![]() ![]() Richard handed over the keys to the car as a rental for the crack, made the exchange, and before he knew it, a crazed addict stole one of his three rocks. He then left with the guy and was driven to what was described as the #1 crack house in Grand Rapids. Desperate for more crack, he decided to rent his car to the dealer for two or three more $20 rocks. The initial extreme high only lasts three to five minutes, and then the brain’s reward system begs for further stimulation - another hit - chasing that initial high - but never ever reaches it.Īround 7:00 a.m, a crack dealer enters the house to offer more rocks to the entire group, but Richard was already out of money. Hyper-stimulation, aggressive behavior and paranoia can quickly set in as the intense desire increases. Throughout the evening, the amped-up users became hostile as everyone clamored for more crack. In the presence of 10 or 12 other crack addicts, rocks began to flow, and the burning smell of cocaine saturated the smoke-filled room. With $300 in cash, he arrived in Grand Rapids and made his way to a known crack house. Due to the extremely high levels of crack in his system, he was struggling to make sense, and could not quite find a way to get out of the situation he was in, which included owing money to a drug dealer, having his car held hostage for the drug debt and being in grave physical danger.Īs the story goes, Richard (name changed to protect his identity) had rented a car for the sole purpose of driving downstate to pursue his desire for crack, and slipped right back into the seedy underbelly of substance abuse. Having had no sleep, food or water for four days, he began to describe the destructive effects of the drug as he stood outside a crack house in East Grand Rapids. The minute I heard his voice, I realized he was in the midst of another binge. In late June this year I received a call from a friend who has been battling an addiction to crack cocaine for more than 25 years. It may be on a smaller scale, but just the same, it is here. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults use crack, and this has become a particular problem among high school students.ĭuring a recent conversation with a detective from the Traverse City Narcotics Team (TNT), I was informed that there has been a consistent and growing amount of crack cocaine seized in this community, and this indicates that we are not immune from this problem in Northern Michigan. residents ages 12 and up have smoked crack cocaine at least once in their lifetime a frightening statistic. According to the National Household Survey on drug abuse, more than 7.9 million U.S. It can destroy your health, your livelihood, isolate you from family and friends, and dissolve every ounce of dignity within you. Regardless of your age, your intellect, your social status or your environment, those who choose this drug must realize that it can lure a person into a chasm of despair that can completely devastate every aspect of one’s life. The term crack comes from the crackling sound made when it is heated. The intense euphoric high is instantaneous and begins to fuel the potential for addiction before the user knows it. Most users smoke it in a glass or metal pipe, which delivers huge quantities of the drug into the lungs. The solid is removed from the liquid, then dried and broken into rocks. A mixture of cocaine, water and ammonia, or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is boiled until a solid is formed. And, just as importantly, it is illegal.Ĭrack is derived from powdered cocaine using a simple conversion process. It’s fairly inexpensive to produce it’s readily available, and outrageously addictive. ![]() Today, it is just as popular, and just as capable of ruining a human life in any demographic in any society worldwide. In the mid 80’s crack cocaine became enormously popular because of the immediate high created by smoking it, and the exploitation of a cheaper price point for it in the ghettos of America. If you believe that crack cocaine is not all it’s cracked up to be, think again.
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