ABSTRACT
Cocaine can be administered in several ways. For most of its history, cocaine has been primarily sniffed or “snorted” in powder form or injected (Agar, 2003; Jonnes, 1996). During the 1970s, smoking cocaine became popular among some users because it allowed for more efficient
absorption of the drug into the bloodstream, but early techniques for smoking cocaine were dangerous and used more product than sniffing and were thus not widespread (Johnson, Golub, & Dunlap, 2000). e development of crack cocaine made smoking a much more common means of administration. Crack cocaine is produced by cooking cocaine powder with baking soda, water, and often other adulterants. As the cooked mixture cools, it hardens into a resin that can be broken into pieces and smoked, which allows for a quicker, more intense high than intranasal administration (Agar, 2003). roughout its existence, cocaine has also been injected by some users, alone or in combination with heroin in a mixture called a “speedball.” In the early 1990s, some cocaine users began injecting crack cocaine after dissolving it in vinegar or lemon juice (Carlson, Falck, & Siegal, 2000).
