Pharmacology - Crack Cocaine | Release

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Crack cocaine

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Pharmacology

Crack derives from the discovery that cocaine in its base form delivers a similar effect to injecting (nearly always the most efficient way of getting a drug into the bloodstream. It should be distinguished from ‘Freebase cocaine’. Crack cocaine is less pure than using ether to make freebase cocaine (there is lots of baking soda left), but the procedure is safer. Freebase is made by adding ammonia to a cocaine/water solution, forming a white milky precipitate. Ethyl ether, which is highly inflammable is added. The precipitate (freebase) will dissolve in the ether, then mixture will separate, the ether is dissolved off and white crystals will form. This will be a much purer form of base cocaine. With ‘crack’ particularly when the final heating step is made in a microwave impurities are locked in as opposed to washed out. Base and crack cocaine has a much lower melting (c. 98 degrees Celsius) temperature than cocaine powder and is not water soluble. This explains why the powder is snorted and injected and crack is smoked.

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