America's Drug Epidemic

In the early 1980s cocaine was being shipped mainly to Miami from Islands such as the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. Eventually more and more of the cocaine powder that was needed to create this drug was discovered which caused the price to drop. Dealers in Los Angeles and Oakland decided to turn the powder in to a solid form of cocaine called crack. This allowed for the drug dealers to sell the substance into smaller amounts therefore allowing a higher distribution of the drug. Due to the incredibly addictive nature of crack cocaine dealers now had a growing market that was dependant on the substance they were selling. Crack was simple and cheap to produce, this made it extremely profitable for the dealers. Crack cocaine spread across America’s major cities like a disease and the low income inner city individuals paid the highest consequences.

This drug epidemic created an increase in criminal activity and affected the African American population the most. Gang activity increased due to how profitable the drug was, competition in the low income regions of cities such as LA and Atlanta caused increased homicide figures. Between 1984-1989 the homicide rate for African American males aged 14-17 more than doubled. This shows how crack devastated mainly low income regions, as a result police task force units were established to tackle this epidemic. This created even more friction between the black population and the police. These tensions are still here in today’s society as well as drug related crimes in the less affluent parts of America’s inner cities.