Crack Capturing the Audience\'s Attention

Crack

Capturing the audience's attention

Smoking crack "offers the most wonderful state of consciousness, and the most intense sense of being alive, the user will ever enjoy," ("In Search of the Big Bang" nd). Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. The crash experienced from crack takes a major toll on the human body and psyche, creating a vicious addictive cycle.

Crack is a highly processed form of cocaine hydrochloride that has been around since the 1980s. Unlike powdered cocaine, crack is cheap and is usually smoked. Crack wreaks havoc on individuals and whole communities.

Addiction to crack is both a cause and an effect of underlying social, political, and economic issues.

Key point

Crack is more affordable than powdered cocaine, which is why crack addiction has affected low-income neighborhoods and individuals.

A. Supporting details (Give citation)

Because crack was "cheap and affordable," abuse spread rapidly throughout the United States since the 1980s (American Council for Drug Education 2001).

B. Supporting details (Give citation)

The "gross and the profit margins were bigger" for crack than for most other illicit drugs, which is why gangs pushed crack hard on the streets of impoverished communities (Cowen 2005)

C. There is more of a stigma surrounding crack addiction than other addictions, which prevents poor addicts from leading normal lives ("Crack Addicts Face Added Stigma in Housing" 2007).

III. Key point

Crack is associated with high levels of crime, especially in politically disenfranchised communities in which crack flourishes.

A. Supporting details (Give citation)

"Murder rates rise dramatically when crack comes," especially into black communities (Cowen 2005).

B. Supporting details (Give citation)

Crack use "elevates city violent crime rates beyond levels expected on the basis of known sociodemographic determinants," (Baumer 1994).

C. Supporting details

Crack creates psychological precursors to violent and criminal behavior including paranoia and aggression (American Council for Drug Education 2001).

IV. Key point

Crack tears apart individuals as well as communities; the drug can lead to permanent deleterious effects on the body and mind and even affect future generations.

A. Supporting details (Give citation)

Crack is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that can increase risk for cardiovascular incidents, strokes, and other deadly effects (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2009).

B. Supporting details (Give citation)

Addicts may even use crack cocaine while pregnant, severely harming their children. "Fetal cocaine effects include premature separation of the placenta, spontaneous abortion, premature labor, low birthweight and head circumference at birth, greater chance of visual impairment, mental retardation, genitourinary malformations, and greater chance of developmental problems," (American Council for Drug Education 2001).

C. Supporting details

Crack addiction is associated with high-risk sex, and therefore increases the risk of contracting deadly STDs and AIDS (American Council for Drug Education 2001).

V. Conclusion

A. Restatement of thesis