--- description: Former Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry's tell-all autobiography Mayor for Life includes a description of the first time he did cocaine. title: Marion Barry Describes First Time He Did Cocaine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0782e5d3e6a22b7d/698697c7169ab0c0bc279ebf/marion-barry-cocaine-autobiography.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [cities](/tag/cities/) ## cities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former DC Mayor: Snorting Coke Was Like Having Sex by [Joan E. Greve](/author/joan-greve/) ## Joan E. Greve Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2014 6:23 PM CUT  Marion Barry speaks during the 55th Anniversary of Ben's Chili Bowl on August 22, 2013 in Washington, DC. Marion Barry speaks during the 55th Anniversary of Ben's Chili Bowl on August 22, 2013 in Washington, DC.Kris Connor—Getty Images by [Joan E. Greve](/author/joan-greve/) ## Joan E. Greve Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2014 6:23 PM CUT Former Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s [autobiography](http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/in-mayor-for-life-dcs-marion-barry-takes-pride-in-himself-but-little-blame-for-problems/2014/06/15/589803ca-f3d6-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4%5Fstory.html "undefined") _Mayor for Life_ includes a colorful (and enthusiastic) description of the first time he snorted cocaine. “I exhaled instead of inhaled and blew all of the powder off the card,” Barry writes about when an unidentified woman offered him his first hit in the 1980s. After he managed to get the correct technique, says Barry, it “felt like I had ejaculated.” “The cocaine was a powerful stimulant that went straight to my penis,” he says. The infamous mayor managed to secure reelection in 1994 despite a 1990 arrest on drug charges. He now serves on D.C.’s city council. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2884798/marion-barry-cocaine-sex/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2884798/marion-barry-cocaine-sex/"},"headline":"Former DC Mayor: Snorting Coke Was Like Having Sex","datePublished":"2014-06-16T18:23:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:26:34.318Z","description":"In his new tell-all autobiography","url":"https://time.com/2884798/marion-barry-cocaine-sex/","keywords":["cities","Drugs","Cocaine","dc"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0782e5d3e6a22b7d/698697c7169ab0c0bc279ebf/marion-barry-cocaine-autobiography.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joan E. Greve","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joan-greve/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0782e5d3e6a22b7d/698697c7169ab0c0bc279ebf/marion-barry-cocaine-autobiography.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Marion Barry Ben's Chili Bowl","caption":"Marion Barry Ben's Chili Bowl","creditText":"Kris Connor—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cities/","name":"cities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2884798/marion-barry-cocaine-sex/","name":"Former DC Mayor: Snorting Coke Was Like Having Sex"}}]}] ```