It is worth noting that the only major difference between coke and crack is a class divide. Coke is mainly taken by bankers on the tube and sales executives at the Christmas party, whereas crack is largely the domain of people on park benches and the odd former-Mayor of Toronto. Crack is just cocaine mixed with something like baking soda to make it smokable. This has the effect of reducing the 10 minute waiting time for coke to hit down to a swift 10 seconds. Once they're in the brain, however, they're pretty much exactly the same. Coke/crack causes a massive release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with feelings of euphoria and is responsible for the "high" of cocaine. As well as upping production, it also prevents dopamine from being reabsorbed and destroyed by the body, meaning that the dopamine builds up into the brain, allowing it to fly higher than it would naturally. This is short-lived, however, as the plug is usually pulled around 10 minutes later, causing a massive drop in dopamine levels that often means people use again in order to get them back up, creating a cycle of abuse. These lows, if left unchecked can develop from depression and irritability to something altogether more horrifying, something known as delusional parasitosis. This is the delusion that there are parasites crawling all over and under your skin and can lead to dangerous scratching and picking as sufferers desperately try to claw the imaginary bugs out of their bodies. Yeesh, guess that's why they say crack is whack.
