Cocaine hydrochloride is a powder that can be snorted or injected. Crack-cocaine can be smoked or injected. Cocaine works by stimulating pleasure-giving neurotransmitters. One of the main neurotransmitters affected by cocaine is dopamine. Although crack can be found in the majority of communities across England and Wales, the level of use, and harm caused, varies considerably. Where levels are high the damage caused to communities is acute. Urgent action is therefore required to reduce the levels of use in the most badly affected areas, and to stop the potential growth of the problem in other areas. Back to all training on drugs »
Working with crack and cocaine users does not mean learning and developing totally new skills. What it does mean is that there is a shift in the way that treatment / support is thought about.
At time of writing (2011). cocaine hydrochloride is still the number one Class A drug in the UK with over an estimated million users. (British Crime Survey)
It was in 1860 that the active ingredient in the coca leaf was isolated by a student. Since then cocaine has been re-invented in many ways according to markets and users preference.
