Composition concepts and applications

Crack Cocaine

As one of the most addictive and destructive illegal, recreational drugs ever introduced into American society, crack cocaine presents a number of important and often deadly physiological and psychological results for its users, most of whom have used the traditional form of powered cocaine at some point in their lives. In addition, crack cocaine poses some very serious problems for society itself, especially related to its effects on the families of cocaine addicts and on communities at large. For example, "domestic violence and random violence are often fueled by cocaine or crack" with children often ending up as innocent victims through crack use by their parents and from pre-natal exposure (American Council for Drug Education, 2001, Internet).

In the early to mid-1980's, a crack cocaine epidemic occurred in the United States and brought much destruction and damage to a number of urban cities and their surrounding suburban areas. As pointed out by the American Council for Drug Education, in the 1990's, crack cocaine was responsible for more drug trade-related deaths than any other illegal drug in the history of the United States. Overall, three factors contributed to these deaths -- first, crack cocaine was cheap and affordable as compared to powdered cocaine; second, it was easy to smoke in its "crack" or hardened state, and third, its effects were rapid and intense, so much so that users, upon "coming down" from the effects of the drug, smoked more and more which often led to heart attacks, seizures and death (2001, Internet).

In medical/scientific terms, crack cocaine is a powerful stimulant that affects the central nervous system of the user. It is also known as cocaine hydrochloride, a white, crystalline powder made from the leaves of the coca plant which is primarily grown in South America in and around the Andes Mountains. Crack cocaine is also referred to as free-base cocaine which in the early 1980's was sold by street drug dealers at relatively low prices, thus explaining the great profitability related to selling crack cocaine. Free-basing or smoking crack cocaine is undoubtedly the most addictive method for ingesting the drug. As E. Baumer relates, free-basing "refers to the chemical process of changing the chemical structure of the cocaine molecule" by using either some type of solvent or a solution of baking soda (2007) which results in the hardened form of cocaine, usually smoked in a specially-designed pipe.

However, in the early 1980's, this form of cocaine which came to be called "crack" was generally only purchased by wealthy persons, due to the chemical process which requires a larger amount of cocaine; thus, poorer individuals could not afford the luxury of free-basing, at least until crack became widely available at a lower cost in the early to mid-1990's (Baumer, 2007; Schmalleger, 2008).

Of course, when crack cocaine became widely available on the streets of such American cities as New York, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, a number of extremely violent turf wars erupted, based on the incredible profits that could be earned from selling crack and the competition for business among rival dealers and street gangs (Safir, 2003). For example, in Washington Heights, a largely Hispanic community in northern Manhattan, crack cocaine-related violence resulted in the highest murder rate ever recorded in New York City. In addition, as T. Cowen asserts, the murder rate among young African-American males in many U.S. cities nearly tripled, perhaps due to the fact that crack dealers tended to be African-American males and were members in a number of rival and violent street gangs (2005, Internet).

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).