Crack Vs Cocaine

What's the difference between crack and cocaine you ask? Well they're actually the same thing! Cocaine can exits in powder and rock forms, the latter know as crack. The interconversion is quite simple actually. When powder cocaine is treated with ammonia or baking soda, it can be converted to the rock crack form. The major difference between the two forms is the presence of the charged Nitrogen on the powder, which increases solubility.

Since the powder is more soluble, it can dissolve in blood plasma and thus can be snorted. The less soluble crack form is smoked as it can not dissolve in blood. The mechanism is shown below.

Possession of powder cocaine has a very different sentencing outcome in a court of law, than possession of crack cocaine as the former is a schedule II drug and the latter a schedule I.