Was crack ever a problem in Phoenix? (houses, neighborhoods)

[New Horizons]

I was watching another news piece tonight about this opoid and heroin problem in the US. Some of it was in Phoenix. It got me thinking, whatever happened to crack cocaine? Was crack ever a problem in Phoenix? Throughout the 80s and 90s, that's all the media talked about. In Tampa, FL where I'm from, crack cocaine was very prevalent in the rougher neighborhoods.

I haven't touched a beer or drug for many years now. But I was just curious what the "base" scene here was like.

[KurtAZ]

Google is your friend

[JGMotorsport64]

Before my time, but I do remember the meth problem of the early to mid 2000s

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

Before my time, but I do remember the meth problem of the early to mid 2000s

Its still a problem. I see tweekers everywhere and have smelled meth on the streets being smoked. Just the other week I took a friend over to a shady part of PHX and there was a guy smoking it right behind the store, out in the parking lot. Crazy.

[slowesthand]

Had a plumber over the other day,....big crack problem

[john3232]

From what I've read AZ is a major hub for meth coming from Mexico into the US. I'm sure a lot of product goes through Phoenix. Then there is local manufacturing of the drug.

I spent a lot of time in San Diego in the Hillcrest area which is fairly upscale. Yet it wasn't that unusual to see people passed out on the sidewalk or tweeting on the street. SD has a huge meth problem

[john3232]

Originally Posted by slowesthand

Had a plumber over the other day,....big crack problem

I had a guy over to take care of a plumbing issue. He knew his trade and was quite good. Unfortunately he was also disorganized. He often misplaced his tools and/or parts. I suspect the man offered to make the repair at low cost because he can't find steady work with a reputable contractor. I've also noticed in Craigslist a number of contractors or companies looking for vendors require a drug test before employment.

[New Horizons]

I appreciate the responses you all. It's a dark subject matter for sure. I understand that in the 80s and 90s, crack wreaked havoc in the poorer neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Wondered if the problem spread over here.

I'll continue my research via Google, thanks guys.

[slowesthand]

Originally Posted by john3232

I had a guy over to take care of a plumbing issue. He knew his trade and was quite good. Unfortunately he was also disorganized. He often misplaced his tools and/or parts. I suspect the man offered to make the repair at low cost because he can't find steady work with a reputable contractor. I've also noticed in Craigslist a number of contractors or companies looking for vendors require a drug test before employment.

My comment was tongue in cheek ! I meant the other type of plumbers crack

[Valley Native]

Phoenix had a pretty bad crack problem in the '80s & '90s, but it wasn't widespread across the whole city ... it was concentrated in certain areas, mostly on the west side. In the late 1980s, it was apparently getting to be bad enough to where a Mayoral candidate (Burt Kruglick) ran against then Mayor Goddard, and one of Kruglick's chief campaign promises was to crack down on crime, crack down on gangs, and crack down on crack. I remember he talked a lot about the problem with crack houses and gangs quite a bit during his run. In the election, he ended up losing to Goddard by a pretty large margin if I recall.