Read on Twitter
THE CRACK EPIDEMIC: *A THREAD*
The purpose of this thread is simply to showcase how bad things really were during the epidemic. I do feel that some of those who didn’t live thru it may not understand what it did to a generation of Black folks.
Los Angeles (1981). A new, cheaper form of cocaine became popular in the late 70s which was dubbed “freebase”. It was cooked to free the cocaine (the base) from its additives, making the high more intense. Richard Pryor speaks on his addiction, which hospitalized him.
Richard Pryor speaks on how he got hooked to freebase cocaine.
"Freebase: A Treacherous Obsession" Rolling Stone (1980) https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/freebase-a-treacherous-obsession-73987/
"Heavy Use of Cocaine Linked to Surge in Deaths and Illnesses" New York Times (1981) https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/26/us/heavy-use-of-cocaine-is-linked-to-surge-in-deaths-and-illnesses.html
Users described the drug as irresistible, and their thirst for it became insatiable after one hit. People spent thousands of dollars in weeks for the drug. Some went to extreme lengths to get money for their addiction, selling everything they had. By ‘84, it was known as crack.
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231323213893861376?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231323213893861376
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231323672172023809?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231323672172023809
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231324687470333961?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231324687470333961
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1122847009705271296?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1122847009705271296
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232391321907793922?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232391321907793922
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232391516112465920?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232391516112465920
Children were extremely vulnerable to the epidemic. Some lost parents to crack. Some were born addicted. Some became dealers. Some became users. Some were just tryna dodge everything about it. Either way, they couldn’t escape it.
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232078097740156928?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232078097740156928
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232492232252346374?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232492232252346374
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232692958702571521?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232692958702571521
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232875489179717632?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232875489179717632
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1232878827455553536?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1232878827455553536
The drug problem became too hard to handle for police. There were too many dealers and users. A blatant disregard for the law developed in neighborhoods affected by the epidemic. Dealers and users were doing their thing out in the open.
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1233102237959905286?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1233102237959905286
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231748934722314240?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231748934722314240
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231975656340230145?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231975656340230145
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231975852793040898?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231975852793040898
Washington DC (1990). DC’s four-term mayor, Marion Barry, was caught on FBI videotape smoking crack. He had allegations of drug usage from former friends and colleagues throughout the decade. This was during his third term.
East New York, Brooklyn (1980s). Children in low-income neighborhoods were easily enticed to deal, being that it was so lucrative. There weren't many jobs for them anyway. Prisoners also explain how understandable it is for children to want to sell drugs during that time.
Ppl got rich inadvertently off the crack epidemic. Dealers all over NY came to buy Dapper Dan’s clothes. Boosters, like the Lo-Lifes, were incentivized to steal bc of the money coming into their neighborhoods.
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1177062172125552640?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1177062172125552640
The epidemic encouraged the use of other drugs, and IV drug use helped spread AIDS outside the gay community.
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1146032589775540224?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1146032589775540224
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1146041567343501314?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1146041567343501314
Discussions were held about the epidemic. Some wanted jail. Some wanted jobs. People wondered where the drugs came from. Overall, there was a great sense of urgency among ppl effected by the epidemic. The violence and addiction was overwhelming. https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231070916756590592?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231070916756590592
https://twitter.com/drinksolapop/status/1231072545555742720?s=21 https://twitter.com/DrinkSolaPop/status/1231072545555742720
We all know what happened after the epidemic, with the ‘93 Crime Bill. I’d just really like to know, after all this information....how y’all feel about the crack epidemic, its effect on our community, and what was done about it all.
