Both crack and cocaine are highly addictive stimulant drugs. Whether one is more addictive than the other depends on how a person uses the substance. Regardless of whether a person uses crack or cocaine, both types of drugs are illegal and dangerous.
At North Atlanta Behavioral Health, we understand the impact of crack and cocaine addiction on our communities. Our outpatient cocaine rehab helps clients overcome their addictions and thrive in recovery.
Which Is More Addictive—Crack or Cocaine?
The simple answer is that neither substance is necessarily more addictive than the other. After all, crack is made from cocaine. So, in terms of addictive properties, both substances are more or less the same.
Crack can indeed be more addictive than cocaine depending on how a person uses cocaine. Crack is smoked, which leads to a more intense and instant high than snorting cocaine powder. However, some cocaine users dissolve cocaine powder into water to inject it directly into their bloodstream. Injecting cocaine causes an intense high comparable to smoking crack.
What Is the Difference Between Crack and Cocaine?
The main difference between crack and cocaine is how most people use these substances. When people talk about cocaine, they generally refer to cocaine in powder form. Most users snort cocaine powder into their nostrils, whereas crack is smoked.
What Is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant drug derived from cocoa plants. As a stimulant drug, cocaine acts on the brain’s reward pathway. Thus, cocaine artificially “rewards” users by flooding the brain with a chemical called dopamine that causes euphoria and pleasure.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), “cocaine acts by binding to the dopamine transporter, blocking the removal of dopamine from the synapse. Dopamine then accumulates in the synapse to produce an amplified signal to the receiving neurons.”
In other words, regardless of how a person uses cocaine, it allows dopamine to flood the brain. This creates intense feelings of pleasure that are difficult to obtain naturally. Over time, users struggle to feel any pleasure without using cocaine and become dependent on it to function normally.
What Is Crack?
Crack is a form of cocaine. It is made by dissolving cocaine powder into a mixture of water plus either ammonia or baking soda and then boiling this mixture. Boiling the mixture creates a solid substance, which is then dried and broken up into chunks. These chunks are called crack, rocks, cocaine base, freebase, or crack cocaine.
Users smoke crack cocaine, which causes a more intense and instantaneous high compared to snorting cocaine powder. In addition, crack is generally less expensive than cocaine powder. For these reasons, crack can be more addictive than cocaine.
How Are Crack and Cocaine Addiction Treated?
Crack and cocaine addiction are the same type of substance use disorder (SUD) called cocaine use disorder—commonly referred to as cocaine addiction. Treatment for cocaine addiction doesn’t matter how a person uses cocaine—whether they snort cocaine powder, inject cocaine, or smoke crack cocaine.
Cocaine Detox
The first step of any cocaine addiction treatment program is detox. During detox, clients stop using cocaine, which can cause withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms occur because clients have become dependent on cocaine to feel any sense of pleasure.
Cocaine withdrawal symptoms include the following:
- Depression
- Agitation
- Feeling “on edge”
- Cravings
- Fatigue
- Nightmares
- Increase appetite
Most of these symptoms—especially physical symptoms—go away after about a week. However, it is important to get professional help for cocaine detox to reduce the risk of relapsing or having medical complications.
However, after detoxing from crack or cocaine, mental and emotional health symptoms can linger for the long term. This can eventually lead back to a relapse if the person doesn’t seek treatment after detox. At North Atlanta Behavioral Health, we offer outpatient programs for addiction that help clients overcome their cocaine addiction and deal with the underlying causes.
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for Cocaine Addiction
Our PHP for cocaine addiction helps clients learn more about their addiction, connect with peers in recovery, and find coping skills for the underlying causes of addiction. PHP is the highest level of outpatient care we offer. Our PHP program follows a schedule of group sessions with one-on-one counseling.
After completing PHP, clients can move on to our intensive outpatient program (IOP).
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for Cocaine Addiction
During IOP for cocaine addiction, clients continue treatment with fewer restrictions and a more flexible schedule than a PHP program. This helps clients transition back to everyday life, yet they still receive a significant amount of treatment. By stepping down from PHP to an IOP program, clients gradually form healthy habits to succeed in long-term recovery from addiction.
Cocaine Addiction Aftercare and Long-Term Recovery
After going through our outpatient programs, many clients continue with some form of outpatient therapy and peer support program. Outpatient therapy helps clients with specific issues or mental health disorders that trigger their addiction. Most clients attend outpatient therapy once a week for about an hour.
In addition, peer support programs are crucial for long-term crack and cocaine addiction recovery. Peer support groups are usually free and available in most communities. These include groups like:
Find Help for Crack and Cocaine Addiction Today
Crack and cocaine powder are highly addictive substances derived from the same source. Both can lead to chemical dependency and addiction when a person struggles to get through the day without using. Crack and cocaine addiction treatment can help you or a loved one overcome addiction and build a new life in recovery.
North Atlanta Behavioral Health offers treatment options for crack and cocaine addiction. Call today or visit our admissions page to begin your recovery journey.
