Essay about Crack’s Effect on New York City

“Just Say No!” A statement that takes us deep into yet another decade in the history of the United States which was excited by controversies, social issues, and drug abuse. The topic of this statement is fueled by the growing abuse of cocaine in the mid 1980s. I shall discuss the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid 1980s from a cultural and social stand point because on that decade this country moved to the rhythms and the pace of this uncanny drug. Cocaine took its told on American society by in the 1980s; it ravaged with every social group, race, class, etc. It reigned over the United States without any prejudices. Crack cocaine was the way into urban society, because of its affordability in contrast to the powdered

This story is from a book “Righteous Dopefiend” by Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg, published in 2009 May. The introduction basically talks about the powerful study of anthropological plunges the reader into the world of homelessness and drug addiction in America. According to the study from the late 1990s to early 2000s, based on ago and gender profile of homeless men and women were mostly heroin injectors and they also smoked crack and drank large amount of alcohol. Many of the injectors were distressed and from poor families. In the study in 2008, many African-American and Latino who used drugs primarily smoked marijuana even while they were selling heroin on the street. Heroin effects the human bodies and daily routine, within couples of weeks of daily use, heroin creates a strong physiological dependence operating.

When America came through the 1980’s heroin and cocaine were being used very often, and then other drugs started to come about like Ecstasy and crack (newsnarconon, 2009). Crack was the alternative to cocaine because it was cheaper to buy, but it was also highly addictive (newsnarconon, 2009). Crack became so popular because it could be smoked instead of snorted, and when it was smoked, it would absorb more quickly across the blood brain barrier, in about six seconds (newsnarconon, 2009). Crack then became a huge because of how cheap it was and that is when “crack babies” we being born, which were babies who were

The origins of the problem can be traced back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s when the use of crack and cocaine had become

In Claire’s Sterk’s book, “Fast Lives: women who used crack cocaine”, she uses information from observation, conversations, interviews and group discussions to explain how using crack affects active users. She also shows how they started using, how they survived, how they developed and maintained relationships with friends and family, and how they were mothers and drug users at the same time. In addition, Sterk started Project FAST, the Female Atlanta Study to identify the impact of drug use patterns on lives of active female users. In this study, most of the women’s stories are similar but yet different in many ways to each other. While curiosity and peer pressure caused these women to experiment with drugs, others were

In 1986 and 1988, as the public furor surrounding crack increased, Congress imposed mandatory sentencing laws which dramatically increased the penalties for possessing or trafficking in crack, which was perceived to be a much more serious problem than powder cocaine. The ratio between sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses was set at 100 to 1. As a result, a low level crack dealer may be subject to harsher penalties than a higher level powder cocaine

In the 1980s, the United States has witnessed a scar that swept many Americans off their feet. The scar consisted of the effect that crack had on Americans in the 1980s. Many Americans believe that drugs are the main thing that is causing many social problems in society. For instance, in 2004, New York Senator Charles Schumer stated, “Twenty years ago, crack was headed east across the United States like a Mack truck out of control, and it slammed New York hard because we just didn't see the warning signs” (n.p). Therefore, crack was a serious problem during the 1980s and it was also destroying society. Due to the negative impact of crack, America began to create homeless addicts, crack babies, an increase in gang violence, and an increase

In addition to the escapism that frequent drug use may provide extremely disadvantaged individuals, the severe poverty and almost total lack of decent employment opportunity characterizing these communities has made drug dealing among the most lucrative and attractive, if locally despised, sources of employment. Despite the fact that the vast majority of all lower-class residents resist this temptation, drug sales is a form of employment in an otherwise extremely poor and opportunity-deprived environment that can provide the symbols of success so valued in society. As E. Anderson (1999) has noted on these issues,

Cocaine originated from coca leaves grown in South America. People in South America tried the coca leaves. Due to the energy boost it gave them they had a feeling that there were drugs in the leaves. They then tested their theory. The test was putting the leaves in a special liquid and letting them dry out. They turned out to be right when they saw a powdery substance. This is how cocaine was first made. It now continues to be made with higher technology. The way they make it now is that they shrivel out the leaf like before. Then they compact the powder together to make cocaine. After the powder is made they refine it even more to make crack cocaine. Cocaine itself is very addicting. Crack cocaine is an even more addicting drug.

When living in a society of risky drug use and homelessness, it is easy to begin to ignore what is going on around you and pretend it is not a problem. It is also easy to assume one is a direct result of the other. After being in a drug-free zone like the military for so long, it was easy for me to forget the effects that drugs have on people and how much their lives are affected by their addictions. It was also easy for me to develop biases and prejudices towards those individuals. Over the years I developed a discomfort around those individuals that were clearly users of drugs. This made me decided that I wanted to learn more about addiction and what is being done today to help those who have

Cocaine is one of the most destructive and addictive drugs in recent history. The use of cocaine and other narcotics often results in incarceration and even death. This is the story of a form of Cocaine called Crack and the results of one's affiliation with this highly addictive substance.

A qualitative study was conducted in Brazil by researchers Seleghim, Marangoni, Marcon, and Oliveira (2011), who examining the effect of crack cocaine users’ relationship with their family members. All of the participants were patients of a psychiatric emergency clinic. The information collected were categorized into: family ties and facilitators of crack users. When analyzing the socio-economic status of the crack uses, Researchers found the the majority of these people were unemployed or homeless, had history of incomplete primary or secondary schools, separated or single, and mostly man age ranging from 20-49 (Seleghim et al., 2011). The interview reviled long term use of substances anywhere between 8-17 years, and almost daily compulsive

During the 1800’s, cocaine was first created and recognized for its medicinal purposes. “Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug made from the leaves of the South American coca plant” (“Stimulants”). Cocaine was initially being used as a medicinal drug to reduce the pain of toothaches or as a local anesthesia used for certain surgeries. Shortly after, a new popular drink by the name of “Coca Cola” was created and contained a small amount of cocaine to provide the users with an increase of energy. During this time in the United States the drug was considered to be legal and people of all classes were engaging in risky behavior taking the drug. Around the 1920’s, the United States placed cocaine on the list of narcotics which classified it as a drug making it illegal to use the drug recreationally. By the time cocaine became illegal thousands of Americans had already grown a dependency towards the drug and would seek it out on the black market to feed their addiction and not go into withdrawals. In recent years, cocaine use has become an epidemic being one of the most used drugs in the United States, second to marijuana. An addiction to cocaine can have detrimental effects on the human body.

The number of methods that produce powdered cocaine and crack have a huge impact on how they are delivered to the body. Because cocaine constricts the blood vessels that are absorbing it, snorting is a relatively slow way to deliver it into the blood stream. Blood levels rise gradually and don’t reach a peak for about thirty minutes after snorting. In its crack form, the vapors inhaled deliver cocaine as fast as injecting it with a needle would. The faster the rush occurs, the greater the risk of addiction or overdose is. The rush and crash phenomenon can lead the cocaine user to keep taking additional doses until blood levels accumulate to toxic levels. Ingesting cocaine is the least effective route of delivery”. (Kuhn, 2008, p.

The biggest place crack cocaine effects is the brain. Once the user inhales the vapor into his or her lungs the drug is taken into the user’s bloodstream. When it gets into the bloodstream crack acts upon a part of the brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area. In the bloodstream Crack interferes with dopamine, which is released by cells when engaging in pleasurable activities. After the dopamine is released it travels across the synapse, and binds to a neuron. Binding to the neuron sends a signal to that nerve cell, which sends a signal of good feeling. During the normal dopamine process, once the dopamine sends the signal, the signal is absorbed by the neuron and then releases it. Crack interrupts the cycle because it attaches to the dopamine transporter, which prevents the normal reabsorption process. Since dopamine is not able to be absorbed, it builds up in the synapse and continues to create a