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Social view of Heroin addicts Vs. Crack addicts

R

RTrain

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So I was wondering about the general opinion on which is more socially frowned upon, crack or heroin? Which on has the worse social stigma? Of course this is a matter of opinion. I'd still like to see what people's opinions are.

This thought came to me when I was having a conversation with a co-worker and we were discussing drugs. She decided to mention to me that she had been addicted to crack, which I found very interesting for her to admit. I kept the majority of my drug use out of the discussion, but did admit to snorting things like oxy and coke on occasions. Also mentioned how I use to regularly smoke weed. Did not mention that I am still addicted to heroin.

As I see it society looks down upon crack addicts more than heroin addicts(maybe I am bit biased). There is a feeling that crack addicts are loose wires and dangerous to society. I think they are both looked at as scummy people who will do anything to feed their addiction.
 
I think crack addicts are more, because when that psychosis sets in from a long binge they look much scarier to a sober joe than the heroin junkie nodding on a bench. I don't think most average joes see a difference between meth, heroin, or crack; drugs are bad m'kay.
 
I'm not sure that society makes a fine distinction between the two. That said, anyone who lived through the '80s was taught by the media to fear the crack addict like the plague. But, heroin has such a longer history of (in your words) scumminess. Maybe that balances things out? I've never lived with either, but I'd take in a heroin addict as a roommate before I would a crack addict. I think? Maybe someone could convince me to do otherwise.
 
That's a tough tossup between the two, at least for me. Crack was the first drug I abused when I was a teen and it brought me down fast. It turned me into a fiend. I had no option but to stop smoking it and then shortly after found Heroin. I've been using heroin and other opiates on and off for years now and I've managed to be somewhat stable. Personally, I think Meth is even worse than Crack and Heroin. I just can't seem to quit it completely. This is all just my opinion of course.
 
Social view of crack head is of they're literally in a constant state of psychosis. They smoke up their rock in 2 seconds and start carpet/street-surfing and end up smoking random white objects, which I guess appears to them as some hard they must have dropped... lol

Heroin addicts just nod out, I've been addicted to opioids/IV heroin and cocaine for 5 years. Now I'm on methadone/MMT , I get 70mg liquid at the clinic.
 
I don't think that the average person makes too much of a distinction between crack addicts and heroin addicts; both drugs are sort of on the extreme ends of the spectrum, and so both drugs and drug-users tend to be demonized more so than others by people who are not well-versed on drugs.

I mean, try to think back to before you began using drugs, when you were still somewhat naive -- did you make much of a distinction between the two? I didn't. In my mind, weed was something that everyone did and was fairly benign, hallucinogens like LSD and mushrooms were not all that extreme or harmful either but should only be taken moderately (and these drugs, I believed, were more for the 'hippie' crowd), but drugs like crack and heroin were dangerous, dangerous, dangerous; they're incredibly addictive and people do awful things when they're using crack or heroin like steal from friends and family... I did not believe that one was any more dangerous or addictive than the other.
 
verso said:
I don't think that the average person makes too much of a distinction between crack addicts and heroin addicts; both drugs are sort of on the extreme ends of the spectrum, and so both drugs and drug-users tend to be demonized more so than others by people who are not well-versed on drugs.

I mean, try to think back to before you began using drugs, when you were still somewhat naive -- did you make much of a distinction between the two? I didn't. In my mind, weed was something that everyone did and was fairly benign, hallucinogens like LSD and mushrooms were not all that extreme or harmful either but should only be taken moderately (and these drugs, I believed, were more for the 'hippie' crowd), but drugs like crack and heroin were dangerous, dangerous, dangerous; they're incredibly addictive and people do awful things when they're using crack or heroin like steal from friends and family... I did not believe that one was any more dangerous or addictive than the other.
Click to expand...

In my younger years crack and heroin would represent the pinnacle of the taboo drug tower. I imagine it's like this for most average joes too, fairly little difference in stigma between the two.
 
Whosajiggawaaa said:
In my younger years crack and heroin would represent the pinnacle of the taboo drug tower. I imagine it's like this for most average joes too, fairly little difference in stigma between the two.
Click to expand...

Exactly... "the pinnacle of the taboo drug tower." Damn, that was nicely put... lol
 
I think it probably depends a LOT on where you live. I would guess that in places with a more visible heroin problem that carries a greater stigma and vice versa, just because that is the drug the average person sees doing the most damage to their community. Where I live crack is non existent, only rich people can afford to do cocaine regularly here and as far as I am aware people selling rock is virtually unheard of, some people do cook up their own freebase and smoke it but I would wager this is a very small niche market and that all the glamour and status attached to coke disappears quickly if people find out you smoke rock.

There is a huge meth problem where I live, but it was preceded by a major heroin problem 10-15 years ago. People here tend to have a very bad perception of heroin, and heroin is still the number one drug of abuse in the really hardcore areas where there are open air drug markets and needles all over the streets etc. A lot of people seem to view ice like a fucking upgrade from coffee but heroin is the devil, it is stupid as fuck. There is a huge gap between drug users and non drug users in this regard though, as most non drug users would probably consider ice to be the worst drug apart from heroin. A lot of drug users would consider drugs like ketamine and GHB to be more harmful than meth, which is pretty ridiculous imo.

Due to the fact meth is seen as so casual among many drug users here and the glamour associated with cocaine, if crack cocaine ever did come up here in any real way I don't think it would have a huge stigma to it, definitely less than heroin at first. After a few years when people started seeing addicts sketching out on the streets and shit the perception might change but it would take time I think.
 
Maybe a tossup? More crack than heroin where I live (large urban area in U.S.) but I don't think society makes a big distinction.
 
verso said:
I don't think that the average person makes too much of a distinction between crack addicts and heroin addicts; both drugs are sort of on the extreme ends of the spectrum, and so both drugs and drug-users tend to be demonized more so than others by people who are not well-versed on drugs.

I mean, try to think back to before you began using drugs, when you were still somewhat naive -- did you make much of a distinction between the two? I didn't. In my mind, weed was something that everyone did and was fairly benign, hallucinogens like LSD and mushrooms were not all that extreme or harmful either but should only be taken moderately (and these drugs, I believed, were more for the 'hippie' crowd), but drugs like crack and heroin were dangerous, dangerous, dangerous; they're incredibly addictive and people do awful things when they're using crack or heroin like steal from friends and family... I did not believe that one was any more dangerous or addictive than the other.
Click to expand...

This is a good point. As a person who smoked weed regularly and used hard drugs occasionally, I pretty much had tried everything except crack and heroin. And at the time I couldn't see myself ever doing them. Most certainly they are the pinnacle of the taboo drug tower.
 
In my state they are both viewed the same along with meth. Meth prolly the most abundent and noticable. That and iv drug use in general.

Ive only met one person who's claimed to smoke crack in my lifetime so I don't really know much about users but I don't really classify heroin like that. Maybe because I'm a user it should be all opiates in my opion. There are people who over indulge in all different drugs one shouldn't judge the other.

If you ask people here any durg user is an addict my mother being one of them.
 
Yeah society just looks down on drug users in general. Weed is probably the only somewhat 'accepted' drug. Idk i think crack heads are just worse imo. Now i am biased but i have smoked crack and its just that when you hit the rock and your jonesing and you mix that with a bad temper that shit can hit the fan real fast. I think they are more likely to commit a crime than a heroin user.
 
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