This Publication Is Searchable The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy Section 15. Psychiatric Disorders Chapter 195. Cocaine Dependence Psychologic dependence, sometimes leading to profound psychologic addiction, produced by high doses of cocaine, which can cause euphoric excitement. However, the tendency to continue taking the drug is strong.
Most users are episodic recreational users who voluntarily curtail their use.
However, cocaine use and the development of addictive behavior in some users has increased in North America, although recent declines are recorded. Although most cocaine in the USA is snorted intranasally, smoking crack cocaine has become widely publicized. The imported hydrochloride salt is converted to a more volatile form, usually by adding sodium bicarbonate, water, and heat. The converted material is combusted, and the resultant smoke inhaled. Use of crack by the urban poor and the criminal market for crack have become the most feared problems of drug abuse.