base.īaking soda or ammonia, and water, are added to cocaine HCL. Crack, on the other hand, eliminates the use of flammable solvents and the risks of explosion and fire.īaking soda or ammonia plus ether, are added to water and cocaine HCL. This procedure creates an extremely hazardous situation in which risks of explosion and fire are quite high. Traditional free basing involves heating ether or other flammable solvents as a critical part of the extraction process. See figure 7-11.įree basing is a process of converting cocaine hydrochloride (HCL) back to cocaine base for smoking. Crack is sprinkled on a marijuana or tobacco cigarette or mixed with either of these substances and smoked in a pipe.

Traditional cocaine free base is smoked through a water pipe in which the substance was originally produced or sprinkled on a marijuana or tobacco cigarette and smoked.

Cooking crack cocaine with ammonia