Ether free-basing” cocaine

The extraction process can be performed in acidic conditions which produces the cocaine as its hydrochloride salt. Alkaline conditions will produce a lipophilic "free base" which can be extracted with a nonpolar solvent like ether. The ether can be volatilized with heat and the free base smoked, snorted, injected, or eaten. The salt form cannot be smoked. Cocaine paste, not common in the U.S. is a kerosene extract which may contain 20-90% cocaine sulfate. Crack is the result of free-basing with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). The residual fillers and other impurities... 

FREE BASE The form of cocaine that can be smoked. There are three free-base forms of cocaine coca paste made from processed coca leaves crack (which is made with powder cocaine and sodium bicarbonate) and free base (which is made with powder cocaine, ammonia and ether. This form is rarely used since crack was discovered). All free base is highly addictive. 

Powder cocaine and coca leaves cannot be smoked. The heat required to smoke these forms of cocaine destroys its psychoactive properties. In order to smoke cocaine, it must be changed to a free-base form. In South America, the most common free base is coca paste. In the West, people smoke crack, and to a much lesser extent, free base made with ether. The free base or crack is put into a glass pipe, heated, and the vapors are inhaled. 

It is a white crystalline solid, slightly soluble in water, but soluble in acidic aqueous solutions and soluble in organic solvents, such as chloroform and diethyl ether. It is available in the illicit market as hydrochloride salt or free base (crack). Cocaine is usually mixed with other substances used as excipients. 

The free base form of cocaine is preferred for smoking becsiuse it volatilizes at a lower temperature and is not as easily destroyed by heat as the crystalline hydrochloride salt. Free base is made by dissolving cocaine salt in an aqueous alkaline solution and then extracting the free base form with a solvent such as ether. Heat is sometimes applied to hasten solvent evaporation, creating a fire hazard. Crack is a free base form of cocaine produced by using sodium bicarbonate to create the alkaline aqueous solution, which is then dried. 

Cocaine production Coca paste is dissolved in sulfuric acid to hydrolyze the alkaloids and produce ecognine. This is treated with 10% boron trichloride to produce ecognine methyl ester. Potassium permanganate is also added until the solution turns and remains pink. This removes cinnamoylcocaine isomers, which may be present in the mixture. The mixture is filtered, and the addition of base to the filtrate precipitates cocaine free base known as crack cocaine. The free base is dissolved in ether and precipitated as the hydrochloride salt through the addition of hydrochloric acid and is called snow cocaine. 

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