How Long Does Crack Stay in Your System?

Whether you have a loved one who is addicted to drugs or you have been using crack, you start wondering how long crack stays in your system. Crack, which derives from cocaine and is considered one of the most popular illegal drugs, can be easily detected in urine for up to five days right after the person’s last dose. It can be different for other tests. That is why it is crucial to note that we base the standard measurements on averages. Many additional factors influence how long the drug is staying in one’s system.

 In general, people know that crack cocaine is a very addictive and dangerous kind of drug, but many people fall victim to this particular drug every single year. To better understand the many ways that the body reacts to and processes the crack, let’s dig deeper into what crack is, what its effects are, how long it stays in someone’s system, and how a drug detox center can help in the recovery process.

 

What is Crack?

 Crack is a form of cocaine used to achieve a euphoric, intense, and energy-giving high, whether injected or smoked. In many cases, it produces a very short euphoria or high that usually lasts for five to ten minutes long. During manufacturing, the makers eliminate hydrochloride from cocaine by mixing the powder with baking soda. It leaves behind a potent substance in the form of hard crystals. 

 When being heated, the crystals will spark and produce a popping sound. Some people prefer to acknowledge crack as freebase cocaine. On the other hand, cocaine is a potent stimulant producing an extreme high characterized by a boost in physical and mental processes. 

 

How Long It Remains in Your System?

 More accurate means of spotting and detecting crack in someone’s system rely on somewhat called cocaine metabolites. These metabolites are the byproducts of the system’s metabolism breaking down the consumed cocaine. Here’s a look at some tests that rely on the exposure and detection of cocaine metabolites.

•  How long crack stays in the blood. For two days, crack stays in the bloodstream after the last use. It makes blood tests very accurate whenever trying to identify people who might use cocaine frequently or regularly.
•  How long crack stays in the saliva. Similar to blood, crack is detectable in saliva for up to two days. Since saliva tests are easier to administer, they are considered one of the most frequent testing methods for cocaine use detection.
•  How long crack stays in the urine. Cocaine metabolites remain in urine longer than in saliva or blood. It only means that cocaine is detectable up to 4 days right after the last use.
•  How long cocaine stays in the hair. We can use some hair samples to detect cocaine up to ninety days right after the last use. The hair can hold valid traces of cocaine compare to blood or other bodily fluids.

 

What Does Crack Do to Your Body?

In the short term, it causes paranoia, sleep disturbances, and even delusions and hallucinations. Unfortunately, the crack’s long-term effects on the body are even worse and devastating. Long-term crack abuse can lead to: 

• Risk of infection due to poor hygiene, shared needles, and risk-taking behaviors.
•  Damage to the lungs, heart, and other areas of the cardiovascular system.
• Impaired cognitive functioning
• Mental health conditions (e.g., severe depression and anxiety)
•  Increasing risk of heart attack
•  Violent mood swings and suicidal thoughts
•  Blistered lips and loss of smell

 

What Factors Affect How Long Cocaine Stays in Your System?

 Here’s a look at some factors that can significantly affect how long crack stays in someone’s system.

•  How much. People who use the drug in much higher doses take too long to metabolize it and flush it out in the system. If people take higher doses, they will have more cocaine metabolites inside their system, and it will take them longer to metabolize it.
• How often. Crack cocaine stays in the body for more extended periods if someone regularly uses coke. The more frequently one uses it, the longer the detection window. On the other hand, if someone uses crack only once, it cleared the body quickly.
•  The purity level. Cocaine often contains contaminants and other substances that stay in the body for different amounts of time. It affects how long it remains in someone’s system.
• Personal drinking and eating habits. If someone is dehydrated, their system metabolizes drugs at a slower rate. Increasing fluid intake might help in removing crack from someone’s system. However, eating habits also affect it since it slows down the body’s metabolism of crack, causing it to remain in the body longer.
• Individual body fat. Cocaine’s primary metabolite, termed Benzoylecgonine and is often used for drug screening, can be stored directly in the fatty tissue. Therefore, the more body fat one has, the more cocaine accumulates in the body.

 

Types of Drug Tests for Crack Cocaine Detection

Several factors determine how fast the body metabolizes drugs like crack cocaine. It is still hard to precisely state how long these substances will remain in the person’s system. Moreover, various forms of testing are proven to detect substances regardless of the varying lengths of time.

 Since every drug test has an entirely different detection window, someone might pass one test, however not the other. 

•  Blood tests. Blood tests are the least likely to detect cocaine metabolites because they have a shorter half-life.
•  Hair tests. It can detect drugs for the longest time right after a person’s last use. 
•  Saliva tests. Like blood tests, saliva tests are very unlikely to detect crack since all traces of the drugs already leave the saliva within two days after the person’s last use.
•  Urine tests. A urine test is one standard drug test, but such tests only detect crack for up to two weeks since the person’s last use. 

 

Crack Addiction Treatment

 If you have any concerns about yourself or your loved one having too much crack in the system, consider seeking help from a rehab center. People who frequently use cocaine may require a long-term solution that includes a natural substance detox in the body, medical therapy, or counseling. 

 There are facilities to chose from with highly trained medical staff and therapists. Your best chances of success might be with people wholly equipped with the resources and tools necessary to help you or your loved one overcome crack cocaine addiction. Getting sober isn’t easy at all, but asking for assistance is the hardest part. If you are looking for substance abuse treatment in Catalina Island, for example, we can offer professional help.

For more resources that will help you learn about these conditions and drug addiction therapies, check out our addiction and substance abuse treatment.

 

For inquiries, you can call us at 562-275-3498, email us at info@roots-recovery.com, or visit us at 3939 Atlantic Ave #102, Long Beach, CA 90807, USA.