In an introspective piece written for Slate.comby Shane Shaniac Schleger (pictured), the former poker pro and blogger makes the remarkable admission that he has been smoking crack cocaine for the past 15 years. Schleger’s intent isn’t to shock readers. Instead, he hopes that by sharing his story, he can initiate a frank discussion about drug use that isn’t mired in black and white thinking.

Schleger said friends from upper-middle-class backgrounds who taught him how to use and prepare the drug first introduced him to crack at the age of 21. Since that time, he has wavered between using frequently and spending many months clean and sober. “I eventually settled into a seasonal habit (I smoked crack only during the winter months), followed by a less moderate phase in 2013,” he wrote.

The former tournament specialist admitted to knowing full well the dangers of the drug, but proposes that society acknowledge that there exists a middle ground between 100% sobriety and rock-bottom addiction. “I’m not particularly interested in ‘bottoming out’ or destroying my life in exchange for whatever temporary benefit I get from smoking cocaine,” he said. “That’s why I have tried to find a middle way, hopefully reducing the amount of harm I inflict upon myself.”

Interestingly, Schleger only briefly mentioned his career as a professional poker player. “Although I probably smoked more crack last year than I did in 1999, I also had the best year of my life in 2013,” he wrote. “I got married [and] hit a peak in my career as a poker player, a profession I took up in 2005 and have been struggling with since 2011.”

Schleger has had plenty of success at the poker tables. He has made two final tables at the World Series of Poker and one on the World Poker Tour. In total, he has racked up over $1 million in live tournament earnings according to the Global Poker Index.

After Black Friday, Schleger moved to Mexico to continue playing online and in 2011 was tapped to become a member of Team PokerStars. He eventually decided to leave the team in 2014, but not before banking his biggest score ever of $291,000 in a WCOOP event last September.

The 37-year-old is careful not to attribute any of his recent success to his drug use. “I don’t describe the events of the past year to defy the traditional narrative that drugs ‘cloud your thinking,'” he said. “In this part of the tale, there is neither correlation nor causation – just the good and the bad, side by side. I had a great year (good) and I smoked too much crack (bad).”

If Schleger’s purpose was to create a dialogue on drug use, he has already succeeded. The article quickly garnered over 1,000 comments, some supportive and others skeptical of the former pro’s mindset. “This article reads like the articulate, yet rambling rationalization of a high-functioning crack addict with no concept of how delusional and self-destructive he is,” wrote one reader.

“Actually, it’s the middle ground that’s usually unsustainable. Relatively few can use crack cocaine with any frequency over any period of time without trending down and causing negative consequences for themselves and those who depend on them,” said another.

“Takes a lot of guts to tell this story… but you have to share your truth to advance the conversation, and the author did that despite the fact that it will reflect poorly on him for many people. Now it’s our turn to advance the conversation,” said one reader supportively.

Schleger related that splitting time between two countries became unsustainable and so he made the choice to quit poker, move back to the US, and focus on his writing. In addition to posting frequently on his blog, Schleger co-hosts a podcast called “Dope Stories,” where he hopes to further a rational discussion on drug use.

Read the article.

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