Please be brutally honest

[Badly Drawn Girl]

I've gotten a lot of good advice in another thread but I'm back for more. I've been smoking crack for about 5 weeks. It was out of control, due to having a lot of money, a lot of time, and a partner in crime, but I stopped that crap a couple of weeks ago. Since then I'm smoking maybe 3 relatively small rocks every 2-3 days. I am not smoking around my family. I time it so I can have total privacy (I get off on listening to music when I'm high), and make sure I'm back to being sober before I encounter anyone. I take my opiates about an hour before I anticipate being out and the transition has been totally painless. I can make those 3 rocks last 5 hours so I'm not hitting back to back to back to back. I can even save some for the next day if I want.

I know crack is of the devil. I've seen first hand the way it ruins lives. Does anyone think it's possible to use it recreationally and remain a functioning adult? Or am I just playing with fire? I will say that for the month I was binging, I was smoking all day, every day. Hundreds of dollars worth. I have absolutely no desire to go back to that. I get tired of it, put the pipe down, and move on. But at the same time, I don't want to be fooling myself. I'm in the midst of getting into a methadone clinic so all this shit has to come to an end soon anyway. But I was just curious if anyone thinks it's possible to be a "weekend warrior" when it comes to crack?

[jwalm]

i cant imagine anyone wanting to dabble in crack when they have opiates

for me when i have opiates i could care less about any other class of drugs

i think normal functioning people who use crack recreationally are extremely rare

sure you hear of people with high-profile jobs that use cocaine-but it seems at some point those people hit rock bottom and lose everything eventually

[Badly Drawn Girl]

i cant imagine anyone wanting to dabble in crack when they have opiates

for me when i have opiates i could care less about any other class of drugs

i think normal functioning people who use crack recreationally are extremely rare

sure you hear of people with high-profile jobs that use cocaine-but it seems at some point those people hit rock bottom and lose everything eventually

I know, it just sounds wrong! But it sure helps me cut down on the amount of pills I take. I'm not planning on staying on the dope, just curious. I've been doing a ton of a research lately on the drug and it seems like no one can escape the compulsive nature of it.

[Duckfeet]

Back in Louisiana I saw quite a few people who had shown restraint and sanity w/opiates, loose everything to crack. Bikers, oilfield workers, nurses, married people w/kids, just throw everything away and go quickly down the tubes until they got busted. A lot of these people seemed to think that they didn't *really* like crack that much, but like just about everybody, it produces *huge* craving for more, once u take that hit off the pipe. I know I never think of myself as a cokehead, but anytime I'm fixing it, or smoking it, I just seem to keep wanting more....and more...nasty shit. Lot of people, though, think they can handle it, but it's not like junk, there's never enough money. Best left alone.

[Curio]

I know when I have ritalin or another stimulant on board it will potentiate my opiates to a degree; it enabled me to do without higher opiate dosages by giving me some of the euphoria (and energy) I was missing by being undermedicated and in chronic pain...course you can also exascerbate your pain symptoms if not careful..

...if you like the feeling I'd just find a different stimulant...otherwise, it would be too easy to end up back down the road you just went down, you know?

[HeidiW]

For me, crack is an awful, fucked up thing. About 10 years ago when I had a bad smoking habit, I tried committing suicide and nearly succeeded. I took a month's supply of Thorazine and landed myself in ICU on a ventilator for a week. It's something I generally try to avoid nowadays. If it's free, I usually break it down with vinegar or lemon juice and bang it.
I'd try to get off the crack and switch to 100% opiates. I'm no one to be giving advice. I just know how fucked up that shit has had me. Best of luck to you.

[youwonhundred]

Based on personal experience of the worst possible kind, run dont walk, but run away from crack. Its a completely different thing than opiates. If you're trying to get on a meth clinic, it will fuck you up. Last time I was on a clinic, I kept testing dirty for crack. It was so easy to get back in those days. I'm sure it still is, but I won't go looking for it.

I'm probably not that coherent, and probably not making much sense, but I can definitely say in all seriousness, stay away from that shit. Please.

[robojunkie]

Me personally, I tried rock before I got into H and would be "acutely compulsive" about it. You know, hit every 3 minutes till money's gone then fiending for hours...But once the H became my doc I could chill way more and be way less compulsive with the cocaine (always preferred bangin' it). I think it's a drug of choice thing, like you I could be way more "moderate" about banging c or smokin rocks when I was on H and had more for later. No horrible crash/anxiety/compulsion, at least no where near like it is without opiates. It's kinda like when rock is the doc and main thing one does, you run out and all you think about/want/need is another blast, but if you do H (and its your preferred drug) you tend to run out of rock/coke and say shit I need some H to chill (at least me), end of run at that point, usually...

[kyuss]

I seriously think
crack is hard wired
to make you want more
til all you have left
is a cheap lighter
that's out of butane.

[HistoryofMadness]

personally i don't think there's any way to function on crack. anyone i've ever seen that can 'control' the urge simply was forced to because they didn't have anything left.

[nick]

Anybody who thinks that they can control crack is in deep,deep denial.

[greenfox]

I know, it just sounds wrong! But it sure helps me cut down on the amount of pills I take. I'm not planning on staying on the dope, just curious. I've been doing a ton of a research lately on the drug and it seems like no one can escape the compulsive nature of it.

Crack=evil!

[slugbone]

you'll be dead or homeless before long if you continue to use. my attempt at a shock tactic.

now i don't know if that would ever happen to you BDG, but listen to nick, you are totally deluding yourself thinking you could control it. i would hate to see you go down that road, all of us opiophiles would. that shit is hard on your heart too.

[Ragdoll]

Living where I do, I'm surrounded by crack addicts. Wanna do some serious damage to yourself, your mental abilities, your appearance (DEFINITELY THAT!!), your entire life in general - keep doing crack. The stuff is toxic waste.

[Opiyum]

To me it sounds like you already know the answer to this question and I think your hoping someone says something that convinces you that its okay to keep doing what your doing. Your looking for some sort of justification. A word that makes you comfortable with what you already know isn't working for you or isn't going to work for you.
A question like this can't really be answered. Only time will tell. Who knows maybe you will find yourself ten years older and your life not in the gutter.

The thing is that if your sitting here asking this kind of question then it's already too late. If it were something that you could do here and there then you wouldn't be taking time out of your day to ask people whether or not you can hack it as a functioning crack head. If it has you doing that than what else will it have you do?

[Badly Drawn Girl]

The thing is that if your sitting here asking this kind of question then it's already too late. If it were something that you could do here and there then you wouldn't be taking time out of your day to ask people whether or not you can hack it as a functioning crack head. If it has you doing that than what else will it have you do?

Well that certainly isn't true. I'm just curious. I just don't fiend for it the way other people seem to. It's very easy for me to stop using, even when I have some left. So it was an honest question. I can't stay on it once I get into the meth clinic anyway.

[SuperJunky]

I agree w/ the above sentiment, I dont think its possible to use crack daily or even 3-4 times per week and be a functional responsible adult, but a lot of people say this about heroin as well and I know a lot of people that do that. I hate crack, stimulants in general actually, but if I take a hit I cant stop till its gone or I get a good shot o dope in me. And even then I usually finish. If I've been smoking crack it takes more smak to get me off and if I take a hit after I've done my dope it kills the high instantly. High doses of benzos seem to counter act this though.

[chasetherush]

i went to an NA meeting one time. i saw what recovered crackheads looked like, and it wasn't pretty. you shouldn't do it, even occasionally, for so many reasons. the most important one being brain damage. opiates have their downsides, but permanent brain damage isn't one of them (unless the opies you're getting on the street are adulterated, of course). yeah, opiates are addictive and tolerance builds and you really have to be careful. but at least you're not taking an AK to your brain cells. if you want to do something ONCE IN A WHILE that's speedy and euphoric, get some dexedrine and eat a few of those. they're pharms so you know they're pure (pure dextro-amphetamine) and as long as it's just occasional then you should be fine. no binging though. sleep deprivation for many days at a time can cause brain damage all by itself. stop now before it kills you or makes you retarded.

[Opiyum]

Well that certainly isn't true. I'm just curious. I just don't fiend for it the way other people seem to. It's very easy for me to stop using, even when I have some left. So it was an honest question. I can't stay on it once I get into the meth clinic anyway.

if you say so...and anyway you asked for a brutally honest opinion. i wasnt questioning the honesty of the question just the meaning behind it. Im sorry you disagree with it so vehemently.
If it is so easy for you to stop using than why are you doubting yourself is the only thing I wonder?

You yourself said you got to a point that was "out of control". What makes you think this won't ever happen again. Is it because you were able to slow down to the point you are at now? Most peoples history of drug abuse resembles a roller coaster. They get bad, they clean up, they relapse, rehab etc..

I wish you the best of luck because i like when people dont fit the stereotype but some of what you said has me doubting you. So just know that and next time you ask for someones honest opinion dont get so defensive when it doesn't support your own opinion of yourself. There is no right or wrong about what I said so you cant say its not true. with the info you gave i gave my best judgement. And my brutally honest judgement is that you are in denial. To say that you are different than everyone else and that you dont fiend like they do is a classic example. As i said I wish you luck but in my opinion you should put the shit down now.

[Badly Drawn Girl]

if you say so...and anyway you asked for a brutally honest opinion. i wasnt questioning the honesty of the question just the meaning behind it. Im sorry you disagree with it so vehemently.
If it is so easy for you to stop using than why are you doubting yourself is the only thing I wonder?

You yourself said you got to a point that was "out of control". What makes you think this won't ever happen again. Is it because you were able to slow down to the point you are at now? Most peoples history of drug abuse resembles a roller coaster. They get bad, they clean up, they relapse, rehab etc..


I was out of control because I was stuck with a user, who was pushing the drug on me. If I feel asleep, he would blow it in my mouth/nose. I was high 24/7, didn't sleep for days on end and it certainly wasn't by choice. I lost 20 lbs in a matter of weeks because we never ate. Once I got rid of him, I was able to stop that nonsense. If I use, I smoke off and on for a few hours. No binging, I'm eating and sleeping normally, it's just not negatively affecting my life. And I have access to a lot of money and it doesn't tempt me. So that's why I asked the question. Will it eventually get the point where I lose all control, in other words I'm playing with fire, or can this be maintained as an occasional fun high?

And I don't see how my reply is being taken as being defensive. I'm not defensive at all. I appreciate everyone's opinion. But I'm not lying when I say I don't smoke like a fiend. And you saying it's already too late is a bit dramatic. Too late for what? To stop smoking? I'm not worried about that at all, currently. I'm worried about turning a corner and finding that I've become another statistic.

[Opiyum]

All this talk of crack makes me really want some. It's been over a year a least. As far as I know you can't IV crack and even if you can I don't see how it could be better than shooting coke. I miss smoking things...Damnit. Now how am I supposed to sleep with this on my mind.

Best of luck.

[HeidiW]

Yes you can IV crack. As ludicrous as this sounds, sometimes it's better than powder.

[AWOL]

To be brutally honest (like you asked)


I would shoot heroin over smoking crack any day.

As far as level of evilness, crack falls in #2 right behind crystal. And that's a close call. I can hang with smack heads, if I had to be around someone with a crack problem I'd remove myself from the situation. Crackheads can not be trusted, they are / end up serriously fucked up in the head, nobody wants to be around them, you'd do yourself a bigger favor just flushing away all of you money / life now and saving the suspence.

I'm sorry BDG, I am not trying to be a dickhead or be putting anyone down. It's not like I come out and say this shit all over the board just trying to diss on people or anything. Just you asked for a brutally honest answer. My brutally honest answer is that even though you know you're my friend ... if you were a crackhead I'd not even let you in my place for a drink of water. You'd have to wait outside.

You can function on opiates, you can not function at any level on crack. Kiss your money, sanity, friends, family good bye. I've never ever ever seen or heard of a functional crackhead, or an occasional user.



That is MY brutally honest answer, I'm sure everyone is entitled to their own.

[nick]

Yes you can IV crack. As ludicrous as this sounds, sometimes it's better than powder.
Amen.

[Badly Drawn Girl]

My brutally honest answer is that even though you know you're my friend ... if you were a crackhead I'd not even let you in my place for a drink of water. You'd have to wait outside.

Not even a drink of water? That's it, I have to put the pipe down. (Thanks for the brutally honest answer, love)

[Nostromos]

I was reading this thread and thought "I don't know shit about that stuff", when I DUH HUH remembered I actually do, but luckily the crap seemed to have lost its potency by the time I took it.


<All this talk of crack makes me really want some.>

LMAO!!

I've put some years into the AA scene where I heard lots of stories about crack, but never having experienced the scene for myself, I'm never sure whether they mean crack-cocaine or methamphetamines. In general, the type of person who abuses/is addicted to the heavy-weight stimulants isn't someone you wanna be around: hellof mean, chewed-up looking, just empty inside in spite of the energy on the surface.

It turns people into monsters, I think. Speed and Heroin are body-fuck drugs that are best left alone.

[HistoryofMadness]

this thread doesn't make me want crack, crack makes me want crack.

besides i've heard countless people SAY they were 'fine' and 'could control' this or that but it is ALWAYS another story when the actually try...




i say if you really want to know, try to quit. totally. for good. right now.

if you can quit, then you know it wasn't a problem, and thank your stars, and stay off. because next time it might be.

if you can't quit, well then you have your answer. look for help.

really the question isn't whether you can stop or not, the question is whether your crack use has interfered with your life at all...

besides why would you want to do something that put you in such a bad place for so long, now that you're out of that bad place?

[noahzark]

How could a drug named after your ass be any good?

Noahzark

[Paregoric Kid]

cocaine/crack is good and it is possible to use it in moderation but some people have compulsive personalities and become "psychological addicts" to crack.

[noahzark]

I think Coke is yucky. The high lasts for about 10 minutes then more. You can never win with that crap. I remember in the old days, the junkies never got along with the coke heads. They always said that coke feaks could not be trusted and in those days were called "tweakers", now speed people have that name.

I am looking for some thing to relax me not get me jacked.

Sorry, to each his or her own I am just negative on blow.

Noahzark

[AWOL]

Not even a drink of water? That's it, I have to put the pipe down. (Thanks for the brutally honest answer, love)


Sorry dear, I must have been having a really bad day or something. I don't recal as my last few weeks have been - WORK, sleep 6-7 hours, go back to work. I've been really wacked lately. That was a bit too honest huh? But no, serriously I'd not let a crackhead in, I don't even let my "friends" in because everytime I do something dissapears.

[RR1203]

SWIM can't say she ever smoked rock, but SWIM used to smoke coke off of foily's and some people consider it the same (I do) and some say it's totally different. Either way. SWIM was capable of only doing it 1 or 2 weekends out of the month and only one day (24 hours) at that. With that said, SWIM just didn't have the money to do it anymore and when it comes to stimulants SWIM could never use them for more then 24 hrs at a time, bc her body says "no you don't bitch" and SWIM has to re-fuel. Now, as for opiates it's much harder for SWIM to control. SWIM can sometimes, but other days when SWIM's pain is bad or life is crazy for SWIM she cannot. The 1st 2 years when SWIM's condition wasn't as bad she took the meds only at night until SWIM discovered she could get so much more done and had more energy to get through work on them too (SWIM doesn't get sedated from them).

So, can some people control it, yes. HOWEVER, the majority of people cannot and you should be very worried. If you are strong enough to control it then more power to you, but since you are asking about your use then maybe you subconsciously are already concerned that it may be too much! It is really hard on your body and you are using at least a quarter to half of the week. If you up it at all you may fall deep. Now if you are like SWIM and hate the way you feel when you're worn out after one night of partying or use just a few times during the day, then you may be the small percent that can handle it, but only if you listen to your body and take a break!

I really wish you luck and hope you find your answer. Just tread lightly.

[morpheos]

I work as a bouncer at a bar, in a downtown area bordering both a large university and one of the lowest-income residential neighborhoods in the city. The place is rife with panhandlers, and one of my duties is to keep the parking lot clear. I've gotten to know several of the "bums" in the process, and was struck by the fact that they were nearly all able-bodied men of sound mind, though unclean and generally distracted. In other words, none of them seemed driven to homelessness by mental illness, and all seemed at least theoretically capable of holding down some kind of job, if only a menial one. Incidentally, the truly "crazed" vagrants never seem to ask for change, only the same characters, over and over, day and night, asking for a buck here and there, 50 cents or a quarter.
One of them in particular, "Rico", stood out as more honest and trustworthy, fairly bright. I would give him a few bucks now and then to keep me appraised of events on the streets. One day he mentioned he could score some percs - I was doubtful, but, given my compulsive urge to collect almost any drug that comes my way, I followed him to his apartment building. Well, he had some bunk crap I've never seen before - round and scored like a 512, but unmarked and about 2/3 the size. Granted, there's a lot of apap/oxycodone compounds out there, but I'm not buying shit off the street that I don't recognize. Rico apologized, said his neighbor fronted them and insisted that they were percs, and on the way out asked me for ten dollars. He seemed desperate, I hesitated - he had done some work for me before, so I gave him the money. He promptly went to the next apartment and bought a hit of crack.It was then that I realized that the beggars on the streets weren’t homeless – they were crackheads, bumming enough money to go up and get a hit every so often. The last time I saw Rico he had a black eye; apparently he told his dealer he was quitting and the guy socked him in the face. Point of the story – I’ve never seen a more desperate, sordid, just plain pathetic type of drug addict as a crackhead. Granted, crack is easier to come by where I live than dope, and I’ve seen a lot of junkies do a lot of fucked up things to get a fix, but the absolute slavery of these people to crack, to crack dealers, the exploitation and lack of basic dignity, the hollow eyes and atrophied souls – that’s one road I don’t want to go down.

[HeidiW]

You know you're really bad off when you start breaking down crack with vinegar and shooting it.

A hell of a lot worse than smoking it, at least it was for me.

[ValiumSoup]

You know you're really bad off when you start breaking down crack with vinegar and shooting it.

A hell of a lot worse than smoking it, at least it was for me.

Not to mention if ya miss...The old I got bit again by a brown recluse excuse only works once,or twice if ya have been bit by one.

Sadly,when still on the IV train I have spiked it,Lemon Juice/Vinegar both work...

Why? as stated before once you IV a drug life changes and smoking the shit was like comparing asprin and Oxy's....

Crack is a fucking waste of health/time/ and MONEY...
Though I have not smoked tons,the times I have smoked likely 10-15 occasions,there was never enough...And could never be Enough....And I was not broke,until the nigh was over.Might as well pack your pipe with cash as catching what ya want is not going to happen.

Heed where you are standing as it is thin ice....Leave it be it is a monster,its buzz is want more...

-vs

[halfalien_s4]

crack & hallunciagines are the only drugs ive never tried. i know better than to try crack, tho ive been offered it several times. last time i was in a group of my friends and a guy came over with some rock and a piope and before i knoew it the crack was being passed around the room. my friends know mw well enuf to knnow i dont touch crack. so they would even step in 4 me and tell the guy i had a bad reaction to it just so the dude wouldnt mess with me. ive done meth tho, 3 times (in my early 20s a long time ago). once i snorted it (burns like shit!, and twice i smoked it. i never got high off of it tho, since it actually made me more normal. i could focas and stay on task...and my mind didnt race. i get all of those same effects now when i take my concerta 72mg xr.....

[(inaudible screams)]

I've never tried crack. How different is it than snortin a line of coke?

I snorted a line of meth a few years ago. I was up all night, hating life. I wont be doing that again.

[flipside]

Well, from the age of 16 -30 I could snort a line of coke ( or a G whatever) pick it up and put it down. No problem. At 30 I took my first hit off a crack pipe and did not put it down again for 2 years. Lost evreything.

It's a totally different feeling. nothing at all comprable to the feeling you get from snorting.., or banging C....at least it wasn't for me. Not an experience I reccomend to anyone or nor do I plan on repeating.

Half..you are wise to stick to your Concerta and very lucky to have friends that look out for you like that.

[Duckfeet]

Before I had tried it, it kind of baffled me. I would see people I used to know, who used to kind of look down on me and my old lady, cuz we were such "dopefiends," and they'ed get on crack, and just pass us by on their way to the bottom. This one girl went from nice housewife to unhappy hooker in less than a year. Bikers loosing their Harleys, coworkers ending up on the streets. Madness. The wrote an article once, said the cops missed the oldtime junkies, one fix a day, $25, and they were done...these guys, hell, it never ends.

I asked a biker buddy, Payroll, what it *was* about this shit, was it that good? And I never forgot what he said: he said *no*, it *wasn't* that good, but that every pipe u think the *next* one is going to be "that good".

I was in the life, finally got around to it, nah, wasn't that good, but I couldn't stop either. When the run was over, I'd think how much it sucked, but once u do a hit...u just *know* that *next* hit is going to be wonderful...

a fucked up drug...legalize? Hell, I"m surprised they don't make it *mandatory.* Fuck, talk about being able to control the population!


Well, from the age of 16 -30 I could snort a line of coke ( or a G whatever) pick it up and put it down. No problem. At 30 I took my first hit off a crack pipe and did not put it down again for 2 years. Lost evreything.

It's a totally different feeling. nothing at all comprable to the feeling you get from snorting.., or banging C....at least it wasn't for me. Not an experience I reccomend to anyone or nor do I plan on repeating.

Half..you are wise to stick to your Concerta and very lucky to have friends that look out for you like that.

[Sinderella]

My dad made a joke one time when I was younger to one of his friends but it took until I got older and a little more street wise to actually understand it....it goes...

WHat do you give a man who has everything for christmas?

Give him a crack rock rock and next year he wont have SHIT......


Just thought I would share......

[vanilla_mlkshake2007]

Being a former crack addict myself,clean 4 13years,I have seen too many people crawling around smoking cookie crumbs,ceiling tile chunks,sand,candle wax,basically (carpet munchers).I also lot a child back in 1987 cause I couldn't stop.
Now that I'm on opiates I spens alot less then 3`thousand a night.I could quit if i wanted too(or had to cuz of kids,now that I've weaned down quite a bit,but I will admit when I am on opiates I can function,where as when I was on crack I couldn't put the pipe down long enough to make my kid eggo's for a snack.What a fuck up I was.Well you asked for my honest opinion and as a functioningf crack user,for me it couldn't and woulkdn't ever happen again.

[Duckfeet]

Yeah, opiates are different...I haven't done, or wanted to do, crack in over ten years, and glad of it.

What an excellent and honest post here, my friend, I hope people read it, and see where that world can really take you...


Being a former crack addict myself,clean 4 13years,I have seen too many people crawling around smoking cookie crumbs,ceiling tile chunks,sand,candle wax,basically (carpet munchers).I also lot a child back in 1987 cause I couldn't stop.
Now that I'm on opiates I spens alot less then 3`thousand a night.I could quit if i wanted too(or had to cuz of kids,now that I've weaned down quite a bit,but I will admit when I am on opiates I can function,where as when I was on crack I couldn't put the pipe down long enough to make my kid eggo's for a snack.What a fuck up I was.Well you asked for my honest opinion and as a functioningf crack user,for me it couldn't and woulkdn't ever happen again.