Explain how crack cocaine is produced and a brief explanation of the history of cocaine
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: The difficult problems of cocaine abuse mushroomed during the early 1970s and continue to the present day. They peaked around 1986. In ways that resembled the brief period of enthusiasm for cocaine in 1884, attitudes during the early period of this "second epidemic" were incredibly naive.
The death of actor-comedian John Belushi in 1982, produced a reversal of opinion about the safety and desirability of cocaine. The most influential development, however, was the emergence of crack cocaine on the drug scene in the mid-1980s.
During the crack cocaine extraction process, coca leaves are soaked in various chemical solvents so that cocaine can be drawn out of the plant material itself. Leaves are then crushed, and alcohol is percolated through them to remove extraneous matter. Cocoa paste is combined with tobacco and smoked in many South American countries. Cocaine in this form, however, is not water-soluble and therefore cannot be injected into the bloodstream.
An additional treatment step with oxidizing agents and acids is required to produce a water-soluble drug. The result is a white crystalline powder called cocaine hydrochloride, about 99 percent pure cocaine and classified chemically as a salt.
When in the form of cocaine hydrochloride, the drug can be injected intravenously or snorted.. Intravenous cocaine also can be combined with heroin in a highly dangerous mixture called a speedball.
If cocaine is snorted, the user generally has the option of two methods. In one method, a tiny spoonful of cocaine is carried to one nostril while the other nostril is shut, and the drug is taken with a rapid inhalation. In the other method, cocaine is spread out on a highly polished surface and arranged with a razor blade in several lines, each containing from 20 to 30 mg. The cocaine is then inhaled into one nostril by means of a straw or rolled piece of paper. During the early 1980s, a $100 bill was a fashionable choice, drawing attention to the level of income necessary to be using cocaine in the first place.
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