City dweller exposed to drug usage

DEAR HARRIETTE: Today I saw and smelled someone smoking crack on a subway platform near to where I was standing. I was stunned. I know it happens all around my city — in theory — but I’ve never truly witnessed it in real time, only the aftereffects of it. What could I have done in that moment to help that situation? The subway platform was packed. There were little kids with their parents standing nearby, businesspeople and others. It felt unsafe and gross. None of us should be exposed to these sorts of reckless substances unknowingly. — Crack Exposure DEAR CRACK EXPOSURE: Sadly, many people continue to use drugs like crack, and enclosed public spaces are often where they use them, especially when it is cold outside and they are seeking shelter. That doesn’t mean, by the way, that it is OK or that you should look the other way. What you could have done is locate transit police and report the activity so that the person could be removed from the platform. You should never directly approach a person using drugs. Allow the professionals to handle that.