In some ways, the prevalence of crime related to selling and using crack cocaine may be due to the effects which the user experiences. For instance, heavy users become alienated from their friends and families and tend to be isolated and suspicious of everything and everyone, a form of drug-induced paranoia. Most of their time is spent thinking about ways to obtain more and more of the drug which may become an obsession. Thus, heavy crack users "will often lie, cheat, steal and commit crimes of violence" which inevitably affects whole communities by disrupting the normal course of daily living ("In Search of the Big Bang," n.d., Internet).
As to solutions related to the problems associated with selling and using crack cocaine, state and federal law enforcement officials need to do a much better job at not just arresting crack cocaine users and sellers but also through providing treatment centers for those who are heavily addicted to the drug. As outlined by the Wright State University School of Medicine, officials at every level must "rethink prevention efforts. . . geared to young people" who unfortunately become initiated into the nightmare of crack cocaine after leaving high school ("Results of Local Study on Crack Cocaine," 2007, Ascribe Newswire).
In addition, since drug abuse in today's America is such a huge problem, all public health entities in those communities most affected by crack cocaine must begin to provide strong and decisive leadership via specific policies aimed at crack cocaine addiction, the avocation for research funds, and begin to practice in line with scientific advances in substance abuse prevention and treatment. As H. Amaro puts it, "The current treatment gap unduly affects children who through the failure of American society to address their parents' addictions are at...
Therefore, as shown by these facts, crack cocaine addiction in the United State must be seriously addressed by not only the federal government but also by state and local governments in order to save those communities most affected by crack cocaine and to assure that today's children do not end up as the next generation of "crackheads.
REFERENCES
Amaro, H. (May 1999). An Expensive Policy: The Impact of Inadequate Funding for Substance Abuse Treatment. American Journal of Public Health, pp. 657-659. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection database
American Council for Drug Education (2001). Basic facts about drugs: cocaine. Retrieved Nov 17, 2009 from http://www.acde.org/common/cocaine.htm.
Baumer, E. (2007). Poverty, crack, and crime: A cross-city analysis. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 31, No. 3, 311-327
Cowen, T. (2005). Crime and crack. Out of the Crooked Timber. Retrieved Nov 17, 2009 from http://crookedtimber.org/2005/05/23/looking-forward.
"In Search of the Big Bang." (n.d.). Retrieved Nov 17, 2009 from http://www.cocaine.org.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2009). Crack and cocaine. Retrieved Nov 17, 2009 from http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/cocaine.html.
"Results of Local Study on Crack Cocaine Have National Implications." (September 7, 2007). Ascribe Newswire: Health, p. 1. Retrieved from Health Source - Consumer Edition database.
Safir, H. (2003). Security: An Inside Look at the Tactics of the NYPD. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Shmalleger, F. (2008). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century.
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