brftrobin

I have a question, several really, but this one for starters. Does everyone who trys crack become addicted? I know that may sound like a stupid question, but I really have never had any experiences with this.

I have to say, that everyone's advice, whether I want to really hear it or not has been extremely helpful. I feel very fortunate to have found this site

KM

Impurrfect

I do know of a few people who have tried it and not gotten addicted, but in all honesty, they usually got addicted to something else.

I'm a recovering crack addict. I abused and tried several different things, but crack is the one I am addicted to. I know of people who were addicted to meth, that didn't like crack. I was the exact opposite.

The problem is, whenever someone is using/abusing a drug, they are trying to escape from life. A "normal" person, just deals with life...doesn't go around trying different things to forget it...they may seek counseling or the support of others, but they don't turn to things that are illegal and addictive.

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

TTOSBT

I wondered that too.
I have never done crack but when I was in high school there was some teenage character on Young and the Restless and her storyline was all about trying crack once, getting addicted and the path of addiction, etc. Well it seriously scared me enough that I have never touched it. I have tried lots of other stuff but I was always afraid of crack and heroin.

getr345

I'm not proud to say this, but back in the very early 90's, I smoked cocaine (crack) a few times and I have to tell you this. The high is incredible and the pull to do more is unrelenting. No feeling I have ever felt was as bad as that feeling that comes when you run out, the sun comes up after a night of doing that stuff and you have to try to sleep. Worse than death I suppose. But did I get instantly addicted? No.

hello-kitty

When I got into recovery for my crack addiction one statement really stuck with me.

Crack addicts can go long periods of time without their drug of choice - for example when they run out of money or when they are in jail. A crack addict might think, I am not an addict. It has been over a month since I last used crack. I've been broke and I haven't robbed a liquor store to get money to buy dope. Obviously, I don't have a problem. I am only a recreational user. The truth is there is no such thing as a recreational crack user. If you continue to use crack, even "recreationally", you are an addict.

By the way, crack is smokeable cocaine. They are the same drug. Cocaine is mixed with other substances and cooked up to form crack. That's the only difference. Crack hits the brain much harder and faster than a snorted line of cocaine so you get a shorter but more intense high. And the cravings for more are unbearable.

Ann

Those words say it all.

Crack is one of the most destructive drugs around and a drug of desperation. It also takes a long period of abstinence to shake the uncontrollable urge to use. Statistics show that crack and crystal meth users do better at recovery programs when they are long term programs.

It doesn't mean it can't be beaten because it can. But casual use is not an option.

Hugs

brftrobin

Thanks, my boyfriends drug of choice is coke, but he told me that he had done crack, and honestly after that I was sick over hearing that he had, that I didn't ask any more questions. He swears he's clean it's been 4 months, but his behavior is suspect, and the more I know about addiction, the better I feel. That actually sounds weird, but I feel better about myself, and what I am capable of doing and what I am not as far as his addiction. BTW he did not go through detox or rehab, he said he made the decision he wanted to be clean and healthy and did it on his own, I am very skeptical, but want to be positive. Is it possible to do on your own?

Anyway, thank you for your posts, this is really a great place.

KM

TTOSBT

It is possible to white knuckle through abstinence/sobriety but I believe that you have to WORK to achieve recovery.

MrsMagoo

My husbands drug of choice is opiates (pain killers or heroin). He hasn't done heroin or pain killers in a year but.....he messed with crack here recently. He smoked it a couple of times and shot it up until he got in infection in his arm and I busted him. He says he's clean too but I wonder too and am always looking for "the signs". The problem with the signs besides missing money, missing property and mystery phone calls/errands is that it is a short term high. He says it never got hold of him (and he is on methadone for the other addiction and pain relief) so I don't know if that may have caused it not to grab him. It could also just be that he likes the lethargy of opiates vs. the zoom of coke/crack. ??? I don't know either if it's possible. I am also skeptical.

Keep your eyes open and a hand on your wallet and anything of value!

Impurrfect

((brftrobin))

I didn't go to rehab, unless you want to count almost 6 months in jail.

I white-knuckled it for the better part of 2 years, then relapsed, big time, for about a week. I then realized that just quitting wasn't enough. That's when I got totally hooked on SR, even though it took me 6 more months to sign on

I absolutely could not continue my recovery without the support of my friends, here, a few f2f friends, and my family. SR is my biggest support, though, because only a recovering addict can understand my thoughts and feelings.

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

marle

My daughter did crack but she always mixed it with heroin. Opiates are her drug of choice. She said that she hated crack. She hated that nervous, heart beating out of your chest, paranoid feeling. Now give her an opiate and it is off to the races. Hugs, Marle

outtolunch

And again, our daughters had the same reaction to crack. She said it made her paranoid and absolutely hated it. It's all about heroin, for her, too.

rose

Someone doesn't just have notion to just try crack one night, there is a drug history there before they do the crack.

Rose

brftrobin

Yes, his drug of choice is coke, he has done it for 20+ years. I don't know when or where the crack came into play, I wasn't in his life then. I do know from what he has told me and his friends and family, that his coke addiction was very bad, and I'm sure from what I have been reading, the crack was as well.

Done_With_It

I tried crack with a guy I was seeing once, before I really knew what drugs or addiction was. I didn't even know I was smoking crack, he was so addicted (had been in rehab many times). It did nothing for me, I didn't get it or how people got addicted to it, he smoked the rock all night, and kept going back out for more.

But when I did a tiny line of meth, within 30 seconds my entire life was changed, I was addcited to it, like there was no tomorrow.

Depends on the person, imo

:ghug3

jerect

Thats the same case with my AH.. He says he has smoked crack and he has done cocaine but it just wasn't his thing. He even broke up with a girlfriend because she was a coke head and he just couldent deal with it... I'll never understand the logic behind that one being that he is a pill head.

Opiates are his DOC too.. he eats them like candy

baxter

I don't know much about the drug thing either. I know my daughter's DOC is also crack, but I don't think there's a drug out there she wouldn't do if given the chance.

hope213

i think everyone who tries a drug will get addicted to one or the other. the drug is a powerful thing. i believe that if they try one drug they will try another & they soon find there drug of choice. i do not think they are "looking " to be an addict but it will happen.

liesagain

Okay I'm sure this isnt going to be the popular reply however I must say that not everyone who tries crack or any drug will become addicted.............

I say this because I have used or tried many drugs and thank you HP I never became addicted.

In my early 20, I "smoked cocaine" YES, crack is smokeable cocaine but at that time I had no idea what crack was ~~~ I was young and dumb and went along for the ride and had a group of people who used many different drugs and because I was stupid I tried them some I liked and tried more than once or twice and some I hated and never did again...............


science has found that there is a biological predisposition in a persons chemical make up that fuels addiction not everyone had this and not everyone will become addicted

I've heard some say ~~~addiction is like an allergic reaction to a substance

I dont recommend anyone TRY drugs to see if they will be addicted as I tell my kids It is NOT worth the chance.............


addiction is a disease ~~~~a disease that goes undetected until activated by the substance......

cinderellawkids

I agree with Lies Again, my parents have both used crack with a friend, years ago, he was addicted they after 3 times using, never picked up again