And cited someone who discloses details about their clientele. 
I must have missed that during the eleven years I worked in an alcohol and substance abuse treatment center.
A fairly close friend of mine has been addicted to crack (along with meth, coke, and alcohol) pretty much since I’ve known him. The cycle is thus: he’s clean and going to meetings. He’s way into the program and sober/clean living and “let go and let God.” Things are going so well that he maybe even gets a job. He gets a paycheck. He goes on a gigantic binge that involves him losing whatever job that is or going to jail. He goes back to rehab and starts working the program again. He is clean and “let go and let God” for a few months. Someone takes pity on him, thinking he has changed, and gives him a job. He gets a paycheck. He goes on a gigantic binge and ruins everything for himself again.
He has stolen from me, run through all of his parents’ money with his legal troubles, ruined his reputation- and he can’t seem to stop. Now, granted, crack is not his only problem, but I do think the crack is controlling his life, moreso than any of the other drugs. When I first met him, he had a friend who was about five years younger (he was in his early 20s, the young friend and I were just out of high school.) He convinced this poor kid to smoke crack with him, got him high, and rolled him for all of his money and stole his car. The last time I saw him, he was performing in a play and just never showed up for the last show (this was a professional, paying gig with a sold out house but no understudy) because he was smoking crack. No call, nothing- the director went by his building to look for him and he had locked himself in his apartment with some random guys and was using (a super common occurence when he’s binging is that he will completely drop off the face of the earth for a week- not responding to anyone’s texts or calls, not showing up for work or bothering to even call in, until his sister or parents will threaten to call the cops unless he texts them to say he is alive.)
I had seen him not 24 hours before and he was clean, sober, and chatting about how well things were going and how much his sponsor was helping him, and how much he loved performing in the show he doing.
I think there are some addictions that lend themselves better to hiding/functioning (like alcoholism- we’ve all known functional alcoholics who were fooling everyone.) In my (admittedly very limited) experience, crack is not one of them. When this friend is using crack, he is unable to do anything (not even able to muster up a plausible lie like “I’m really sick, I can’t do the show tonight” so he could get back to smoking his crack in peace.)
Or how about this one…Redirect Notice
Crack is the street name for crystallized freebase cocaine. It is a powerful central nervous system stimulant, sold in ready to smoke chunks or ‘rocks’. Crack looks like small lumps or shavings of soap, but has the texture of porcelain. Because of the way it looks, crack is often referred to as ‘rock’ or ‘ready-rock’. The rocks are nicknamed ‘Crack’ because of the crackling sound they make as they are smoked. It is generally more pure than the powdered cocaine from which it is made, but this smokable product can still contain impurities. Crack is five to six times stronger than the cocaine normally purchased on the street.
(bolding mine)
Crack is made by reacting powder cocaine with sodium bicarbonate in a water solution and then evaporating the water leaving behind a solid mass which is chipped into rocks and sold. Where did the impurities go? How did it get more potent? *It is possible to filter and purify but doubtful many street level dealers do it.
Smoking(actually vaporizing ) cocaine is more potent than snorting powder, but that has nothing to do with the potency of the drug it is just a different route of administration. Injecting morphine IV is more potent than ingesting it orally, the potency of the drug is the same.
I tried crack. I did not become a crack whore. I never sold my mother, for any amount of money.
I think you are wrong to make these blanket statements. Not every person who has ever tried crack is a horrible person. Sure, some addicts are jerks who would steal your TV for another hit, but if crack didn’t exist, they’d be stealing and whoring for some other drug.
Demonizing the drug is pointless. It takes away personal responsibility, by implying that the drug causes them to commit crime. A person who steals is a thief, it doesn’t matter the reason they steal.
BTW: Substance abuse and dependence are recognized mental illnesses in the DSM IV.
Even the black ones.
I am not talking about every person who has ever tried the drug. I am talking about those addicted; those who continue to use. I’m not trying to “demonize” the drug-I’m really just trying to share some knowledge.
They were removed via the “cooking” process (by heating the cocaine).
Of course I would never argue with someone who professionally dealt with crack addicts, so let me just ask you: what were your experiences with crackheads and their accounts of their earlier experiences with smoking crack?
What on earth does that have to do with anything? There is a certain amount of the active ingredient in every dose, no matter how pure it is. The difference is the delivery system. No amount of inert ingredients makes any difference. The cooking process neutralizes the cocaine (i.e. takes it from a salt form to a free base form). This is done so it can be smoked at a reasonable temperature without destroying the cocaine. It has nothing to do with impurities.
(bolding mine)
And it is during these “binges” and when they disappear like this that their typical “crackhead” behavior emerges. It is during these binges that this sexual behavior surfaces and it’s all sex and crack.
I assure you we have crackheads in Nebraska. Meth is much more prevalent, but they’re both pretty bad.
Just out of curiosity, even assuming (which I don’t) that the “it’s all sex and crack!!1!!!111!” thing is true, why do you keep harping on it as though fucking is the most horrifying possible thing a person could be doing with their time?
I would guess he feels betrayed by her crackwhore behavior because of his feelings for her.
I’m sorry for bringing this up here. I just found the entire subject incredibly interesting. I have not been harping on anything.
nm
People aren’t annoyed that you wanted to discuss the subject, or even that you are wrong about many things. They’re annoyed because you’re obstinately sticking to your claims, even when it has been pointed out how ridiculous many of them are. They’re annoyed because you’re acting like you’re the only person who has ever researched or had some sort of personal experience with substance abuse.
Even if you had presented your arguements as “this was my experience, and also what I read on xyz dot com…” – that would have opened a discussion. Your OP title was asking if people knew someone; when people replied, you shut them down. Like I said elsewhere, this discourse taught me a lot about communication–especially in this community. So I thank you for that. 
On another note, fwiw, it appears you’ve been stung by something out there and it hurt deep. There’s lots of opportunity to process and rechannel that stinging; I recommend you start with AlAnon, NarAnon, or CODA. Volunteer to tutor children born addicted. Anything that can take that passion and turn it around. It can help to tell an old story in a new way.