Author: Gary Jackson
Signs Someone Is on Crack
This can cause you to use the drug repeatedly, leading to addiction or dependence. If you recognize signs that someone is on crack, you should contact a medical professional or addiction specialist. People who are on crack for a long period of time are more likely to experience infections because of a compromised immune system.
The best way to support someone coping with addiction is to encourage them to find help. It’s also important to remember cocaine use often has a ripple effect, putting stress and strain on relationships. If that’s your situation, consider participating in a support group.
Find a Rehab Center
Knowing what to look for could save your life or the life of someone you care about. A consistent user of crack will experience sleeping problems due to the drug’s effect of increased energy. A person who continually uses crack may not sleep for days on end, which can result in extreme paranoia and can be dangerous. Crack increases dopamine in a user’s brain, this increase of dopamine makes a user feel more energized, happier and more confident. However, when the drug is out of a user’s system, their dopamine will be depleted, which will result in depression.
- The 2021 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concludes 4.8 million people age 12 and older used cocaine in 2020.
- Because people addicted to Crack often exhibit violent or paranoid behavior, it may be beneficial to hire an intervention specialist.
- Speedball, which is a mix of cocaine and heroin, is usually injected.
- Working through the emotional challenges that accompany addiction can take a lot longer.
It’s often not as simple as expecting a person to stop using it on their own, or thinking they’ll be better if they stop using it for a few days. Key signs of a cocaine overdose include a fast heart rate, elevated blood pressure, faster breathing, high body temperature, sweating, widened pupils and agitation. The symptoms usually appear within a day or two of smoking crack. Inhaling crack or powder cocaine can also lead to acute lung injury and respiratory arrest. The euphoric rush of pleasure and energy a person gets from cocaine doesn’t last long.
Signs & Symptoms of Crack Addiction
Since cocaine is a stimulant, it typically causes the person that uses it to be very talkative, energetic and confident. It also creates a sense of improved well-being, which can lead them to be social, excitable and even more sexual. They may also have a diminished appetite, dilated pupils and disrupted sleep in many instances. Behavioral signs of cocaine use include paranoia, excessive aggression, lack of judgment, delusional thoughts and hallucinations. When people take cocaine, their blood pressure goes up and their heart races.
- Music and cocaine were a way of life for Lee until the coke took over and forced him to reevaluate everything he knew.
- The symptoms of Crack withdrawal are predominantly psychological.
- It is a powdered “hydrochloride salt.” Low doses can give you a quick burst of euphoria.
- The reason, as mentioned, is the short amount of time the high lasts.