The high from snorting or sniffing powder cocaine may last 15-30 minutes. The duration of cocaine’s effects depends on the route of administration.Although cocaine HCL and crack remain widely available throughout most of the United States, the cost and purity of both drugs vary.

Since the 1980s, cocaine has become more plentiful and cheaper.

Most users sniff or snort cocaine, although it can also be injected or smoked.

Possession of 28 grams of crack cocaine yields a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for a first offense it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to prompt the same sentence. Despite recent, much higher penalties still exist for possession and sale of crack, despite the fact that, pharmacologically, it is the same drug as cocaine.

Criminal penalties for possession and sale of powder and crack cocaine are severe.

Research now indicates that other factors, such as poverty, are responsible for many of the ills previously thought to be associated with cocaine and crack cocaine use. Media stories of a “crack baby” epidemic, which began to appear in the late 1980s, are now considered greatly exaggerated. Despite media reports claiming crack to be addictive with a single use, the best data, from government-sponsored surveys, have consistently shown that less than one out of four people who ever tried the drug used it more than once.

Many myths surround cocaine and crack cocaine use.

“Crack” cocaine is a smokeable form of cocaine made into small “rocks” by processing cocaine with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water. When inhaled or injected, it causes a numbing effect. Cocaine is a fine white powder, bitter to the taste. It was also included in many of the popular health tonics of the day, including Coca-Cola. Until the start of the 20th century, this new “wonder drug” could be found in countless medicines to treat a variety of ailments. Scientists isolated cocaine from in the 1850s.

For thousands of years, many indigenous tribes in this region have chewed coca leaves to produce a mild, stimulating feeling, and continue to do so to this day. There's an 18:1 sentencing disparity for crack that mainly affects black males.Ĭocaine comes from the leaves of the coca plant that grows in the Andes Mountains in South America. It's smoked while coke is snorted or injected. There's an 18:1 sentencing disparity for crack that mainly affects black males.

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