Hunter Biden was using crack cocaine “every 20 minutes or so” during the depths of his addiction, his trial has been told.
The US president’s son is on trial in Delaware on charges related to his possession of a firearm while allegedly using narcotics.
Ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan, who met Mr Biden, 54, at a “gentleman’s club” in New York, claimed he was a frequent crack cocaine user and often withdrew cash to obtain the drug.
Ms Kestan told the court that during a private session at the club in December 2017, he pulled out a pipe and began smoking what she assumed was crack.
"He was incredibly charming and charismatic and friendly, and I felt really safe around him," she said.
"I remember after he had smoked it, nothing had changed. He was the same charming person."
Prosecutors have highlighted Mr Biden’s drug use as they argue he was addicted to crack cocaine when he bought the .38 calibre Colt revolver he bought in October 2018.
They say this means he lied when making a declaration with the gun purchase that he was not “an unlawful user of or addicted to" controlled substances.
However, Ms Kestan conceded that she had no contact with him during the period he bought the gun.
Mr Biden has denied the charges of illegally having the gun by making a false declaration, and claims he is being wrongly targeted by the US Justice Department, which he says is bending to political pressure from the Republicans.
Jurors also heard from Mr Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, who was married to him for 20 years.
She told jurors Wednesday that she discovered her husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on their porch on July 3, 2015, a day after their anniversary. Their marriage later broke down.
Jurors have also been shown dozens of pages of Hunter Biden's memoir, "Beautiful Things," written in 2021 after he got sober, which covers the period he bought the gun.
Defending, Mr Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell has said his client’s state of mind was different when he wrote the book than when he purchased the gun.
He has also suggested Mr Biden might have felt he had a drinking problem at the time, not a drug problem, which does not preclude a gun purchase.
If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it is unclear whether the judge would give him time behind bars.
He's also facing a separate trial in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million (£1.09m) in taxes.
