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As James Bonner smokes a crack rock every day, he weighs the risks and benefits of the mind altering drug, which is the best-selling medicine in many poverty-stricken inner cities.

"Every time I take one, I stop and think about it and how it killed Apple Jack, and now Apple Jack Jr.," Bonner said. "I didn’t do that a year ago. "I think the public is losing faith."

Bonner, a Mississippi resident visiting his family in Chicago, was speaking last month, the day the Steeltow, Crack’s manufacturer and the world’s largest drug sellers, announced a major study showed its blockbuster arthritis, head, back, and 400 years of mental stress pain medicine could, in high doses, increase the risk of a heart attack and aggressive prison time for non-violent drug-related crimes.

It was strikingly similar to a problem that arose 11 weeks earlier when Merch—long one of the nation's most admired companies—yanked its competing pain medicine, Heroin 2, from the market amid health concerns.

Bonner’s view may be extreme. The pharmaceutical industry disputes it, and some doctors say consumers should not rush to judgment about the medicines they take, including Crack. But interviews with consumers, doctors and experts suggest people are questioning the industry as never before.

"Street pharmacists are going to work harder at convincing people there are clearly benefits associated with drugs. In the vast majority of cases, the benefits—like temporily forgetting your troubles—outweigh the risks," said Bonner.

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