The 6 main psychological effects of crack use

Crack is one of the most widely used drugs in the world, but it is no less dangerous for that. In fact, its properties and the way in which it is absorbed by the body and transmitted to the nervous system quickly means that the risk of using it is very high.

In this article we will see what are the typical psychological effects of crack, and what can happen after consumption.

• Related article: "How do you know if a person has a drug problem?"

What is crack?

The drugs used today are the result of complex manufacturing processes that remove based on technological advances in the synthesis and manipulation of substances at the molecular level; That is why drugs that are very similar or that are essentially the same, can have a very different appearance and consumption properties. This is the case of crack, which is one of the formats in which cocaine is presented, a psychoactive substance that stands out among other things for being one of the most consumed drugs in the world.

Unlike the "classic" and more famous version of cocaine, crack is not consumed by air (making the famous "lines of cocaine", but is smoked. Its consistency is that of a compact but fragile mineral, forming a kind of crystals or sandy stones. This is the result of boiling baking soda and cocaine hydrochloride, which causes the water to evaporate and the crystals remain stuck together.

As we will see, the danger of crack is greater than that of powder cocaine, and sociologically its consumption is more linked to the lower classes.

Psychological effects associated with crack use

These are the ways in which the act of using crack leads to psychological disturbances

1. State of euphoria

As is often the case with stimulant drugs such as cocaine, crack leads the user to a state of euphoria similar to the mania of bipolar disorder. They are more outgoing, but also more prone to aggressiveness.

2. Sensitivity to stimuli

People who use crack they are especially reactive to any stimulus that leads them to perceive that something has changed in themselves or around them. For example, a change in lighting, an unidentified sound... They overreact to events that they would not normally have paid attention to.

3. Delirium of parasitosis

Although it does not occur in all cases, it is very common for a phenomenon known as delirium of parasitosis to appear: the person you have the feeling that parasites or elements are under your skin that produce a strange tactile experience and distressing. This experience is fueled by the fact that the person is in a state of "alert" because of the stimulant effects of crack.

4. Insomnia

People who have been using crack have trouble sleeping due to their relatively high level of nerve activation. At the moment of trying to fall asleep, rumination appears, the tendency to turn the same idea, or losing control of the flow of thought, which accelerates, promoting a state of anxiety.

• You may be interested in: "The 7 main sleep disorders"

5. Paranoia

Crack is also associated with thoughts of paranoia, causing the person who has consumed this drug to go very quickly from a state of great extraversion to a defensive attitude believing that someone may pose a danger to you.

6. The effects are very fast

One of the distinguishing characteristics of crack over powder cocaine is that its effects appear very quickly. This occurs because when it is smoked, this substance reaches the brain earlier. Therefore, the "impact" on the nervous system is greater, and entails a greater risk of death from poisoning.

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Bibliographic references:

• Brownstein, H.H. (2015). The Handbook of Drugs and Society. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
• Kinzie, E. (2009). Levamisole Found in Patients Using Cocaine. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 53 (4): pp. 546 - 547.
• Morton, W.A. (1999). Cocaine and Psychiatric Symptoms. The Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 01 (04): pp. 109 - 113.
• Reinarman, Craig; Levine, Harry G. (1997). Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Scheidweiler, K.B. et.al. (2003). Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of methylecgonidine, a crack cocaine pyrolyzate. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 307 (3): pp. 1179 - 1187.