What Is Crack Cocaine?

Crack cocaine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant made from powdered cocaine.* It comes in solid blocks or crystals that can be yellow, pale rose or white. The name crack comes from the cracking or popping sound it makes when heated and smoked.

In the 1980s, crack became a drug of abuse in the United States and has since spread across North and South America, Europe and other parts of the world. Crack can be smoked or snorted. Smoking crack allows it to reach the brain quickly, creating an intense, immediate high that only lasts about 15 minutes. Smoking crack can lead to addiction very quickly, sometimes even after the first use. People addicted to crack get caught in a constant cycle of trying to maintain that initial high.

Because cocaine used to be very expensive, it was considered a “rich man’s drug.” Crack, on the other hand, is sold at prices low enough that even teenagers can afford it—at least at first. But once someone becomes addicted, the cost rises quickly as they need more to satisfy their habit.

* For more information about cocaine in its powdered form, see The Truth About Cocaine booklet in this series.

Street Names

Some common street names for crack cocaine include:

• Apple Jack
• Base
• Bazooka
• Candy
• Cloud
• Cookies
• Crack
• Crack Cocaine
• Crunch & Munch
• Devil Smoke
• Dice
• Fat Bags
• Freebase
• French Fries
• Glo
• Gravel
• Grit
• Hail
• Hard Hotcakes
• Ice Cubes
• Jelly Beans
• Kryptonite
• Nuggets
• Paste
• Raw
• Rock(s)
• Rox or Roxanne
• Scramble
• Sleet
• Sugar Block
• Troop

Updated: 2025