The Life of a Story in Progress XIII: You can learn something new everyday...

Back in the days of yore, there was a time when I smoked free-base cocaine (once). It recently occurred to me that free-base cocaine might very well be crack. Not so, says a Google search. Free-base cocaine is pure cocaine freed from impurities by means of treatment with ether. Crack is 2 parts cocaine and 1 part baking soda (and a tiny bit of water to help it form crystals). I get that crack contains less cocaine than free-base cocaine, but is that enough of a distinction for it to be a totally different drug? Maybe the chemical reaction of the cocaine with the baking soda creates a different drug altogether. Smoking baking soda sounds way worse than smoking cocaine. I’d much rather snort the cocaine, given a choice.

Just a random thought I had this morning for no apparent reason…

I just found this cool picture of cocaine being introduced to the body. I now understand the difference in delivery systems.