crack was sold but the big names who got rich and branched off built it from heroin.
And not for nothing, I won't say the Wire is "accurate," but it's accurate in the sense of the references they make.
David Simon mixed up a few of the names and events for the sake of the show, but if you know, you'll know who Stringer Bell is referencing and who Avon Barksdale is referencing, so on and so forth.
The Barksdale last name holds weight if you're older. I don't know if these young dudes hold that name in that regard still. Dante Barksdale was running a program to cut down gun violence in his later years and was doing some real work in Baltimore until he was killed.