# Whats the Difference Between a Crack Head and a Dope Feind **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171 "2004-06-19T04:54:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lexsguide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lexsguide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexsguide)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/1 "2004-06-19T04:54:18Z")
I live in new york and see junkies all around what is what. What are the characteristics of a Junkie. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/2 "2004-06-19T07:32:52Z")
[Effects of cocaine/crack usage](http://www.drugabuse.com/drugs/cocaine/): > [@](#): > > Cocaine increases alertness, wakefulness, elevates the mood, induces a high degree of euphoria, decreases fatigue, improves thinking, increases concentration, increases energy, increased irritability, insomnia, restlessness. In large doses users often display symptoms of psychosis with confused and disorganized behavior, irritability, fear, paranoia, hallucinations, may become extremely antisocial and aggressive. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, temperature, pulse, and respiration, decreased sleep and appetite, seizures, strokes, heart attacks, death. [Effects of heroin usage](http://www.drugabuse.com/drugs/heroin/): > [@](#): > > Heroin is, generally speaking, a sedative, and induces a euphoric, drowsy, warm and content feeling. They also relieve stress and discomfort by creating a relaxed detachment from pain, desires and activity. As well as killing pain, moderate doses of pure opiates produce a range of mild effects. They depress the activity of the nervous system, including such reflexes as coughing, breathing and heart rate. They also cause widening of the blood vessels, which gives a feeling of warmth and reduces bowel activity, causing constipation. > With doses high enough to produce euphoria, there is still little change in coordination. At higher doses though, sedation can be extreme and an overdose can result in unconsciousness, coma and often death from respiratory failure. The chance of an overdose is greatly increased if other depressant drugs such as alcohol or tranquilizers are being used at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/3 "2004-06-19T14:53:40Z")
**Crackhead** : Someone whow would saw the tops off sparkplugs and use the porcelain tubes to smoke crack. **Dope Fiend** : Anyone with over 5,000 posts. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/4 "2004-06-19T15:17:38Z")
A Crack Head _is_ a Dope Fiend, but a Dope Fiend is not _always_ a Crack Head. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/5 "2004-06-19T16:58:46Z")
A crack head loves the uppers, mainly, uh… crack cocaine, and uses it to stay alert and “up”. They’re jittery, if not high, they could be “spun”. If they tell you that they have some cheeseburgers, run. A dope fiend will usually smoke some pot. If there is no pot, they’ll settle for something else. Maybe some Xanax. No Xanax you say? They’ll settle for some vicodin. Maybe some ritalin. Mix it with some alcohol, maybe dabble with some X. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/6 "2004-06-19T17:30:18Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > A dope fiend will usually smoke some pot. If there is no pot, they’ll settle for something else. Maybe some Xanax. No Xanax you say? They’ll settle for some vicodin. Maybe some ritalin. Mix it with some alcohol, maybe dabble with some X. Yeah, that’s what I thought upon reading the OP too. When did dope go from being slang for weed to being slang for heroin? [small hi-jack and one I probably shouldn’t admit to] My first day lurking the board I opened a thread entitled “Florida Dopefest” or something similar. People were discussing meeting up for a Dopefest, maybe at someone’s house, maybe at a hotel; the usual stuff. My very fist post ever to this board was going to be to ask how they could arrange a “Dopefest” on a message board like this? Wouldn’t the cops just be waiting at the agreed upon place to bust them once the Doping commenced? That’s when one brain cell nudge the other and said, “Pppppssssst! Straight **Dope**. **Dope** fest. Somebody stop her!” :smack: : delete, delete, delete! : [/shjaoipsat] ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/7 "2004-06-24T12:52:53Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > A crack head loves the uppers, mainly, uh… crack cocaine, and uses it to stay alert and “up”. They’re jittery, if not high, they could be “spun”. **If they tell you that they have some cheeseburgers, run.** Unless that’s a **Menace II Society** reference, I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/8 "2004-06-25T18:17:19Z")
> [@harmless](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I thought upon reading the OP too. > When did dope go from being slang for weed to being slang for heroin? > > [/shjaoipsat] Sorry, no cite, because this is from books I read many years ago. However, “dope” was always slang for heroin, and to a lesser extent cocaine, though that might not seem like a “dopey” drug. Saying “dope” for marijuana, according to my reading, started among middle class, mostly white, young pot smokers in the 1960s, as marijuana moved out of the limited world of jazz musicians and “beatniks”, and went mainstream. The hip jazzers and others acquainted with marijuana, before then, never called it “dope”, because they knew what real dope was, and what it could do. Instead they called it “reefer”, or “herb”, or “tea” for example. If you hear an allusion to dope in an old song, they mean heroin, or possibly cocaine. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/9 "2004-06-25T18:32:15Z")
Merely MHO and not scientific in any way: a “dope fiend” (opiate abuser) is much, much less irritating than a “crack head” (crack cocaine abuser). Given the choice of having to deal with one or the other, give me the guy on dope any day. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/10 "2004-06-25T18:42:21Z")
Also, FWIW: although “dope” refers generically to heroin, marijuana, and all drugs in general, reference to “dope” and “dope fiends” on the street is often understood to refer specifically to heroin unless it is clear from the context that the speaker means marijuana or something else. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/11 "2004-06-25T18:42:41Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Merely MHO and not scientific in any way: a “dope fiend” (opiate abuser) is much, much less irritating than a “crack head” (crack cocaine abuser). Given the choice of having to deal with one or the other, give me the guy on dope any day. Well of course, a heroin addict spends half their time nodding while the crackhead spends half their time jonesing for their next hit, bugging you the whole time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/12 "2004-06-25T18:53:16Z")
Exactly. It’s also a matter of whether you’d rather replace your kitchen spoons or your car antenna (a joke, of course, I don’t let either know my home address.) ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/13 "2004-06-25T19:59:40Z")
Just felt the need to post this in this thread. 😃 > [@](#): > > We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like: > > I feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe you should drive. > > Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full with what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, and a voice was screaming: Raoul Duke: Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?! > > Did you say something? > > Hm? Nevermind. It’s your turn to drive. > > No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastard will see them soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/14 "2004-06-25T20:13:06Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Given the choice of having to deal with one or the other, give me the guy on dope any day. Then take my husband, please! 😃 j/k (about the dope thing that is; you really can have him!) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/15 "2004-06-25T20:35:40Z")
After smoking weed, one runs to the corner to suck down some Taco Bell. After smoking crack, one runs to the corner to suck some dick to buy more crack. I think that about sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/16 "2004-06-25T21:30:45Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Unless that’s a **Menace II Society** reference, I don’t get it. It was. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-crack-head-and-a-dope-feind/251171/17 "2004-06-25T21:52:39Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > It was. Okay then! (And I “love” how O-Dog took the cheeseburgers anyway; can’t waste food!)