Cocaine, Crack: Signs of Abuse

Cocaine is a crystalline white powder; crack is a drug that looks like small white rocks of chalk.

Would you be able to tell if someone is on cocaine? What about crack?

The Atlanta Recovery Center is teaching parents and anyone interested on the signs of cocaine abuse and cocaine addiction.  Drug addiction is something that no one wants, and by the telltale signs of cocaine abuse, tragedies may be avoided. Parents and family members need to be aware of what the signs are:

If, when looking around the house, or in clothes, you find very small plastic baggies with a white crystalline powder or residue, this is probably cocaine. Both crack and cocaine can be stored in the corner of a plastic baggie which is then tied off or knotted. Matchboxes and cigarette packs are a favorite place to hide baggies of cocaine or crack.

Drug paraphernalia associated with cocaine or crack usage: Discarded syringes, spoons hidden with burn marks on the bottom, residue in them indicate drug use (cocaine can be injected.) Glass stems, brillo pads, stripped wires, and disassembled tire gauges are used to smoke crack. Soda cans, bent, with a little holes in an indentation indicate a homemade pipe. Baking soda is used to make crack, and small mirrors or smooth surfaces with white residue on them such as countertops, sinks, cd cases, etc indicate cocaine snorting; credit cards or razors are used to make the lines to snort.

If you notice someone sniffling a lot, this possibly is from cocaine snorting, as the drug wears out the lining of the nose and their nose will be raw and red and scabbed. Injection marks in the arms, knees and feet indicate injections. Crack will often burn the lips of the person smoking it, so burns on the face or hands indicate crack usage; also the person’s finger and thumb will have black calluses where they flick the lighter repeatedly to smoke.

The personal appearance is also a giveaway. A person on cocaine will usually have glassy eyes and very, very large pupils. Dark glasses may be used to hide this condition, even indoors. The person will have a hard time relaxing, and will be hyper, moving erratically, being nervous, aggressive, or irritable. The person may have trouble sitting still, and with the acceleration up of their metabolism, may stay awake for extended periods of time, only to crash and sleep for days. The person may be very thirsty and have “cotton mouth”. They will usually stop eating and become very thin. Their skin tone is bad, they may have their face broken out, blisters on their face, and nose and mouth chapped.

The person may go around asking others for money. They will continually be short on cash, spending their rent money and entire paychecks for the drug. When they run out of money, they will often pawn valuables to get more.