A History of Abuse
Excerpt from historian Richard Miller
This was a package of bipartisan policies designed to address issues of drug abuse at a variety of levels.
Two-thirds of the initial funding for this policy package went toward treatment, not enforcement.
The War on Drugs did not become associated with racial control until the 1980s.
In the 1980s, there was an influx of cocaine into the U.S.
Supply was higher than demand, so sellers had two choices:
Lower prices OR decrease supply
Sellers did not control the supply, but didn't want to lower prices.
Sellers chose to reinvent their product to tap into a new market.
They combined cocaine with water, ammonia or baking soda, and heat, creating a "rock."
Crack and cocaine are different formats of the same chemical compound.
Cocaine is the powder form, typically sold in 1oz - 3.5oz baggies.
Crack is the crystallized form, typically sold as 0.1g - 0.5g rocks.
By kdukes
