Definition of "freebase" [freebase]

• To purify (cocaine) by dissolving it in a heated solvent and separating and drying the precipitate. (verb-transitive)
• To use (cocaine purified in this way) by burning it and inhaling the fumes. (verb-transitive)
• To prepare or use cocaine purified in this way. (verb-intransitive)
• Cocaine purified by this method. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "6 A second dose administered within an hour will also cause less of an intense response. 12 For these reasons cocaine users will take the drug repeatedly every 30 to 40 minutes if available. 7 It has been reported that the craving for another dose after smoking freebase is more intense than after I.V. cocaine HCI and explains the high addiction potential of freebasing. 10"
• "Some people who cross the line from powder cocaine to more hard-core use are into freebase, which is made by mixing a pure form of cocaine with ether."
• "Freebase cocaine is essentially pure cocaine that is made today by preparing an aqueous solution of cocaine HCI and adding ammonia or bicarbonate to alkalinize the solution and precipitate alkaloidal cocaine. 6 The "freebase" formed is nonwater-soluble, does not decompose. with heat and can be crushed, and mixed with tobacco and smoked."