This led to the us having the highest incarceration rate in the world. The crack epidemic refers to the surge of crack houses and crack cocaine use in major cities in the united states between 1984 and 1990. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. Crack has destroyed families and, in many ways, destroyed communities, which still suffer the effects of crime, druguse, and incarceration. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in american inner city neighborhoods, as well as a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime policies. Later in the same region, while the cia was sponsoring a secret war in laos from 1961 to 1975, it was openly accused of trafficking heroin in the area then known as the. All the time that this crack epidemic was being unleashed by the contras, vice president bush was the man in charge of the reagan administrations central america program, overseeing all of the activities of the cia, the pentagon, and every other government intelligence agency. Hearings before the select committee on intelligence of the united states senate, one. Back in 1996, gary webb of the san jose mercury news broke a story stating not only that the nicaraguan contras supported by the united states in a rebellion against their leftleaning government were involved in the us crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, but also that the cia knew and turned a blind eye to the operation. Amongst webbs fundamental problems was his implication that the cia lit the crack cocaine fuse. Fallout from the crack epidemic included a huge surge in addiction, homelessness, murder, theft, robbery, gang warfare, and longterm imprisonment. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so that we could do each other in. Levine found analyzing the reaction to crack in the 1980s, sensationalist reporting can lead to troubling responses.
Documenting the ravages of the 1980s crack epidemic al. In 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb telegraph. Excerpt from allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic.
The crack epidemic in the united states was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across. The epidemic was driven, so they say, by a combination of factors that began appearing across the country. Oig analysis of allegations regarding blandons and meneses relationship with the contras and the cia. Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. In 1967, thomas braden, a former cia man, defended the intelligence agencys cold war tactics in the post, though his argument was ultimately undermined by the truths he left out. The drug dealers first distributed the drugs among gangs, and then to individual smaller drug dealers. What can we learn from the crack epidemic and when black. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies.
Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy table of contents. During the korean war, the first allegations of cia drug trafficking surfaced after 1949, stemming from a deal whereby arms were supplied to chiang kaisheks defeated generals in exchange for intelligence. The first article in the newspaper said that cocaine was virtually. Numerous african american families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty, especially in the inner city. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university.
The allegations were made by a californiabased newspaper in 1996. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come. The drug was made from powder cocaine, it was safer to make than freebase cocaine. Webbs series led to three federal investigations, none of which found evidence of any conspiracy by the cia or its employees to bring drugs into the united states. There were drug epidemics in the unites states well before the 1980s, but it was then that the combination of cheap street prices and the conversion of cocaine to the smokable crack powder created a public crisis that saw unprecedented government spending and helped launch the war on drugs. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in. The hip hop generations poorest started peddling a kind of rockhard cocaine, that many. How the cia created americas heroin and cocaine epidemics. Cia crack i shall discuss the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid. The crack epidemic had particularly devastating effects.
The high amount of people in jail is a direct result of the crack epidemic, which was started by the cia. Epidemics are always a great time to remind america that racism still exists. The crack epidemic in the united states was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the united states between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. South central already had existing drug markets that were virtually ignored by greater society. The drugs the cia let into the country contributed to the deaths of many africanamericans in the ghetto, these drugs were part of the crack epidemic.
In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. The very first time that the cia began to get involved in drug dealing was during the vietnam war. Allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. Renowned documentary photographer eugene richards bore witness to the ravages of the crack epidemic that gripped the northeast in the 1980s. Harvard university society of fellows and nber paul s. Based on a yearlong investigation, reporter gary webb wrote that during the 1980s the cia helped finance its covert war against nicaraguas leftist government through sales of cutrate cocaine to south central l. The effect the crack epidemic started in south central, and spread throughout the us. These conditions were further strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crack cocaine. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. When there was a general pao, who was the general in laos, who was the kingpin drug dealer in southeast asia, the cia became partners with him. His book cocaine true, cocaine blue documents the brutal realities facing communities affected by the drug. For many, crack use became an obsession, dominated their lives, and. The crack epidemics impact on black communities 91. As policymakers seek solutions for the ongoing epidemic of opioid overdoses, horror stories about the effects of the drugs fuel calls for more punitive law enforcement, as well as better treatment options.
Why americans dont trust the cia the saturday evening post. On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra. The united states justice department has issued a report clearing the central intelligence agency of any role in introducing crackcocaine into americas inner cities in the 1980s. The ghastly disease aids burst upon the scene in the early 1980s. When we started having women to put their own children out for prostitution to get crack, well, i knew it was all over, ms. The us central intelligence agency has itself been the subject of scrutiny, with many conspiracy theories forming around. Others however argued that this is not true and that its some sort of liberal agenda to demonize reagans term. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact by roland g. The cia planned a covert invasion of china, and organized several thousand troops led by general li mi, who were joined by a further 8,000 recruits from the indigenous hill tribes in burma and 1,000 crack kmt troops shipped in by the agency from taiwan.
Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum. By 1985, cocainerelated hospital emergencies rose by 12 percent, from. The first effects of the epidemic started in the early 1980s, but the dea officially classifies the time of the. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. However, the crack cocaine had a particularly devastating impact. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drug. What did the cia have to gain by being involved with the crack epidemic in the 80s. Murphy university of chicago april 2006 we would like to thank jonathan caulkins, john donohue, lawrence katz, glenn loury, derek neal, bruce. Nicholas writes in the books epilogue, is not to define a national agenda.
Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. Cia played a role in promoting crack, ceppos and webb have said that. While the use of coca leaves as an intoxicant dates back three thousand years, crack cocaine, a crystallized form of cocaine, was developed during the cocaine boom of the 1970s and its use spread in the mid1980s. On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra army. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. What the cia could not control they obviously tried to destroy, and s. God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools. Typically, crack is sold in small plastic vials containing.
As crack and dope became parts of our neighborhoods, they started to have an impression on our culture through music and television. Did the cia really introduce cocainecrack to the u. A panel discussion on the mercury newws series drew an overflow crowd at the washington convention center on sept. The first article also made other specific allegations of cia knowledge of, or involvement in, the drug rings activities. The cia was new fx series focuses on crack epidemics toll on community.
The charges of cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking were revived in 1996, when a newspaper series by reporter gary webb in the san jose mercury news claimed that the trafficking had played an important role in the creation of the crack cocaine drug problem in the united states. The dark alliance series recounted how ross began peddling small quantities. Comparing that to us sentencing commission data showing 79% of 5,669 sentenced crack offenders were. The severelydistressed african american family in the. Rereading the story of the crack epidemic jstor daily. Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge. What can we learn from the crack epidemic and when black leadership supported the war on drugs. The true story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still untold. Crack cocainea crystallized form of the drugbecame popular in the 1980s. The full story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still yet to be told.
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