What is the difference between coke and crack?

Answer 1

• coke/Coca-Cola, a carbonated soft drink that contains a small amount of coca leaf extract; as the coca leaf is what cocaine is extracted from, this drink may have once had small residual amounts of cocaine alkaloid in it but the company now uses only leaves from which all cocaine alkaloid was already extracted before making their extract
• cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride, the common form of the cocaine alkaloid extracted from coca leaves; once extracted it is treated with hydrochloric acid to create a water soluble neutral or slightly acid salt suitable for injection
• crack, created by treating cocaine hydrochloride with an alkali to convert it back to the pure cocaine alkaloid; it is alkaline and not water soluble so it must be absorbed directly through the mucus membranes, the simplest way to do this is heat it in a pipe until it vaporizes and inhale the vapor

The original cocaine alkaloid in the leaves was absorbed through the mucus membranes of the mouth when the south american natives chewed the leaves, but the dose obtained by chewing leaves is small.

Answer 2

Coke typically refers to cocaine, a white powdery substance derived from the coca plant and usually snorted or injected. Crack refers to a form of cocaine that has been processed with baking soda or ammonia, resulting in small rocks that are smoked. Crack is typically more potent and addictive than cocaine in its powdered form.