No. Ms. Pope made it clear in her interview that the cocaine in the '70s was powder, and much more expensive than the crack cocaine in the '80s. That was suspicious to her and the other kids in the neighborhood, because she said money was scarce among them back in those days.
I have little doubt that explains his erratic behavior before and during that first debate performance. Many moons ago, I had a close friend who had a coke habit (later turned to freebasing). His appearance during that debate, disappearing act before, disheveledness, etc. instantly heralded me back to that person. I said it at the time of the debates and I still believe it. Just call it intuition.
I repeat: "Ms. Pope refers to freebasing (in the 1970s) in her statements".
Powdered cocaine is a necessary ingredient for both "freebase" and "crack" cocaine. In fact, making "crack" and "freebasing" are both methods of "freeing" the "base" cocaine from the powdered hydrochloride of cocaine which makes up the powdered form.
In its finished form, "crack" contains a percentage of baking soda, while genuinely "freebased" cocaine does not. "Freebase" is cocaine in its purest form.
But "Crack", while less pure than true "freebase" cocaine, is safer and easier to make. Thus, it's popularity rose in the 80s & 90s, supplanting "real" freebase cocaine, the making of which involves the use of ether, and which nearly killed Richard Pryor.