Firstly. The correct and more gentle term to call a person who uses crack or any other drug is 'addict'. Crackhead, Pothead, Junkie are all derogatory terms. Signs and symptoms depend on the individual, while some sites attempt to paint an ugly picture and make it sound like the addict is going to immediately show these signs like this site: http://drug-abuse.suite101.com/article.cfm/crack_cocaine_addiction The Reality is that it takes time for a person to go from clean and sober to heavily dependent upon a substance to where others can tell. I used methamphetamine for years, over a decade without folk I didn't want to know I was using to know. I held down a job, kept my appearance up. When I did lose my job it was not due to drug use, it was due to company folding like a card house. There are many out there who do use drugs for recreational purposes and are able to be functioning addicts for years, decades, sometimes even their whole life. For me, I maintained a decent body mass for years, thus the 'physical' signs nearly didn't exist. With the exception of being a little 'run down' on Mondays, perhaps with a bit of darkness under the eyes. Mood changes for any speed using drug can be opposite of 'hyper' or 'mania' when a person is 'down' or has come down. Often the real symptoms is melancholia (depression or depressive-like mood). When it comes to crack a person can sustain themselves far longer as a 'functioning' addict since each individual dose of crack is not long lasting. Unlike harder substances like meth that stays with you for a day from one dose. There are also other drugs out there that your potential 'crack addict' could be using. Meth (Speed) Cocaine, Reds, E, all have the potential to present similar symptoms.

They can't sit down and relax, they're always coming and going, they stop paying alot of attention to their hygeine or how they look, they become harder to get along with, they start looking for quick ways to make money either by selling something or doing some odd jobs, they stop being interested in entertainment like television, art and music, things like that. It's scary. My best friend turned into a fiend out of nowhere. It was like a living with a stranger that was possessed. I couldn't tell him nothin'. He got through it, but he had to hit rock bottom first. Good luck dealing with it.