Marion Barry Has A Vivid Description Of Trying Cocaine For The First Time

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Marion Barry

AP

Marion Barry in 1990

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Former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is releasing a new memoir, "Mayor for Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry, Jr." on Tuesday. The Washington Post published several excerpts of the book Monday and they contained somewhat detailed descriptions of Barry's past cocaine use and his first time using the drug.

Barry said he first tried cocaine during the 1980's when he met a woman who appeared interested in him and was high on the drug.

"I was curious," wrote Barry. "If cocaine made this woman feel this hot, I wondered how it would make me feel."

According to Barry, he initially blew the cocaine off of a business card before he was able to snort it. Once he managed to consume the drug, Barry wrote that he "felt like I had ejaculated."

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"The cocaine was a powerful stimulant that went straight to my penis. I could see what this young woman was talking about," Barry recounted, later adding, "What happened next? ... I had sex with her."

In one of the excerpts published by the Post, Barry described cocaine use as "part of the times in the '80s." He also gave his version of the events that led to the 1990 scandal when he became infamous after being filmed smoking crack cocaine in a hotel and subsequently arrested on drug charges. According to Barry, his arrest and trial were the "the highest form of entrapment" due to his advocacy for African-Americans in Washington. He said he had a turbulent relationship with the woman who he was filmed using crack with and only went to meet her at the hotel because she told him there was a "life-and-death situation."

"I had my security detail with me, and I was not planning on going up to her room," Barry wrote.

It was apparently food that changed Barry's mind. He said he decided to go up to the hotel room when the woman told him she ordered some soup from room service.

"I should have stayed in the lobby and let [her] eat her bowl of soup and come down when she was ready," Barry explained. "None of this story would have happened."

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Despite these details, the Washington Post described Barry's new memoir as a "tell-enough" rather than a tell-all. According to the paper, Barry gave denials or "brief shrift" to more current drug use allegations. He also dismissed his repeated failure to pay income taxes since ending his time as mayor.

"I didn't refuse to file my taxes by intent or maliciously; I just didn't do them," wrote Barry.

Barry did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.