With the American society striving to lower the rate of crime, there are growing concerns about the relationship between drug use and criminal activities. Health organizations and scientists have conducted several studies to establish a connection between drug use and criminal activities. Additionally, studies have been directed towards discovering the effects of drug use on users’ health and how it leads to addiction. However, the issue of drug use is not a new problem in America. The Crack epidemic stands out as one of the most popular drug use crisis in the history of America. This epidemic exposed the hidden decay in the American society and the vulnerability of the society to harmful drugs. Furthermore, the epidemic exposed the weakness
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Crack is a term used to refer to a form of cocaine that is smoked. As the name indicates, the drug was named after the crackling sound it produces when heated. According to Reinarman and Levine, the emergence of crack sale in the mid-1980s in the American society was purely a marketing innovation which entailed packaging a relatively expensive and upscale cocaine into small, inexpensive units (2). However, as Cooper points out, before the emergence of the crack epidemic, two studies funded by the National Institute of Justice had indicated that a problem with cocaine probability was imminent in the areas of Manhattan, Washington D.C and New York (48). Despite this early warnings, no effective preventive measures were taken leading to the emergence of one of the worst drug epidemics in the United …show more content…
According to Padwa and Cunningham, there was a nationwide campaign by churches, non-governmental organizations, and politicians against the use of crack cocaine (112). These efforts achieved a significant level of success as there was an overall reduction in crack cocaine use in the United States (Butterfield). Furthermore, as Cooper elaborates, studies conducted in 1991 revealed that there was an overall decline of about 60% in crack-cocaine use among seniors in high schools falling from 4.1% in 1987 to 1.5% in 1991(42). Data on the level of homicides and addiction levels might be inaccurate since the majority of the people who used crack cocaine were foreigners (Padwa and Cunningham 110). However, statistics from the drug-free world organization indicate that crack cocaine use is on the rise again in the United States with an illustrated high addiction and crime
Crack is a term used to refer to a form of cocaine that is smoked. As the name indicates, the drug was named after the crackling sound it produces when heated. According to Reinarman and Levine, the emergence of crack sale in the mid-1980s in the American society was purely a marketing innovation which entailed packaging a relatively expensive and upscale cocaine into small, inexpensive units (2). However, as Cooper points out, before the emergence of the crack epidemic, two studies funded by the National Institute of Justice had indicated that a problem with cocaine probability was imminent in the areas of Manhattan, Washington D.C and New York (48). Despite this early warnings, no effective preventive measures were taken leading to the emergence of one of the worst drug epidemics in the United …show more content…
According to Padwa and Cunningham, there was a nationwide campaign by churches, non-governmental organizations, and politicians against the use of crack cocaine (112). These efforts achieved a significant level of success as there was an overall reduction in crack cocaine use in the United States (Butterfield). Furthermore, as Cooper elaborates, studies conducted in 1991 revealed that there was an overall decline of about 60% in crack-cocaine use among seniors in high schools falling from 4.1% in 1987 to 1.5% in 1991(42). Data on the level of homicides and addiction levels might be inaccurate since the majority of the people who used crack cocaine were foreigners (Padwa and Cunningham 110). However, statistics from the drug-free world organization indicate that crack cocaine use is on the rise again in the United States with an illustrated high addiction and crime