Crack’s bad reputation

[i like wimmins]

Am I the only one who gets irritated at the horrible reputation Crack has? I don't know about other parts of the world, but in North America a person who does something crazy/stupid is oftentimes referred to as a "crackhead".
I think it must be television that is to blame, because while some drugs are reasonably socially acceptable in most circles, Crack seems to rank one notch above (if not equal to) heroin in most people's eyes.
I have friends who have tried it with me, and have sworn me to secrecy just because they fear what peers would think.
People don't seem to understand that its just coke in a handy form and will occasionally badmouth it to no end.
Does anyone else experience this?

[i like wimmins]

Also, whilst smoking a the odd joint at a party would not necessarily make everyone around think the person is a pothead, if anyone finds out that you have ever had crack you will most likely get a big old "CRACKHEAD" stamp on your forehead. Its like there is no middleground in most people's eyes.

[white_lighter]

im not saying all crack heads are crazy cause i know some cool crack heads but when you go downtown or to crack invested hoods what do you see crack heads stealing shit, you ever sold crack befor them walking up scratching there face teethless trying to sell you anything they can get there hands on leaving there babies or selling there body for hits i know and seen alot of crack heads white and black and none of them are upper class but everything is sterotyped just like people think all white pot heads act like hippies or all black people sell drugs or play basket ball get use to it

[i like wimmins]

yes, I was previously aware of all the things that you mentioned. I wasn't asking why crack has gotten a bad rep, because the reasons are obvious. I was just seeing if there was anyone else out there who has experienced the stereotyping firsthand/gets irritated by crack's bad reputation.

[Koshh]

well... this is all about perspective.
from their perspective crack heads are a horrible horrible thing. what a waste of life, right? no big house, no kids, a shitty job...

but then... i'm looking right back... what the hell have these people accomplished? they bought an expensive tv and dvd player and stereo. what is that? how is that supposed to be impressive? how is "i want a big tv before i die" good?
and then how is "i want to feel amazing as often as possible" bad?

i don't get it, and if i have to be a consumer in persuit of the most expensive product to understand.. then i'll pass. i'll stick with crackhead plzkthx

Reputation Comments on this post:

mad props for this post, bro. never touched crack, and i personally hate coke, but you've "hit the nail right on th...

[bowlingforcindy]

nice point koshh

[maxmoe]

I still think it is dangerous to use crack recreationaly, see http://cocaine.org/ .

I know what you mean though, how most people consider users as losers, waste of space junkies.

[BCgirl]

i agree. even amongst my friends who do major stuff like Coke, Meth and H, will bash people who do crack... like me.. Nice friends I got huh?:P But I don't care.. crack is what gets me off :P And no, I'm not irresponsible or anything like that

[P!MPJU!C3]

I dunno bout crack. Its true its not as bad as heroine but I know that many junkies on crack in Holland are living on the street robbing and raping.So its not weird crack has a bad reputation. But ofcourse a big roll a bout the demonising of drugs is played by the media.

[drug-bot]

Originally Posted by P!MPJU!C3

I dunno bout crack. Its true its not as bad as heroine but I know that many junkies on crack in Holland are living on the street robbing and raping.So its not weird crack has a bad reputation. But ofcourse a big roll a bout the demonising of drugs is played by the media.

raping? thats not a word to throw around lightly, espeascilly when its pulled out of ones ass that a person who smokes some crack are more likely to commit sex crimes. wheres the proof?

[icemaster]

The I don't get is that Cocaine has a completely different rep than 'Crack'; although it is considered a 'hard drug', cocaine is generally never considered in the same category as crack, even though it is the same drug; As an example a number of my friends do coke, and don't consider it a big deal, but still have the same stereotypical image of crack (as portrayed by TV etc.) and make jokes about it in such a fashion. Yes, freebase cocaine provides a more intense and fast acting high, but it IS STILL THE SAME DRUG; If I do a half gram line (as I and my friends have done on numerous occaisions) or smoke a half gram in half an hour (which I have never done, by the way) the effect is fairly similar. To summarize, what gets to me is not the fact that 'crack' has a bad rap (because it is addictive and can be destructive), but rather the way cocaine is percieved in relation to freebase.

[Crackkim]

aaaah crack is much better than snorting coke


but ppl still look wierd if i light up my pipe for a quick fix in the bathroom or before sex

[sands of time]

Crack is looked down upon more so than coke because it is more addictive than powdered cocaine. Crack is more addicting because it delivers the same amount of the drug into the body, only quicker. With any addicting drug, the faster you deliver the drug into the body, the quicker the body can become addicted. This is a fact and this is why I think crack and it's users are looked down upon.

[beena]

SWIM smokes crack and remembers a time a while ago when she was round a fellow users flat indulging in her addiction. She was having a conversation about the drug and drug addiction in general when she casually called her friend (who had a pipe in his hand at the time) a 'crackhead'. Said friend went absolutely beserk at her 'I'm not an effing crackhead'. SWIM said 'surely a crackhead is just a person who is addicted to crack?'. SWIM's friend just weren't having it 'Crackheads are scum, the lowest of the low....they're not like you and me....they're the sort of people that would rob their own grandmother...' and so it went on.
Does anyone else think this is weird????!
SWIM is not proud of her drug addiction and looks to the day when she will be free of it but SWIM is not so ashamed either that she will not admit to it. As SWIM smokes crack, SWIM has always assumed that she is a crackhead. But now she finds that apparently she is not......??????!!!!!

[bonghed]

the only person that has ever called me a crackhead was my mother.

I kind of understood because of the way she was brought up but it is dissapointing and annoying that she won't even consider listening to reason.
She's very anti-drugs but drinks every day. I still love her obviously but have gave up her understanding.

[ai]

from a recoverying crackhead, if you think there is anything GOOD about crack you haven't been using long (or hard) enough. this shit is no joke son. hell I have a college degree in art history and I owned a nice sized computer company at one time and within a year and a half I was hanging out with the "dirty people" as you would describe it. sure I didnt' start out like that. I started out with my fancy home made pipe and buying half ounces at a time, renting rooms at the marriot and having a grand ole time. went from once a month to once every other week to once a week to about 1-2 times a week, never got much worse than that. but that is still too much.

then slowly but surly you start to loose grip with yourself. I look back on it now, I went from 3 cars, living in the best part of my home town and working for myself, to not having any clothes that fit, living with my grandmother in the WORST part of town with no car in a matter of a year and somehow it all made sense. It wasn't crack's fault. it was X's fault.

I can only speaak for myself. It wasn't CRACK, it was the fact that I COUDLN'T CONTROL MY USE.

[xxrtagxx]

I remember when my sister lived in the Tenderloin District in San Francisco I would go visit and stand on the balcony for hours watching the "crack heads" & addicts in all forms, fighting with themselves and acting so oddly that it only solidified in my mind what the term crack head actually meant and where it was derived from.

Since then, I know I have used negative terminology like Crack Head, to describe people & their behaviors (although I am VERY anti racial slurs). I've used various terms to describe myself as well ie. alcoholic, lush and so many more.

I don't think that the derogatory drug terms will go away until we are able to do away with racial slurs. The number of people offended by "N" word far outweighs the people offended by "crack head" yet you still hear people use it ALL the time. I'd like to see the day when nobody calls anyone but their name. But, I fear that will only happen in a Utopian society.

[cnsns2ccl2]

Interesting post because I sometimes refer to someone as a crackhead if they are acting crazy or if someone says something off the wall I may say "Are you on crack?" When I say these things I don't necessarily believe the person is ACTUALLY on crack or a crackhead. I would say this before I had ever known anyone who had ever smoked crack just as an expression and you are right, crack has a horrible rep. I have never smoked cracked myself (out of fear) but have since seen someone go from a pothead to a crackhead, using cocaine to start with then moving on to crack. It wasn't till he was well into smoking crack that he earned the rep associated with crack. I think crack has a bad rep because, although it may happen occasionally, it is not common (at least from all I hear and see, which may or may not be a true reflection of reality) that someone smokes crack only occasionally for an extended period of time. More often than not (from my perception) those who start smoking crack eventually become addicted and eventually run out of money and become so desparate that they will do sketchy things to get their fix. There are not many stories out there of people who smoke crack occasionally but never let it get out of control but everyone knows people who have a few drinks but do not become alcoholics, smoke a joint here and there and do not become pot heads, hell most of us even know people who snort coke from time to time but do not become cokeheads. Why does cocaine not have as bad a rap? Interesting question but I would guess that cocaine use is limited somewhat by the ability to snort it but I may be wrong. From what I've seen from the crackhead I know (who does live up to the current rep) started snorting coke, became addicted, then switched to smoking crack once his nose became too irritated to take anymore. Honestly though, can you say being a crackhead is a good thing? Any addiction is sucks as far as I'm concerned and which I have experience with.

[ai]

SWIM didn't have a problem with coke. once every couple of months. Crack is a different game my friend

[cyndi]

swim has never tried or seen crack but knows it is a hard one to kick. Lots of people in rehab had crack problems. Many relapsed so swim knows it is a serious problem for some. Good luck to swiy and swim hopes swim kicks it.

[BuffaloBoobs]

Swim always had a negative image of crack, just from the way people say 'crackhead.'
After avoiding crack (and even coke) for a couple years, he went ahead and had a couple of experiences.
His coke experience was just not really his thing, but he still went on and tried crack twice. Oh, and with a completely open mind, he must add.
He tells me that it is the dirtiest thing he's ever felt. Seemed like such a pointless high, so short. The next day, after both uses, he felt down. Not depressed, but like it is a complete waste of time.
Does anybody else know what swim means?

Swim loves his benzos, opiates, amps, and all, but crack was a totally different kind of feeling. Never the kind of 'mental orgasm' or such as described by others.

[ai]

swim was not hitting the pipe right.

ai added 0 Minutes and 50 Seconds later...

swim felt the same way unitl like his 3rd time trying it and in the middle of his third"experience" he messed around and got a bell ringer.. and it was off to the races.

[cnsns2ccl2]

With smoking crack does swiy hear bells or the train sound like some IV users do?

[ai]

if SWIM's stuff is good and he hits it right.. yep

SWIM once heard aliens chanting in his ears.

[yourimaginaryfriend]

This whole discussion reminds me of the time Whitney Houston said "CRACK IS WACK."