What Does Crack Look Like?

What Is Crack Cocaine?

Crack cocaine is derived from the powder form of cocaine using a simple conversion process.[2] The powdered cocaine is dissolved in a mixture of water and ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and boiled until it’s solid. This solid is then removed, dried, and broken into pieces sold as cracks.

Named for the crackling sound it makes when heated, crack cocaine is smoked to produce an immediate high. It’s an impure form that’s easy and inexpensive to make, which led to its widespread use in the 1980s.

What Does Crack Look Like?

Crack cocaine crystals, known as “rocks,” can be anything from clear white to opaque white to off-white or yellowish in color.[3] Crack cocaine crystals vary in size and shape, as the solid form is broken into smaller pieces after conversion.

The color variations can be caused by the purity of the cocaine itself or adulterants like lidocaine, procaine, caffeine, or other drugs that have been added to mimic the effects or produce more potent effects.[4] Some additives are intended to add to the bulk of the product to create a larger profit margin for dealers.

What Does Smoking Crack Look Like?

Crack is nearly always smoked. People don’t often buy crack in large quantities. It’s often purchased in individual doses or “rocks.”

Once you know what it looks like, crack is relatively easy to identify. But the small doses make it more difficult to spot in loved one’s belongings, so it may be easier to look for some telltale signs of crack use instead of the drug itself.

Because crack is smoked rather than snorted like powder cocaine, it requires paraphernalia.[5] Glass pipes and lighters are commonly used, but you may also see aluminum foil, spoons with burn marks, an excess of straws, hollow glass containers, and wire scrubbers.

People may rig household items into makeshift pipes, including light bulbs, plastic bottles, and soda cans. A clear sign that these items have been repurposed is burn marks.

Along with looking for paraphernalia, you can look at the person. Some people are better at hiding their paraphernalia, but they can’t hide some of the outward signs of crack use, which may include:[6]

• Excessive alertness and/or talkativeness
• Dilated pupils
• Restlessness
• Lip blisters
• Lip or finger burns
• Tremors or muscle twitches
• Blisters or sores on the skin from ‘coke bugs,’ or formication, which causes sensations of insects under the skin
• Volatile mood swings
• Low appetite
• Aggressive behavior
• Mania
• Paranoia
• Psychosis[7]

What Are the Risks of Using Crack?

Cocaine is a highly addictive drug, no matter its form. Using crack may lead to addiction more quickly, however, as smoking the substance delivers it into the bloodstream faster for a more intense, immediate high.[8] The high with crack is also short-lived, leading people to binge to chase that intensity, increasing their tolerance and addiction potential.

Crack carries the same general risks of cocaine use, which include constricted blood vessels, increased heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure, seizure, and cardiac arrest, as well as use-specific effects. Crack users may experience acute respiratory problems like coughing and shortness of breath, burns, and lung trauma (also known as crack lung).[9]

Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment

It can be difficult to determine when crack use becomes crack addiction. But if you suspect a loved one is abusing crack or struggling with crack addiction, early intervention is key to a positive outcome. The effects of crack use only worsen over time, so seeking crack addiction treatment promptly can make a big difference.

Treatment for crack addiction is tailored to the needs of the individual, so it may include detox and treatment in an inpatient or outpatient facility. Many programs use behavioral therapies for cocaine addiction, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and contingency management, two leading therapies based on the idea that behaviors are learned and can be changed.[10] These therapies help people identify the influences and patterns that contribute to drug use and develop healthier behaviors.