Crack Cocaine

Crack cocaine is said to have gotten its name from the distinctive sound it makes when it is heated up. Crack was developed by adding sodium bicarbonate or ammonia to cocaine to increase its volatility. The mixture is heated and compressed into rocks, which can be smoked by heating and inhaling the vapours through a pipe. This allows the drug to reach the brain faster. It can also be injected intravenously by dissolving it in vinegar or lemon juice. 

Crack is considered a Schedule ICommonly characterized as “hard drugs" narcotic under the CDSA. Drugs in this group are defined as substances with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. It is illegal to drive while under the influence of crack, which can be detected in blood or urine samples.

Like cocaine, crack is included on the list of prohibited substances in the CDSA.  Selling, possessing or production of crack cocaine is illegal unless authorized for medical, scientific or industrial purposes.

As the name suggests, crack cocaine is a derivative of the popular street drug cocaine and is sometimes referred to as rock, charlie, candy, chemical, cookies, dice, gravel, grit, hail, hard rock, jelly beans, nuggets, purple caps, scrabble, sleet, snow coke, tornado.

According to the Health Canada (Cocaine and crack) section of the government website, crack can have moderate to severe effects on users. A sense of euphoria will be felt within minutes, along with having more energy and self-confidence, though those feelings can be replaced by anxiety, tremors, nausea and vomiting. In the long term, the government warns that regular crack users may suffer from depression and paranoia. Since smoking crack is hard on the lungs, officials warn regular usage could lead to collapsed or inflamed lungs that fill up with fluid. The most serious risk of crack use is a lethal overdose, which can follow a seizure or a heart attack.

To find you guilty of possessing crack, the Crown prosecutorA lawyer who conducts a criminal prosecution on behalf of the public. must establish beyond a reasonable doubtThe high standard the Crown must meet to prove guilt. that you were in possessionHaving knowledge and control of something — not only physically holding it, but also an item kept somewhere else that you know about and control. of the drug. The Criminal Code notes that “possession” is not just limited to the idea that the drug was found on your person or in your car or house. Instead, it means that you had some degree of control and knowledge of the drug. As a result, you can be found guilty of possession even if the crack was found at someone else's house or in a friend’s gym bag.

The Crown must also prove that the substance is listed in the CDSA and that you knew what it was. The Crown does not have to prove that you knew the exact law. But if you genuinely did not know what the substance was, that may matter.

Canadian courts impose the harshest sentences for those convicted of a crime involving Schedule I drugs, so you could be facing jail time even on a first possession offence. Sentences will vary depending on how much you possessed and if there were any aggravating factorsA fact or circumstance that may support a more severe sentence. involved.

Under s.5 of the CDSA, traffickingInfluencing the movements of a person in order to exploit them is an offence. Section 2(1) defines trafficking to include selling, administering, giving, transferring, transporting, sending or delivering the drug, or offering to do those things. Trafficking in a Schedule I drug such as crack cocaine is an indictable offence with a maximum of life imprisonment. Trafficking can include transferring a controlled substanceA substance that is regulated by the government to another person, even when no money changes hands.

The Crown has the discretion to treat the charge as a summary convictionLess-serious criminal offences or indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence..

Section 4 (3) of the CDSA states that if it is your first offence and you are found guilty of a summary conviction, you face a maximum fine of $1,000, imprisonment up to six months or both. For a subsequent offence, the maximum fine increases to $2,000 while the maximum imprisonment cannot exceed one year, or both.

If the Crown treats your possession charge as an indictable offence, the maximum prison term increases to seven years.

If you possessed crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking or exporting, the possible penalties include life imprisonment.

November 17, 2022
Update: Bill C-5: Mandatory Minimum Penalties Repealed.

Crack cocaine and powder cocaine are treated under the same CDSA Schedule I cocaine entry. The Criminal Code Help pages are separated for reader search clarity, not because the CDSA uses different penalties.