By any name, the ready-made form of freebase cocaine poses an
enormous problem in the United States. Indeed, crack is nothing less than a
full-fledged social scourge; it ruins physical and emotional health,
drives individuals into the hopeless depths of addiction, destroys those
families who have the misfortune of being infected by its use. Even
worse, the drug is only dimly understood by large segments of the country’s
population. In the 1980s, the War on Drugs made crack a household
word—but it was used by most people in a superficial way, as a sort of
stereotyped catch-all for addictive substances in general. The solution to
America’s crack problem—like the solution to the crack problems of
individual addicts—has to start with a sound and meaningful knowledge of the
drug itself.

First, some statistics. The 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (NSDUH) found that 7.8 million American have tried crack. Of that
number, one-sixth—1.3 million—had used crack in the last year, and
almost half a million respondents reported ongoing crack abuse. Those numbers were higher than the figures from prior
surveys, indicating that the nation’s crack habit—once believed to be
under control—may be gathering strength.

More troubling still were the data for teenage crack users. A 2005
Monitoring the Future (MTF) study found that 2.4 percent of all
eighth-grade students had tried crack at some point in their lives. 1.4 percent
had used the drug the last year. The rate was even higher for twelfth
graders: 3.5 percent had used crack at least once, and 1.9 had done so
in the previous twelve months. If those numbers are any indication,
America’s chances for a crack-free future seem very slim indeed.

But what exactly is all the fuss about? What is crack, and what
makes it so bad? More to the point: Why should Americans—all Americans—be
concerned about it? It’s one thing to talk about crack being a problem;
it’s quite another thing to know why it’s a problem—and to be able to
use that knowledge to fight back against the drug itself. All too often,
the knowing—or the lack of it—can make the difference between life and
death.

Crack is, in clinical terms, the unneutralized base form of
powdered—hydrochloric—cocaine. Crack typically comes in tiny crystallized
pellets, or “rocks,” which can be smoked without further chemical
alteration. Smoking crack is different from “free-basing cocaine” in that there’s
less work involved on the part of the user; crack pellets are
essentially prefabricated freebase, meaning that crack users can get the
benefits of freebase without going through the intricate pains of producing
it.

And what of those “benefits”? The first part of crack’s noxiousness
lies in the extraordinarily addictive character of the drug. A crack
high is one of the most overwhelming feelings in the world; users compare
into a hyperpotent sexual orgasm combined with a hyperenergized state
of euphoria. Unfortunately, the high only lasts for a few minutes, and
is followed by a prolonged sensation of restless irritability. That
irritability, coupled with the rush of the high itself, compels crack users
into cycles of habitual abuse. Crack, in other words, will make an
addict out of anyone.

But addictiveness doesn’t tell the whole story. Crack is also
problematic because of its ease of use and affordability. As noted above,
crack is simple to use; there’s no complex set-up involved, no painstaking
prep work to be done—all you have to do is smoke it. More to the point,
crack is relatively cheap—certainly cheaper than powdered cocaine.
Crack is attractive to many potential users simply because they can afford
it, a fact that has contributed to the drug’s bustling street trade.
Not only is crack extremely addictive, then—it’s also easy to get. By any
standard, that’s a recipe for disaster.

And then, of course, there are the side effects. After all,
addictiveness and availability aren’t problematic in and of themselves; they’re
troubling because they encourage crack use, and crack use is an
exceedingly bad thing. Like all forms of cocaine, crack is a stimulant. It
works by blocking the reuptake of dopamine molecules in the brain, thereby
enhancing the function of the nervous system. Physical complications
associated with crack use include heart attacks, arrhythmia, strokes,
seizures, and respiratory failure. Crack can also cause gastrointestinal
pain and loss of appetite, resulting in malnourishment in chronic users.
Psychologically, prolonged crack abuse can produce irritability,
paranoia, and full-blown psychosis. To put it simply: Crack kills. Whatever
it’s pushing, you very certainly don’t want it.

Which of course has got to be the starting point for any sort of
crack recovery, either on a national or individual scale: We—all of
us—need to understand exactly what we’re up against. Tellingly, the 2005 MTF
survey cited above found that only 60.8 percent of American twelfth
graders believed that occasional crack use was a harmful pastime. 60.8
percent. That means that forty percent—almost half—of all American
eighteen-year-olds think crack isn’t so bad. Obviously, they don’t get it—and
unfortunately, they’re not alone. Until we—all of us—develop a thorough
and sober vision of what crack is, and what crack does, we don’t have
much of a chance in the fight against it. Recovery—healing—has to start
with awareness.

And awareness has to start with you.

(Source: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/cocaine.html; Cocaine: A
Clinician’s Handbook, by Arnold M. Washton and Mark S. Gold

One of the biggest problems faced by recovering addicts is the problem of going back to the life they had when they became addicted. Often, even those addicts that have completed their treatment program with flying colors find that they relapse into drug use when they return home. The reason for this is that they are faced with the same friends, situations and problems that led to their substance abuse in the first place. The temptation to return to their old habits is strong because while they have learned many skills during their treatment, it is often hard to put them into practice while temptation looms.

What is sober living? Sober living is solutions to the never ending dilemma of how to help recovering addicts avoid relapsing by being in the same situation that contributed to their drug or alcohol addiction in the first place. Sober living is an opportunity for those addicts who have successfully completed a treatment program a place to live while they transition back into their lives. It is a safe place to continue their recovery, and continue to implement and learn tools to be successful in their life outside of treatment or rehab. Being in a sober living program greatly improves the chances of complete and ongoing recovery for anyone who has gone through treatment. It gives them a better chance at changing their lives permanently. It also greatly reduces the chances of relapse.

Sober living programs generally have lots of peer support by others who are in the same stage of recovery. There are also counselors and continuing education so that the concepts the recovering addict learned in treatment become lifelong habits. Most sober living programs are also very affordable, so that most people can afford to take advantage of this very helpful and supportive option following treatment.

Cliffside Malibu is an excellent treatment center for a wide variety of addictions from alcohol to drugs. If a sober living program is something that you are interested in for you or for a loved one who has received treatment from Cliffside Malibu, then we can recommend one that would be good for you and is located near your home. We at Cliffside Malibu want you or your loved one to have every advantage when it comes to a successful recovery and an ongoing commitment to stay clean and sober. Allow us to help you with all of your treatment needs.