cocaine

[spongebob]

well i think the main difference is how well it can cross the Blood brain barrier.

correct. as stated since crack is smoked it crosses quicker. i was just implying that that property alone does not make crack more addictive than coke physically.

i believe the short lived greater intensity of crack, the duration of the high is what may drive its percieved higher addiction qualities.

you have to continually smoke crack every 20 min or so to maintain baseline. whereas you may only snort coke every hour or so to maintain baseline.

i guess what i am trying to answer is why do people believe crack to be more addictive than coke. but im no expert.

 

[spongebob]

Man, I can't believe this drug has got 6 pages of responses if that don't tell ya that is is bad I don't what does.

id be willing to bet that christians have killed more people than cocain. just an observation though i mean no offense.

 

[spongebob]

Ecstasy and meth don't even lie in the same category as coke - ecstatcy has a fraction of DA affinity of coke whereas meth is far greater than coke; by the same token most effects of coke are DA-mediated with some GABA/5-ht reinforcement, whereas meth and MDMA are almost purely 5-ht mediated.

Alcohol is by far worse in its negative connotations than any of the above especially given the amounts people consume

i have friends that are putting the coke down and replacing it with meth. much better drug as far as rec use but i believe much more addictive.

my reason is only an observation. people who use meth(amped up adderall) can really fucntion well of of it. so what i see happening is they use it as a crutch to get by daily routines. they can concentrate better, get more done and can maintain what appears to be a normal disposition around people. given that they are not hitting a line every hour.

i believe part of its addicition is attributed to those properties. people believe they can fucntion on it. eventually it catches up with them.

 

[juve]

i have friends that are putting the coke down and replacing it with meth. much better drug as far as rec use but i believe much more addictive.

my reason is only an observation. people who use meth(amped up adderall) can really fucntion well of of it. so what i see happening is they use it as a crutch to get by daily routines. they can concentrate better, get more done and can maintain what appears to be a normal disposition around people. given that they are not hitting a line every hour.

i believe part of its addicition is attributed to those properties. people believe they can fucntion on it. eventually it catches up with them.

Are you sure you're not talking of plain amphetamine? It is a rather rare practice to administer meth consistently for motivation/concentration purposes, although not unheard of - it is just too 'intense' for basic mundane functioning.
Problem with aderall is the mix of l-amp salts which exert most of their effects via periphery - not pleasant. Dexedrine (pure d-amp) though gets rave reviews on task completion/focus/drive.

 

[spongebob]

Alcohol is by far worse in its negative connotations than any of the above especially given the amounts people consume

i think part of the problem is defining addiction. which i define strictly as the inability to stop usage.

so to me if a person drinks every day but maintains a job and somewhat normal life but CANT quit drinking. that person is just as addicitive as the crackhead living on the streets stealing lawnmowers out of peoples garages and pawning them.

 

[spongebob]

Are you sure you're not talking of plain amphetamine? It is a rather rare practice to administer meth consistently for motivation/concentration purposes, although not unheard of - it is just too 'intense' for basic mundane functioning.
Problem with aderall is the mix of l-amp salts which exert most of their effects via periphery - not pleasant. Dexedrine (pure d-amp) though gets rave reviews on task completion/focus/drive.

meth is prescribe by dr. for ADD.

and i agree with you about meth being to intense. i am talking about from the intial usage. first timers. they take it and like what it does for them thinking they can fucntion on it. i have a friend that is a fucntioning meth user. then ofcourse it becomes problematic for most, they eventually become addicted.

 

[juve]

meth is prescribe by dr. for ADD.

Only in extreme cases - pharmaceutical meth - desoxyn is prescribed for ADD and also narcolepsy, sometimes for weight problems.
Usually it's methylphenidate or amphetamine salts. Amephetamine != methamphetamine

 

[spongebob]

Amephetamine != methamphetamine

difference being the methyl group right? which anytime a methyl group is added to a drug it facilitates its ability to cross the BBB quicker and effects last longer.

 

[sparky_d2]

Cocaine is a hellva drug!!!! Karma for coke!

 

[juiceddreadlocks]

No, not really. Spongebob is on the right track. Think of nicotine gum/patches and cigarettes. It is almost impossible to become addicted to gum/patch, whereas cigarettes are much different.
Crack permeates membranes and saturates capilaries much faster than just intranasal administration calling not only for a quicker, but also less sustainable and much more reinforcing response.
Overall crack is the culprit to cocaine's addiction statistic and potential, even though the statistic itself is not high (something like only 11% of regular users become addicted and regular use was estimated to be 51 days of administration - think here). Heroin does not even occupy the same niche as far addiction and pathways of exerting its actions - heroin users are much more susceptible to addiction, one of the reasons being is the way it is administered (IV) yilding a quick and bioefficient response.
Ecstasy and meth don't even lie in the same category as coke - ecstatcy has a fraction of DA affinity of coke whereas meth is far greater than coke; by the same token most effects of coke are DA-mediated with some GABA/5-ht reinforcement, whereas meth and MDMA are almost purely 5-ht mediated.

Alcohol is by far worse in its negative connotations than any of the above especially given the amounts people consume

the reason for all that being that it is more suitable to cross the BBB given how its been modified.

its my understanding the effects of meth arent almost purely 5-ht mediated, and if they were i dont understand how they could also have much to do with GABA since they arent even the same receptor type(2nd messenger) and GABA is inhibitory (cl- channel). the effects of amphetamines and cocaine to some extent are to block DA reuptake at the synapse, although dextro is said to increase transmission by some means, either synthesis of synaptic vessicles or something...

the effects of amphetamines in the CNS are to increase dopamine transmission especially in the frontal and pre-frontal cortex, for most people it gives them an edge, for people with decreased development in the PFC (some ADD cases) it just brings them up to normal.


i totally agree with you about alcohol.