Senator dick durbin of illinois pointed out that the uneven balance of the mandatory minimum sentencing practices between crack cocaine and pure cocaine have led to african americans being imprisoned six times more than caucasian americans for the same illegal use, an ironic echo to the days when the negro cocaine fiend pushed both. Crack cocaine legalities articles on crack cocaine. We explain what the effects are and how long it will stay in the system. Abuse of these drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Is cocaine a class a drug, what are its effects and what. The war on drugs is a phrase used to refer to a governmentled initiative that aims to stop illegal drug use. Cocaine is a hydrochloride salt in its powdered form, while crack cocaine is derived from powdered cocaine by combining it with water and another substance, usually baking soda sodium bicarbonate.
Once its cooled and broken into smaller pieces, these pieces are sold as crack. Opium use was mostly associated with the chinese population, so making it illegal meant you could lock up chinese men for using it. Possession of cocaine without a medical prescription is illegal. Crack cocaine is a schedule ii substance under the controlled. Crack cocaine crack is another form that is processed into a rock form using baking soda and may contain a high percentage of impurities. Crack is the street name for cocaine which is processed by treating the cocaine hydrochloride with sodium bicarbonate to create readytouse small chips for smoking.
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug made from the leaves of the coca plant native to south america. Small amounts for personal consumption may go unpunished for firsttime or nonregular offenders. There is a significant difference in how crack cocaine is perceived vs. What is crack cocaine differences between crack and cocaine. Cocaine is a schedule 8 controlled drug permitting some medical use, but is otherwise outlawed. The surprising history of why cocaine is illegal attn. After cocaine and baking soda are combined, the mixture is boiled, and a solid forms. Crack cocaine law and legal definition crack, also known as crack cocaine, or rock, is a controlled substance which is illegal to possess, use, or distribute in the united states. Crack cocaine, cocaine, ecstasy mdma, heroin, lsd, magic mushrooms, methadone, methamphetamine crystal meth up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or.
The truth, however, is that there is no significant difference in the potential for addiction between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine and both are just as illegal. Although health care providers can use it for valid medical purposes, such as local anesthesia for some surgeries, recreational cocaine use is illegal. Crack cocaine is a schedule ii substance under the controlled substances act. Because it is smoked rather than snorted through the nose, the drug reaches the. There were differences in how the two substances were viewed for purposes of prosecution, although they are basically the same drug. Crack cocaine addiction and abuse addiction center. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drugfree world. Crack cocaine legalities during the 1980s, cocaine and crack cocaine became increasingly popular and available in the u. Crack cocaine law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Cocaine is a powerful drug that is illegal in the uk and it is one of the most addictive drugs.
Faced with dropping prices for their illegal product, drug dealers converted the powder to crack, a solid form of cocaine that could be smoked. Most of the violence associated with crack comes from the illegal market and gang activity, not the effects of the drug itself. Schedule ii drugs, which include pcp and methamphetamine, have a high potential for abuse. Cocaine is an illicit stimulant that can be mixed with ammonia or baking soda to create crack.
Crack cocaine is a chemically processed form of cocaine, a stimulant drug made into a white powder from leaves of coca bushes growing in the andes mountains of south america. All kind of uses, selling, cultivation and transportation is illegal in bangladesh. Crack cocaine a crystallized form of the drugbecame popular in the 1980s. Cocaine is listed as a schedule i drug in the united nations 1961 single convention on narcotic drugs, making it illegal for nonstatesanctioned production, manufacture, export, import, distribution, trade, use and possession. Limited private cultivation of coca is legal in bolivia, where chewing the leaves and.