A paradigm shift is taking place on harm reduction for smoking/inhaling stimulants (crack/paco or coca base paste). When sharing homemade pipes crack users get wounds on lips and gums and are susceptible to diseases such as herpes, tuberculoses, hepatitis and the HIV/AIDS virus. Crack use often implicates risky sexual behaviour in exchange for crack or to buy crack. At the local level in Brazil, Canada and the US ‘safer crack use kits’ are dispensed with condoms, pipes, pipe stems, tissues, vaseline and lip balm to counter infections and sexually transmitted diseases.

  • Therapeutic Use of Cannabis by Crack Addicts in Brazil

    Eliseu Labigalini Jr, Lucio Ribeiro Rodrigues and Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira
    Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 31 (4)
    October-December 1999

    This study ensued from clinical observations based on spontaneous accounts by crack abusers undergoing their first psychiatric assessment, where they reported using cannabis in an attempt to ease their own withdrawal symptoms.

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  • The standard low dose of oral cocaine

    Used for treatment of cocaine dependence
    Teobaldo Llosa
    Substance Abuse 15(4): pp. 215-220
    1994

    Coca tea has been used for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Two previous reports found that treatment that includes coca tea can be successful in controlling relapse to cocaine dependence. In the current study, coca tea plus counseling was used to treat cocaine dependence in 23 cocaine-addicted coca paste smokers seeking treatment at an outpatient clinic in Lima, Peru.

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