Cocaine is a natural substance obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine is a stimulant of the central nervous system. It creates what is often described as a euphoric sense of happiness and increased energy.

Cocaine is made into an even more powerful version by mixing it with Baking soda and then heating the mixture until the water evaporates. After the water evaporates, what is left are rock-like particles. This mixture makes a cracking sound when heated. This is where the name "crack" comes from.

In this form the cocaine is more concentrated which makes it stronger. It can be burned at a fairly low temperature. This makes it easily inhaled via a heated pipe.

There are important differences between crack-cocaine and its powder-form Crack that make it an important social issue due:

Even though cocaine is usually mixed or "cut" with baking soda and other ingredients to make crack, is it actually a more pure form of cocaine after. This means it is much more addictive than other forms.

Crack is less expensive to produce than other forms of cocaine. This means it can be sold in small, low-priced packages. Crack cocaine is often sold in small units frequently known as "nickel rocks" (referring to the price of $5.00), and "dime rocks" ($10.00). Sometimes as "twenties" or "solids", and "forties". Still, this is much cheaper than other forms of cocaine so it is considered as a drug primarily by and for the inner city poor. 

Crack-cocaine delivers an intensity of pleasure completely outside the normal range of human experience. This short-lived euphoria is usually followed by a "crash". A "crash" usually involves anxiety, depression, irritability, extreme fatigue and possibly paranoia. Physical health may deteriorate over time. - - With repeated use, an intense craving for more cocaine develops. Eventually users develop compulsive and repetitive patterns of behavior - - - While "powder cocaine" has an associated glamour attributed to its popularity among mostly middle and upper class, musicians, and entertainers, crack is perceived as a skid row drug of squalor and desperation. In many US jurisdictions, possession or sale of crack cocaine carries a harsher penalty than the same amount of powder cocaine.