Background: Crack is a strong and smoking form of cocaine, but Iranian crack is different from common crack cocaine, having symptoms and side effects similar to those of heroin. This study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical symptoms in patients poisoned with Iranian crack poisoning hospitalized in Ahvaz Razi Hospital in the years 2008-2013. Methods: In this study, 63 subjects with I...

Female inner-city substance users evidence greater crack/cocaine use and are more likely to be dependent on this drug than on any other drug. Additionally, female inner-city substance users evidence greater crack/cocaine use and are more likely to be dependent on this drug than their male counterparts, despite no consistent difference demonstrated in use and dependence across other drugs. Becau...

OBJECTIVE To review and discuss the differences and similarities between the use of crack cocaine and cocaine hydrochloride; and to determine how these findings might affect policies on the imprisonment and treatment of cocaine users. DATA SOURCES English-language publications were identified through a computerized search (using MEDLINE) between 1976 and 1996 using the search terms "smoked co...

AIM To investigate differences in alcohol and drug consumption behaviours and related problems among users of cocaine powder versus crack cocaine. METHODS The sample of concurrent users of alcohol and cocaine (n = 102) was recruited from clinical and community (non-clinical) settings in London. Those recruited in the community were contacted by means of snowball sampling methods. Data were co...

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between crack cocaine use and dimensions of quality of life and social functioning in young adults. METHODS This was a cross-sectional, population-based study involving 1,560 participants in Pelotas, Brazil. Crack cocaine use and abuse were investigated using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) inventory. Outcomes of inte...

BACKGROUND Many pre-clinical and clinical researchers do not appreciate the recent decline in United States (US) population-level incidence of crack-cocaine smoking. At present, no more than about 200 young people start using crack-cocaine each day. Ten years ago, the corresponding estimated daily rate was 1000. This short communication looks into these trends, surrounding evidence on this impo...

We hypothesize that crack cocaine is independently associated with smear-positive tuberculosis (TB). In a case-control study of TB in London, 19 (86%) of 22 crack cocaine users with pulmonary TB were smear positive compared with 302 (36%) of 833 non-drug users. Respiratory damage caused by crack cocaine may predispose drug users to infectivity.

OBJECTIVES HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Ottawa is estimated at about 10%. The successful integration of peers into outreach efforts and wider access to HIV point-of-care testing (POCT) create opportunities to explore the role of peers in providing HIV testing. The PROUD study, in partnership with Ottawa Public Health (OPH), sought to develop a model for community-based...

OBJECTIVE To examine relationships between parenting behaviors, parent-child relationship, and moderating effects of age on youth substance use among a community sample of African-American mothers who use crack cocaine and their children (12-17 years). METHODS Maternal-child dyads (n = 208) were recruited through street outreach and snowball sampling and completed interviews about substance u...

BACKGROUND In Brazil, crack cocaine use remains a healthcare challenge due to the rapid onset of its pleasurable effects, its ability to induce craving and addiction, and the fact that it is easily accessible. Delayed action on the part of the Brazilian Government in addressing the drug problem has led users to develop their own strategies for surviving the effects of crack cocaine use, particu...