Poll of the Day > I am researching Crack and Cocaine. Not to take, but because of IASIP.

(+) Yeah! (+)

So I was watching a season 2 episode of IT's always Sunny and the two kids got addicted to crack. I was curious after watching the episode, why would anyone actually take crack?

So I looked up a website and I still don't get it. At first I was like, maybe it's much cheaper, but nope, it actually looks like it's more expensive per period of time you get high.

Crack is $40 for 1/4th of a gram. Cocaine is 120-150$ for 3.5 grams.

3.5 grams of crack would cost $160*3.5 or about $540.

Meanwhile I looked at the effects of each of them.

Cracks effects are instant but only last 5-10 minutes. The instant high is the only advantage I can see.

Cocaine though takes 3-5 minutes to have an effect if you snort it and lasts 15-30 minutes. If you inject it, it takes 15-20 minutes to have an effect and lasts 20-60 minutes.

Obviously the most cost effective method for the longest high is to inject cocaine, so even if your poor it would make WAY more sense to buy 3.5 grams even if it's $150 for that, then to buy a bunch of 40$ pieces of crack.

So...why does ANYONE take crack? It's also supposedly more addictive if you do take it.

Anyway a drug expert on here? I think cocaine and crack have even been de-criininalized in Oregon now.

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Wow, I don't know that crack only lasts that long. Why would anyone waste money on something that lasts so little?
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reading wiki, it's supposed to be particularly addictive. so, that's kind of all you need.

if you're not aware, (and also, as far as I know...), addictive substances affect your brain in such a way as to reinforce the mental pathways that led to the effect. so, the mental pathways that are involved in whatever (bad) decisions you made that led you to that moment are strengthened, increasing the chance that you'll make similar decisions again. basically, they are behaviourally self-reinforcing. it's almost like a weird kind of time-travel, or evolution, or virus, or something, where a substance can change the future by altering the minds of those who take it. it propagates its own existence (or... consumption) by reprogramming people's behaviour to increase tendency to take more of it. (basically it's a kind of "strange loop" (feedback loop)).

crack I guess has more potent effects, regardless of the duration, so this feedback loop is particularly strong. (ie: you're asking this question as if it's a rational decision to become addicted, but it's not, it's behavioural.)

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Everyone Ive ever known who has claimed to have tried crack at some point claims the same thing: That the exact moment you try it, you are hopelessly addicted to it. The effect is that profound on human biology. And I dont think many people make it back from that.

One moment it is just curiosity and a mistake in judgement. Maybe they are being abused. Maybe theyve been carrying the world on their shoulders and it caused them to snap and disassociate with reality. But then they are hooked and they are lost in a maelstrom that they might never get out of

And as much as nobody likes to talk about this part because it obviously isnt worth throwing your life over for, but those few minutes are probably incredible and likely rival most positive human experiences in life. The trouble is that it is fleeting and then youre just left with the desperation for more.

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Mead posted...

The trouble is that it is fleeting and then youre just left with the desperation for more.

Yeah, that is a big reason I've never taken drugs honestly. I don't like doing illegal things, and they are expensive, but also, I already have things that I enjoy but are really expensive, and those kinda suck cause I can't have them as much as I want.

Even pizza is like that lol. King crab legs are a good example, probably more expensive then crack/cocaine actually. I really enjoy king crab, but yeah, you pay like $100+ per pound of actual crab meat, but unlike cocaine etc you just get the pleasure of the taste for the few seconds your chewing on it etc.

$100 worth of crab might give you pleasure for 10-15 minutes of actual eating at most.

I wouldn't really need the additional addictive qualities to make me...well addicted, if taking a drug made me feel really good. I would never take heroin for instance, I had a friend once when 19 that started taking heroin and his personality totally changed.

It was really sad, he had a wife and a young child at home, but ended up stealing from everyone (including me) and dissapearing. Heroin is evil.

I have known people who took crack (younger friends back in that same age range) and cocaine (more professional friends/relatives), that didn't seem to be massivly affected by it (other then using it to stay away for long periods of time). I saw the same friends years later after moving back to the bay area with my wife though and they looked really really bad at that point.

I think I get it a bit though from reading more as well, $20-$40 is sometimes all people can scrounge up, so while buying $150 worth of cocaine makes more sense over all, and will give more of a high for a longer period of time, people want the high RIGHT AWAY and don't want to save up $150 etc, and as soon as they get $20-40...they just go get some crack.

Still seems crazy that ANYONE would take it, but I bet alot of people don't know how addictive it is, or the diff between it and cocaine etc.

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gateway
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Mead posted...

Everyone Ive ever known who has claimed to have tried crack at some point claims the same thing: That the exact moment you try it, you are hopelessly addicted to it. The effect is that profound on human biology. And I dont think many people make it back from that.

I've known several people who did cocaine and crack in varying amounts, it's not quite that bad, but crack is significantly more addictive. I've never smoked crack before in my life, but what I've been told is that the high is way stronger than coke. That kind of short, intense dopamine rush leads to a big crash when it wears off, so people want to keep smoking more so they don't have to deal with that and can stay high instead. Coming down from a big binge on a powerful drug like that feels absolutely terrible.

wolfy42 posted...

So I looked up a website and I still don't get it. At first I was like, maybe it's much cheaper, but nope, it actually looks like it's more expensive per period of time you get high.

Crack is $40 for 1/4th of a gram. Cocaine is 120-150$ for 3.5 grams.

3.5 grams of crack would cost $160*3.5 or about $540.

Most people who smoke a lot of crack know how to cook it, all it takes is coke and baking soda. I'm not going to go into details on how to cook it here, but it's really simple. The only reason someone would pay that much for 1/4 of a gram is because their dealer is charging them out the ass for the inconvenience of having to meet someone for a quantity that small.

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synth_real posted...

pay that much for 1/4 of a gram is because their dealer is charging them out the ass for the inconvenience of having to meet someone for a quantity that small.

Ahh, I was just going off a website. It makes sense that crack should actually be less expensive per gram since it's basically baking soda + cocain mixed up and boiled down into crystal format. You would imagine it has a lower % of cocain per gram since it's mixed with soemthing else.

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going fishing?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAnBJu7R_-o
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wolfy42 posted...

So...why does ANYONE take crack?

wolfy42 posted...

so while buying $150 worth of cocaine makes more sense over all, and will give more of a high for a longer period of time, people want the high RIGHT AWAY and don't want to save up $150 etc, and as soon as they get $20-40...they just go get some crack.

Essentially the Sam Vimes theory of economics but for drugs.

Didn't help that the CIA flooded underprivileged neighbourhoods with it when the Sandinistas paid for their guns with coke.

(Although I don't know the exact ratios, 'cause I don't touch cocaine or it's derivatives ) If you get an 1/8th of coke and leave it as coke, it's gone pretty quick, but if turn it into crack, you can get an 1/8th of crack for yourself and sell the rest for a profit to go buy more coke to make more crack.

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it's a drug they use to criminalize the poor
most homeless people are addicted to booze and cigs anyway

cocaine doesn't cause birth defects either, pre-mature births and addiction yes
but the stigma against crack is mostly because it's hard on your heart and when people take it with alcohol it's toxic, also it messes up your nasal passage when you snort it

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lihlih posted...

Wow, I don't know that crack only lasts that long. Why would anyone waste money on something that lasts so little?

because it feel bettter than paying the rent

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Crack should be as cheap as cigarettes

But instead of a pack of cigarettes, you are looking at less than one piece of crack, if even that

Look at your pinky fingernail

Okay, give or take, your piece of crack is even smaller than that

Now go smoke it and then regret your life decisions for 5-10 minutes*

*this is a joke because I find the lengths not accurate. It can be an easy comedown, or you can find yourself spending many hours afterward just "wishing you had another hit"

But crack is like jumping off a cliff. Once you hit the top, you are just trying to keep your parachute inflated but you'll still come down

I find once you hit that stage where you're inbetween sleep, if once you close your eyes and all you see is yourself hitting the pipe, you're pretty far gone

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now that's deep

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Yeah, drugs seem really dangerous to me. If you have something you really enjoy and gives you a ton of pleasure, it would be really hard not to do whatever you could to feel that way again.

Outside of making you dangerous to other people (depending on your core personality a bit), it also could just make you freaking miserable anytime your not actually high etc...which no matter how rich you are, is probably far more time then you are actually high (unless you die pretty fast).

Seems like a bad idea to get involved all around, but I realize it's not generally a logical decision.

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It's almost like crack was invented by the government in order to break up communities

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why dont poor people with a drug addiction just get jobs. imagine how much drugs they could buy then

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It's almost like crack was invented by a crackhead in order to break up into smaller rocks and smoke!

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I mostly just lurk here, but made an account just to respond to this, but then had to wait like a week to actually respond, so welcome back to this old ass topic. But are you really even doing research if you dont even have the balls to even try just a little crack?
The "one puff and youre hopelessly addicted" comments are funny to me, cracks awesome, youd love it, but its never once made me feel like "that was fun, i think im gonna empty my bank account and steal from my family to get more" ill buy a hundred piece maybe once a month, and a hundred piece between me and 1 or 2 people will last an hour or 2, and ill admit it is a waste of money, but it feels great, and that s*** about it only lasting 5-10 minutes is bulls***, if i smoke a hundred piece, even with 3 other people, were all cracked out for like 2 hours after its gone, still probly technically not worth the money, but it IS fun. some people just have poor impulse control, i totally understand cracks appeal, because i smoke it occasionally, but the crack isnt the problem, weakness is, moderation is key to any drug, you just take all the fun out of it when you over do it. Thats all i guess, just the opinions of a crack dabbler

overall crack isn't harmful to society

but it is harmful to the individual
it is both toxic to the heart by itself
and doubly toxic with alcohol

people who use those drugs for fun are in for a rude awakening in their 50's when the doctors are cutting open their ribcage with a buzz saw to operate on them

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RoboXgp89 posted...

overall crack isn't harmful to society

but it is harmful to the individual
it is both toxic to the heart by itself
and doubly toxic with alcohol

people who use those drugs for fun are in for a rude awakening in their 50's when the doctors are cutting open their ribcage with a buzz saw to operate on them

Thats why i said dont smoke crack everyday, its not hard. Your average persons daily diet is probably more harmful than smoking crack every now and then

So I had friends who did it back in the day, and it seemed to cause long term effects in them, even after they stopped taking it for years. One of the reasons I'm curious and researching it (the other was a show I was watching).

This one friend I had named Shane, he worked as a mechanic and everyone at the shop did it. He would stay up for days using it, and then crash for a few days. Years later (about 4 years ago now) when he was in his late 40's early 50's he developed uncontrollable shaking/siezures and the doctors couldn't figure out why/where they came from.

He had long since moved to a small town in rural american (eastern coast) and became religious, had a family etc. Needless to say, he didn't mention his drug use when younger. Of all the friends he has on facebook etc, I'm the only one that knew him back then, and knew he used to take a ton of drugs (crack/coke/pot primarily, don't think he ever did anything harder).

Anyway, from what I vaguely remember, they used to do crack to help them stay up as well, often for days at a time, but that isn't mentioned anywhere in the research I have done. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the drugs everyone else was doing since I didn't do them.

Still find it all a bit confusing especially their "official" accounts on the differences and effects. Officially it makes it sound like coke is WAY better, more cost effective, safer etc, and that makes it seem crazy that anyone would do crack over coke.

Anyway, thanks for making an account and your info about it. I have never been into drugs or even alcohol and don't need either to have a good time, lower inhibitions etc. Seemed like a waste of money to me when I was in my late teens and 20's, although it certainly didn't seem to have bad effects on my friends (Except the one who got addicted to heroin and lost everything).

I also didn't smoke, for the same reason, didn't really enjoy it and even back then it was an expensive habbit. I saved my money for video games, food, rent and the hope of a potential family some day.

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Both are terrible drugs.

It sounds like he was either smoking way too much or started smoking meth, sometimes people try to pass off meth as crack and meth is way more f****, allthough also fun, you need to be way more careful with meth, pretty much all of the crack stereotypes are more true of meth than crack. If i spent 100$ on crack i could sleep after a few hours, 100$ of meth? Forget about it, probly getting ripped off.
Also coke is literally they same as crack, they have the exact same active ingredient, to this day i dont understand why one is luxurious and one is demonized.
I really like drugs but people with no self control make it look terrible, i have a good job, i do my shit and like to get f***** up sometimes on my own time, like i said, people take all the fun out of it and ruin it for everyone by taking it too far

Well, what they took was a crystalized form. It did kinda look like the meth in breaking bad, but not blue, but they snorted it (don't think any of em smoked it ever).

They all made tons of money so could buy alot of it. I only had 1 other friend who didn't do drugs like me. The rest would do them all weekend long and not sleep at all, just to play freaking hearts all night lolz.

Me and the other friend would crash for about 2 hours, so they did all those drugs and thrashed the bodies long term, just to stay up 2 extra hours lol (not to mention spending all that money). Was seriously crazy.

Anyway pretty sure they said it was crack but maybe it was meth, though I think I have heard that meth heads (and by how much they took they would probably be considered that) have some serious side effects etc.

Honestly for years, they did tons of it and you wouldn't even know (other then them having tons of energy etc). Only when I came back after getting married and visited them about 5-6 years later did i see they had lost teeth, looked like crap etc.

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Yeah, you cant snort crack, they were either lying to you or were really stupid, your pals were meth heads

Crackhole posted...

Yeah, you cant snort crack, they were either lying to you or were really stupid, your pals were meth heads

Aha! That answers questions I didn't even know I had lol. Least I now know what they were taking.

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wolfy42 posted...

Aha! That answers questions I didn't even know I had lol. Least I now know what they were taking.

I mean, theres a reason why one of the slang terms for meth is 'crystal' crack is just like a hard chunk of powder, not crystaly at all

meth is actually safer if it's made in a lab and you're extra thorough with how much you're taking
it's jus easier to OD on then MDMA so it gets a bad rap

i'm sure lots of people get parkinsons from these drugs that put holes in your brain if you stay awake too long


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RoboXgp89 posted...

meth is actually safer if it's made in a lab and you're extra thorough with how much you're taking
it's jus easier to OD on then MDMA so it gets a bad rap

i'm sure lots of people get parkinsons from these drugs that put holes in your brain if you stay awake too long

Hmm, I haven't done drugs, but for about 3-4 years I did get up every 2 hours to check on my wife (she was bed bound with a ostomy bag/catheder and a huge wound that needed to be packed changed).

I got REALLY bad migranes while doing that, but after I started sleeping normally they eventually went away.

I hope that didn't cause long term damage as well, my memory certainly has sucked since then.

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RoboXgp89 posted...

meth is actually safer if it's made in a lab and you're extra thorough with how much you're taking
it's jus easier to OD on then MDMA so it gets a bad rap

i'm sure lots of people get parkinsons from these drugs that put holes in your brain if you stay awake too long

Thats a tv show dogg, i guarantee 99% of people who have even smoked meth dont even know wat a lab is

RoboXgp89 posted...

i'm sure lots of people get parkinsons from these drugs that put holes in your brain if you stay awake too long

Is that what happened to you?

Grow it and/or brew it is my motto.

BEERandWEED posted...

Grow it and/or brew it is my motto.

If you cook your own crack its vegan and healthy

Not exactly how it works but i agree

Thank goodness. I wouldn't want crack to interfere with any of my diet restrictions

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Cacciato posted...

Is that what happened to you?

i've gotten scans done, there is nothing visibly wrong with my cranium

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