I was travelling back from work during a busy(ish) hour when I became aware that a number of people before me had started to get up and move away before what was normal for the next stop.

I looked up and saw a dirty, scuffy-looking man opposite me and I initially thought that he was homeless (and that other people were moving away because he smelt bad or something) before realising that he was behaving oddly and attempting to light a small, metal pipe. Thinking he was just drunk, I said "Dude, no- you can't do that here" before I recognised that he was attempting to light up some crack.

He was as high as a kite, occasionally looking around but not really focusing on anything, with a gormless grin expression on his face. He was phlegming and spitting on the floor near-constantly too; every few moments he'd spit yellow liquid onto the floor below him whilst constantly clicking away at his lighter trying to get his crack to smoke, which was largely burnt up mass but still pungent enough to recognise that it was crack.

I deliberated for a few moments before calmly getting up and moving over to the other end of the carriage. During these few moments, most people either left the carriage to wait at another stop or joined me at the other end, leaving the crack addict to enjoy his half of the carriage alone.

I was calm, but I could tell that many others were unnerved and/or repulsed by the man, especially the young women on the carriage. And when I got off at my stop, I saw him scurry off onto another platform and get onto another carriage.

I went to tell a TFL worker about what I'd just witnessed, telling them the carriage number, guys description and general direction. But the TFL guy said that there basically wasn't much they could do about him.

Apparently the crack addict was so well known them that they had complaints about him every 1-3 days and that he was so familiar that the workers all knew him by his 1st name. He'd been a homeless crack addict for at least 10 years (possibly up to 20 they said) and ge lived primarily in Brixton, just outside the station. BTP weren't much interested in him either because the police were reluctant to deal with him (because what exactly could they do beyond putting him in a cell for a few days? Before releasing him all over again). And contacting the council directly had yielded almost no results because it was severely strapped for cash and wasn't willing to spend precious resources on a middle-aged male crack addict who'd lived outside of societal norms for decades (I mean, can you even fix someone like that?).

So the general conversation was left with the glum cynical feeling that the only real solution to him was if the guy upped & died one day. But that's not a nice way to feel about anyone.

The 1st time I came across someone smoking Crack on the tube, it was a much more unnerving experience for everybody involved. And when I contacted a TFL worker back then, they were much more proactive about removing the man from the station. But ATM that's pretty much all they can do (temporarily evict people from stations) and even then they often don't bother if the addict is on their way to Brixton because that's where most of them apparently live anyway :/

by Creative_Recover

31 comments

  2. Can’t do anything… isn’t it illegal even to smoke on the tube? Did you consider report to the transport police? I would freak out by someone lighting a fire in a carriage.

  3. I just realised I have no idea what crack smells like.

  5. I feel so conflicted – I mean, being addicted to drugs without any societal support or intervention is tragic. That’s before thinking about what might lead someone to this way of life.

    On the otherhand, I use the tube, as does my dad and my tween. I dont want to live in a world where this is okay. It isnt and shouldnt be.

  7. Experienced about four times on tfl (grew up in London and late 30s), it smells so bad.

  8. And I thought it was bad having to put up with weed smokers on the Elizabeth Line.

  11. Jeez, that’s rough. Can testify as someone that gets the Victoria line from Brixton was also on a tube with a homeless guy trying to smoke a joint the other day. The worst part is that he was trying to light it on top of a stack of newspapers he had on his lap. Could have been a disaster! Seems like this is just becoming more normalised sadly

  12. I was shocked when I saw a guy doing a bump of coke on the train but crack that’s wild

  13. I was on an n87 and had the experience of this happening a few rows behind me mere weeks ago, seems to be more commonplace than we once thought im guessing with the lack of rules and regulations being properly enforced and how shit the policing is these days

  14. I would text BTP next time, I’d imagine they’re more likely to do something about it. But yeah, not a nice thing to come across.

  17. I know him. He is the homeless guy who roams in Picadilly-Soho.

  20. There’s a woman with a dog that rides the Piccadilly line smoking crack pretty regularly. The dog is so sweet. She usually leaves a pile of mess behind when she’s done.

  21. what happened to calling BTP? i’m not trying to be subjected to second hand crack

  22. No way I’m sitting in a carriage and getting 2nd hand crack smoke lol

  23. Unfortunately London is full of degenerates and this sort of thing isn’t too uncommon

  24. Crack smells awful 😖 sorry you had experience this on the tube.

  25. I’ve seen that guy quite a few times! His arse crack is always hanging out, didn’t see any other crack! Was that on the Northern/Victoria line?

  27. I’ve experienced this same guy once on the northern line a couple of years ago. Yeah wasn’t a pleasant experience.

  28. Happened on the Victoria line and the person smoking the crack became incredibly erratic.

    When I told the TFL staff he looked at me and shrugged as someone forced the barriers, don’t blame the TFL staff but Jesus Christ, is this what things are like now?

  29. This guy was on the piccadilly at finsbury park he managed to set off some fire alarm and I had to get the thameslink back to Kings cross.

  31. This country is so broken. We have a man who needs help, multiple people reporting it to multiple agencies, and nobody can/will do anything. We’re cooked.

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