Examples of two homemade rock or crack pipes

Crack and rock cocaine are forms of cocaine that are extremely addictire and very dangerous. (Crack and rock cocaine are nearly identical drugs, hence they will be referred to as crack only.) Crack has quickly become a major problem in this country because it is inexpensive, readily available, and highly addictive. Crack comes in white to tan pellets and is sold in small vials. It is smoked in glass pipes and makes a crackling sound when it is smoked. Paraphernalia associated with crack includes glass pipes called "base" pipes, homemade pipes, and small vials used to store the drug.

Crack is absorbed into the blood stream through the lungs in just a few seconds. If your teenager is using crack, he or she will temporarily appear euphoric, extremely alert, and highly energetic. Other symptoms include dilated pupils, loss of appetite, elevated heart rate, elevated respiration rate, and higher body temperature. The high lasts only a few minutes, leaving an intense depression called a "crash" and an immediate desire for more of the drug. The severe addiction associated with crack stems not only from a desire for the euphoria of the high but a desire to escape from the "crash" following the high. Prolonged use of crack can cause extreme irritability, depression, paranoia, convulsions or death.