As someone whom smoked crack for 3 years. At a rate of about every 2 weeks for 1 or 2 days at a time. However, I had plenty of money so could easily afford it. Thus this law/rule/whatever would not have applied to me.
BTW - I quit the drug on my own - with no help or assistance of any kind. To me? That is the only way to do it 'permanently'. You have to WANT to quit enough.
Anyway...
A) the part that ignoramus made about money for 'preventing drug use' was MEGA MORONIC. That is one cop whom clearly had NO IDEA what he was talking about. Most cops - I found - understood drugs far better than this ignoramus.
People use drugs to escape their lives.
And crack made me instantly feel far, FAR better than I have EVER felt before or since.
How the fuck is a 'program' going to compete with that?
Idiot cop.
B) In the three years I used? I probably got high with about 3 or 4 dozen different people. In all kinds of different locations and cities. And I NEVER, ONCE saw someone use a glass pipe. Not ONCE.
I am not saying no one uses them. I have seen videos of it.
But I have never seen it.
Okay...this gets technical...so be warned:
The two most common crackpipes I saw - by FAR - were pop/beer cans and asthma medication dispensers.
The red part only.
The average crack user wants two things from a crack pipe.
1) he wants it to 'work' (duh).
2) he wants it to be either discardable or he wants it to be convertible to make it look 'normal'.
1) work
For a pipe to work properly, you want it to not allow, too much air into your lungs when you inhale the crack smoke.
(btw - the reason they call it 'crack' is because the drug makes a 'crackle' noise when lit. It is also called 'rock' because it looks like little pieces of rock)
The less 'normal' air you get - the higher the concentration of crack that fills your lungs.
A pop can is actually lousy at this as you take in a LOT of air when you inhale. But it is the second thing in spades - discardable.
(btw - to make a pop can crack pipe? You flatten - somewhat - the part of the can beneath the 'opening'. That is where you put the crack. And you flatten the part opposite it so you can lay the can down and not have it roll around. You then poke a few, tiny holes - with a pin - in the bottom of the flattened area beneath the opening. Then you hold the can sideways - the opening facing upwards. You then put cigarette ash over the holes. This is, I think, so the crack does not fall into the holes as it shrinks - which it does as it is heated. Next you put a tiny piece of crack on the ash. You then light the crack and inhale.)
The 'inhaler' is FAR better as it is short enough to not allow too much non-crack smoke to enter your lungs and diminish the effect. But it also has a large diameter so you get a large, concentration into your lungs quickly. You just tape a piece of tinfoil over the normal 'mouth' part. And poke your holes in it, put the ash and crack on. Then you inhale the crack from the opposite end you would use if using it as an inhaler.
There is a problem with the inhaler though - it gets hot.
Unlike with cocaine - which is night and day different from crack in use and it's intensity/type of high - a crack high is short. VERY short. Like only 15 minutes. So you have to inhale it often. And each time you inhale it, you are doing so for about 4-5+ seconds per time. And all that hot air flowing through that plastic inhaler will heat it up quickly. Soon, you cannot even hold it in your bare hand. So people I knew would wrap it with electrical tape...this helped the heat problem greatly.
Btw, my pipe of choice was 3/4" copper piping. I would buy an elbow and a 3-4" straight piece and fit them together (but NO Cement/bonding agent). I would then tape most of it with a TON of electrical tape. And it worked like a charm. Also, it was much easier to get hold of the copper piping - rather than an inhaler...as I would discard my pipe after EVERY time I got high.
Now, a glass pipe I imagine would get very hot, very quickly. Though I have never used one. So I cannot see why one would use such a thing for smoking crack cocaine. I am quite sure it would work - you
would get high. But surely the pipe would get MEGA hot. Plus, I would think it would break/shatter easily. Not so with the others.
Also, it surely is not easy to find such a thing.
Note about drugs - I got high with everyone from escorts to electrical engineers. Crack is an INCREDIBLY expensive habit. And you need a LOT of money to be a full time user. Like, if you used daily? Though I knew no one who did that. But to do so would cost you in America, about $5K a month. And that is only using a few hours per day. To my knowledge? Crack is BY FAR the most expensive, popular, recreational drug in existence.
So, why is it still popular? Because of the three mega-drugs out there - crack cocaine, heroin and ice/meth? It is the 'safest'...sort of. Yes, it raises your blood pressure through the roof. So you could get a stroke/heart attack...though, again, I never heard of that happening while I was using. But that's it. Meth is a manmade chemical. And it causes damage to your brain as it forces the brain to manufacture the chemical(s) that make you high. Whereas crack just stops the brain from re-absorbing that chemical. That is why the more meth you use? The more you need to use to reach the same high the next time. Not so with crack.
And, outside of the fact that it damages your skin since it is a harmful chemical you are ingesting, Meth can leave hardcore users with a reduced ability to feel pleasure naturally. Which is - obviously - a HUGE, side effect.
So why is it popular?
Because the high is (apparently - I never tried it) close to crack's. And it is MILES cheaper than crack. As well, it can be manufactured anywhere. Whereas cocaine must be grown in a very specific type of environment.
And heroin?
I never tried that either - thank GOD!!! But it actually replaces the bodies natural production of a certain chemical - I forget the name. If you use it enough, your body will no longer produce that chemical. Though I am not sure if it resumes producing it eventually. That is why you see ex-heroin users taking methadone. To replace the chemical that they no longer can naturally produce (and for other reasons). The bottom line is - Meth can damage you permanently. But heroin can REALLY, fuck you up.
But, again, it's fairly cheap. And I hear the high is 'cleaner' than a crack high. More intense - which is hard for me to believe - since you are injecting it right into your veins.
Finally, despite what some people say, only heroin is PHYSICALLY addictive. Crack and Meth are NOT. I got high on crack for several days on numerous occasions. And as soon as I stopped doing crack for 2 hours - almost to the minute - the withdraw effects would cease. I would be exhausted, hungry and my lungs felt like I had been sucking on a chimney. But I felt 'fine' otherwise. Every time. Same with others I got high with.
Last thing on this...crack suppresses your hunger, tiredness and - this is the weird part - your ability to have an orgasm. Crack makes you
feel horny. But it also makes it extremely difficult to get/maintain a hard on/vaginally lubricated (for men/women, respectively). A bizarre combination.
That is why hardcore crackheads are usually thin. They are rarely hungry.
ANYWAY...
2) Discardable.
In many/most jurisdictions, 'possession of drug paraphernalia' is an offense. Not usually a serious one. But one nonetheless. And once the police know of you as an addict? They will be more apt to watch you. And you DO NOT want that.
Now using a glass pipe would surely not be something you could just toss away after every use. So, that means you have to carry it around. And, since it will have crack residue on it? It is therefore 'drug paraphernalia'. Again, it could attract unwanted, legal attention.
BTW, it astounds me when I hear of a celebrity getting caught during an airline search with 'drug paraphernalia' in their luggage. I mean...don't be an idiot. Just buy another pipe/whatever it is when you land. Sheesh. But, some people get really attached to their drug 'pipe'...I guess. Or they are just/acting dumb.
Speaking of 'throwing away'...that is what everyone I knew (almost) did after getting high. They just threw away whatever pipes they were using. And tossing out a pop can is nothing. Additionally, getting high on the spur of the moment - which happened more times than not? It is difficult to get an inhaler or 3/4" copper tubing at 3 in the morning. But a pop can is always easy to find. Plus, the can is so large that it never gets too hot too handle.
Finally
(i)
Spreading diseases with a crack pipe?
People do not usually share crack pipes. For the simple fact that there is no need to...for the reasons I mentioned above. Any idiot can make a crack pipe out of LOTS of things and for a buck or two at most.
Yes, some total doofus might share a crackpipe with someone else?
But that guy is SO rare and SO dumb that he gets everything he deserves, as far as I am concerned. Protecting addictions is one thing. But protecting TOTAL idiots/people acting like TOTAL idiots is another thing altogether.
Sharing needles
IS a thing. And
IS dangerous.
But sharing crack pipes?
Not really.
(ii) I have no problem with the idea of handing out needles to heroin users. It is good for the community in that it can stop/limit the spread of many, serious blood-based/transmitted diseases. And the community might be on the hook to treat these people in publicly-funded hospitals for these diseases. So, handing out needles actually is GOOD for the community...not to mention the addicts.
But handing out 'crack smoking kits'?
Seems a complete waste of money to me.
The solution to ALL of this - BTW - is just make the fucking, drugs legal.
What people put in their bodies is their business.
And legalizing drugs would drastically cut the prices. This means that addicts would not need to do illegal things to generate the funds necessary to continue their addiction.
This would also - coincidentally - MASSIVELY cut down on prostitution. As almost all prostitutes (imo) - especially lower/medium-priced ones - do what they do to support drug habits.
And making drugs legal would lessen/end most drug crimes.
And drug cartels would - literally - be gone.
Just smarten up and legalize the bloody things and make everyone's lives better for doing so.
