Types of Cocaine
There are two main types of cocaine: hydrochloride salt and freebase. Both are very dangerous and addictive, but each have it's own effects on the body.
Hydrochloride salt comes a powder form. This type of cocaine is what most people usually picture in their mind when they think of cocaine. This is because it is what most people are exposed to in movies and such. It is the white powdery substance people line up on a mirror and snort up their nose. It is made by using acid to neutralize it to form a salt substance. This type of cocaine may also be dissolved in water and injected in the veins. Because of the way this type of cocaine is ingested it has takes a little longer to take effect.
It is very easy for drug dealers to dilute powdered cocaine by "cutting" it with cornstarch, sugar, or talcum powder. Most users cannot tell the difference when they purchase the drug. An experienced cocaine user will become very upset with a dealer who is attempting to sell a diluted version as "pure, uncut". Some dealers may even cut their cocaine with another drug like amphetamines or procaine, which will still allow the cocaine to deliver the same high but with some other effects as well. On the street names for powdered cocaine are blow, coke, flake, C and snow.
Freebase cocaine is the other form of cocaine, it does not need to be acid neutralized. Because freebase cocaine is smokable the "high" is felt very quickly, usually within 10 seconds of inhaling. This makes freebase attractive to regular cocaine users, but also makes it very dangerous.
Crack is a well known type of freebase cocaine. Crack is cocaine which has been processed by taking the powdered cocaine and removing the hydrochloride, by using heat, baking soda, water, and ammonia. Crack gets its name from the crackling sound it makes when it is smoked.
In the mid 1980's crack became very popular due to the fact that it's very cheap to make and to buy. Cocaine statistics from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimates that there are 567,000 crack users in the United States.
