The Crack Epidemic

Over the years cocaine became more expensive and it was hard for people that was not rich or people in the "GHETTO" or "HOOD" to get their hands on. So they made a much cheaper freebased form of cocaine called "Crack". Crack is practiced by smoking or inhaling through your mouth through a glass pipe. In the 1980s crack was a very big problem in America because it destructed society very badly. During the crack epidemic people lost jobs, gave up hope, and crime in many communities have taken a toll on American society. Society, has changed since then and will never be the same as it was before cocaine hit American.

Illegal Use of Cocaine

In 1960 cocaine became a very popular illegal drug. It was used by snorting it through your nose.


It was used for many reasons recreational use, by models to stay fit or in shape, and many athletes used cocaine for energy.



 Cocaine was big in most big cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It was called a very sexy drug and people thought nothing about the long term effects.

Earlier Years of Cocaine

Around 300 B.C. cocaine was found in South America. It was practiced by chewing the Coca plant which is what cocaine is made from.

Around this time people thought it was a gift from god. By the 1400s, cocaine had many plantations. Most was operated by Incas in Peru. 

In the 1800s cocaine was used not just for chewing, but throat surgery.Cocaine came to the USA in the early 1900s as a recreation drug. It was in Coca-Coal from 1886 and it was stop being used in the soft drink by the year of 1903. People began to snort cocaine in 1905 and by 1912 there was 5,000 cocaine related deaths and by 1922 cocaine use in America was banned. 

The Excessive Desires Cocaine Causes

When people watch movies, listen to music, and read about people with fame or a lot of money. They began to be inspired by the people with money and fame. When you watch the movie Paid In Full you see three young men with a great deal of money. So then possibly you could be inspired to do what they do to get the money they have.For example rapper Meek Mill said i never wanted to be like mike i wanna When you listen to music.Rap in general you hear about people rapping about the fame and riches they got off of selling cocaine.Rapper rick ross has a song by the name of rick off cocaine.This could be an inspiration to someone who does nothing but listen to music because they can almost visualize the lifestyle that the rapper lives. People read about the past drug lords or king pins and some young people see that they could do it and believe that they could do it also. For example Lil Herb of Chicago stated that he never had the regular dream from the hood to be a ball player or something. He was inspired by Rich Porter to sell drugs and get a Saab. Cocaine causes an excessive life. The addicts wants more cocaine, the drug dealers want more money from selling cocaine, and lastly cocaine causes excessive desires.

AZ money

Born November 10, 1964 in Harlem, New York was a kid named Azie Faison. He dropped out of school in ninth grade and worked at the neighborhood dry cleaners.A Dominican drug lord offered him a deal to sell cocaine. He watched Scarface and decided he will take that deal. He had two friends that were his partners in crime. His two friends was Alpo and Rich Po. He was known for being a wholesale distributor of cocaine in Harlem.

Rich Po

Born July 26,1965 in Harlem, New York was a kid by the name Richard Porter. He was a great kid and kept a smile on everyone face. He was a great student in school, but due to him not wanting to wear the same clothes he wanted to change lifestyles. He was played by Mekhi Phifer in a well known movie called Paid In Full. He was a good guy who did bad things. He was inspiration to the ghetto, and almost every child wanted to be him. He was stylish, cool, and all the women wanted him. He began to sell drugs at the age 12 and by 17 he was a King Pin. He was killed by one of his former friends Alpo.

Notorious Harlem King Pin

Alpo Martinez born in Harlem, New York is known for being a young kid turned drug dealer in the late 70's and early 80's. He was a kid from the hood who ran around and did things that not many children did. By time he was thirteen he began to sell crack cocaine. He was in a crew with two other people named Azie and Rich Porter. He was the youngest of the three. He later killed his former friend over some kilos of cocaine.



   He was someone who influenced drug dealing with fashion. He explained that people could not get this fly unless you sold drugs.

A movie that features drug dealing.

1. New Jack City is an 1991 thriller. In this movie it influences cocaine dealing, the use of cocaine, and illegal actions in general. This movie Stars Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock. Chris Rock is a Stick-up kid who turns into a crackhead, and ends up a crack dealer. Nino Brown is a cocaine dealer who has a group named "CMB" or the "Cash Money Brothers" that operated with violence and drug dealing.


This movie is an award winning film that many people have watched over the years. This movie Shows that drug dealing have many ups and that making money by selling drugs is easy. This movies shows the effects of cocaine in society in one movie.

Cocaine and the Rap Industry

Many rappers rap about selling cocaine, and it could possibly be an influence to the people who listen to that person music to sell cocaine.

1. Andre Nickatina is a rapper from San Francisco California and he goes by the name Dre Dog. He's currently a rapper and he raps about distributing cocaine. He has a song called "Ayo for Yayo". His purpose for this song is to brag about the money he made from distributing cocaine. He also, influence the use of cocaine in one of his songs he said "You see the big girls do it so of course it's fine".

2. Big Meech and Southwest T are brothers from Detroit Michigan. The brothers' birth names are Demetrius Flenory and Terry Flenory who was the founders of a rap group called the "Black Mafia Family" or also known as "BMF". This rap group included artist like Young Jeezy, Fabolous, and Gucci Mane.They was drug traffickers who try to go the legal way and was caught up. They image was to "flex" for the drug dealers and they inspired drug dealing through music.

3.Jay Wayne Jenkins is a rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He has many stage names, like the Snowman, Lil J, and most people knows him as Young Jeezy. He is a multi millionaire and is also a platinum artist. He is known for mostly for his saying "Trap Or Die'. He has many mix-tapes and albums, but has great deal of fame from his Mix-tapes "Trap Or Die."

  

They are huge voices in the rap industry. Many generations of people listen to the music they produce. Possibly if the people who buys the albums are broke, maybe the music of these people will influence them to sell drugs.

Cocaine In Fame

There are many famous people who uses cocaine for recreational use 

1. Micheal Ray Richardson was a famous basketball player that played for the New York Knicks. He was drafted 4th pick in the 1978 NBA draft. He was a 3 time offender of the NBA's drug policy. During this time he was playing for the New Jersey Nets. He sacrificed his NBA career for addiction to cocaine.  

2.Another famous person who had an huge impact on American society just as well as cocaine is singer/actress Whitney Houston. She Has won many Grammy awards.She was an wife to another cocaine addict named Bobby Brown and he was also inspirational to the music industry. The two of them were addicted to cocaine in the crack form and powdered form. Whitney and Bobby smoked crack cocaine in front of Bobbi Kristine at the age of 5 and by time she was 14 she was hooked on cocaine.

3.Ike Turner is the husband of Tina Turner Just as well as Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston they are a powerful couple in the music industry, and is a big influence to many couples and duets in today's music.Ike was a drug addict who was very abusive to his wife just like Bobby Brown was abusive to Whitney. Ike had an very successful career but struggled with drug abuse and later died in 2008 from a cocaine overdose 

This show that cocaine and fame had an huge impact on society because Micheal Ray Robinson was a great basketball player and many people wanted to be like him. It's likely that he caused many teens and people of his age to do cocaine.

Bobby Brown and Ike Turner are two people who struggled with cocaine addiction and were abusive to their wives. Cocaine has linked to spouse abuse and abuse to their lovers and partner when used for many years. So this can be an example of how cocaine caused them to beat their wives. 

Also Bobbi Kristine is the child of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.She witnessed her parents smoke crack in front of her and she was hooked on crack by 14. Likely, she began to do drugs because her parents exposed it to her at an young age.