In an obscure little bar with a parking lot full of pick-uptrucks and staggering drunks, a 29-year-old woman cooks an array offood -- from hamburgers and chicken tenders to meatloaf and mashedpotatoes -- for a group of rowdy rednecks almost every night.
Out of the kitchen walks Andrea, a young woman with a warm andfriendly face. Andrea is known by all the regulars. She patientlyresponds to each one's semi-intelligible comments or requests. Shelaughs a big hearty laugh with the customers and appears to feelright at home.
"It's like a little community up here. We all know each other'sbusiness," said Andrea. "It's like a redneck soap opera."
What not all the patrons know is that Andrea is making frequenttrips to the bathroom, and it's not to fix her hair.
Andrea has been using cocaine off and on for almost 10 years.During that time she has lost friends, been in trouble with thelaw, dropped out of school and moved from job to job because of herdrug dependency.
"It's a powerful high," said Andrea.
She said she gets a numb feeling all over when she snortscocaine. "I feel good, energetic, I want to talk all night and mostimportantly -- I want more. I always want more," said Andrea.
Cocaine -- also known as coke, snow, candy, white and blow --comes from the coca plant of South America and is mainly producedin Columbia. It is manufactured in a powder form and often mixed or"cut" with laxatives, lactose or even heroin.
When it was first discovered to have medical uses in the late1800s, it was prescribed to treat fatigue. It was even endorsed bySigmund Freud and later by Dr. William Hammond, Surgeon-General ofthe U.S. Army.
In 1886 Coca-Cola was produced with a derivative of the cocaleaf. According to a book about Coke called "Secret Formula" byFrederick Allen, the product contained this ingredient, in varyingamounts, as late as 1929, although cocaine was outlawed in1914.
In 1998, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found thatcocaine was being used by 3.8 million Americans.
An article in The Journal of Legal Medicine by Dr. Sana Louesaid the long-term effects of cocaine use can include dependence,withdrawal symptoms, depression and an inability to experiencepleasure.
According to Loue, the route of administration may determine therate at which the drug reaches the brain, which explains why crackis more addictive than cocaine, which is absorbed more slowly.
Crack is a form of cocaine made by cooking cocaine, water andbaking soda. This forms a solid substance known as a rock. Crack ismore affordable than cocaine, but the high does not last aslong.
Registered nurse Amanda Russell said users, depending on amountand frequency of use, may or may not show symptoms of physicaladdiction.
"The mental anguish is just as tough as the physical addiction,though," said Russell.
Jeremy, a 25-year-old drug-addict, prefers crystal meth tocrack, but will smoke crack when there is nothing else. Jeremy saidthe high from crack is similar to cocaine, but it hits all atonce.
"The buzz only lasts like five minutes, and then you're fiendingfor some more," said Jeremy.
That is the problem that drives so many to crime in order tosupport their drug habit. A friend of Jeremy's from high school wasfrom an upper-class family and had a basketball scholarship forcollege, but his life has gone downhill after starting a crackhabit. His family disowned him, he's been addicted for about 15years and just recently went to prison for theft.
"It'll make you kill your own momma. It's the worst drug in theworld," said Jeremy.
Crack and cocaine seem to be divided along racial and incomelines. Prosecuting Attorney Dan Byer said the typical crack user isblack and has a low-income, while the typical cocaine user is whiteand middle to upper class.
"Ninety percent of drug crimes are crack/cocaine related," saidByer.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission conducted a study in 1994 whichfound that although almost two-thirds of crack users were white orHispanic, 84.5 percent of those convicted of possession were black.The Commission discovered black people ultimately spent more timein prison for drug crimes than any other race.
Andrea said most of the people she knows who snort cocaine arewhite, but most of the people she knows in jail for drugs areblack. "I'm not saying there's a connection, but I know I don'twant to get caught with something and end up setting an example foreveryone else," said Andrea.
Andrea admits to being addicted and laments that her dependencehas hindered her success in life.
"I'm about to be 30, and I have nothing to show for it. I workin a tiny little redneck bar, and it'll be forever until I'mfinished with school," said Andrea. "I guess I need to quit."
