Because it does not have to diffuse through the nasal membrane, smoked cocaine arrives in the blood in one slug, which is quickly broken down. Thus, people who smoke crack will feel a stronger effect, but those who snort cocaine will have longer-lasting effects. Crack is more addictive because the rewards of using it are quick, but the craving will return sooner because the effects are so brief. Injecting cocaine does not produce effects as quickly as smoking crack does, but the effects are faster than those of snorting cocaine. Injecting does not involve diffusion through a membrane, but injected cocaine like snorted cocaine must travel along blood vessels and enter the right heart, lungs and left heart and so on, before reaching the brain.
Injection also raises the risk of overdose.
Cocaine s actions in the brain Cocaine works by affecting neurotransmission in the brain. Feelings, thoughts, and motivations for action arise in the brain as interactions between nerve cells. One nerve will communicate with a second nerve through chemicals called neurotransmitters. The first nerve releases a neurotransmitter into the gap between the cells. The neurotransmitter either stimulates or inhibits the second nerve.