A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so. Allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. Central intelligence agency a number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. Ciacontra connection recent central american history.
The crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the irancontra scandal was being exposed. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the. This past weekend, the hollywood version of what pilot and drug runner barry seal did for the cia in the 1980s, opened in movie theaters across the country. The uk reported an increase of 74% in seizures of crack cocaine in drug raids between 2000 and 2006. Eventually, there became a glut in the market of too much cocaine and not enough profits for the drug dealers.
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. The true story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still untold. During the 1980s crack epidemic, most of the blame seemed. Snowfall is a onehour drama set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it.
The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. According to the series, blandon was the johnny appleseed of crack in californiadistributing thousands of kilos of colombian cocaine to black dealers like ricky ross. Apr 25, 2007 it further alleged that cocaine was virtually unobtainable in black neighborhoods before members of the cias army started bringing it into south central in the 1980s at bargainbasement prices. Due to the unique characteristics associated with crack addiction and the populations that use it, the epidemic created a host of new problems for the public health and drug treatment commu. Reagan and his administration hired staff to publicize the crack in a media blitz in 85. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge. Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. Freeway ricky ross, the drug kingpin who ignited crack. Usually the cias activities have harmful effects on innocent civilians in foreign countries. Did the cia play a role in launching the crack cocaine epidemic. Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy department of justice.
San jose mercury news allegations of ciacontra involvement in narcotics trafficking. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. We find that our measure of crack can explain much of the rise in black youth homicides, as well as more moderate increases in a wide range of adverse birth outcomes for blacks in the 1980s. In this case, the cias activities led to the crack epidemic in americas inner cities, which caused american citizens much pain and misery. 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. It refuted charges that cia officials knew that their nicaraguan allies were dealing drugs. Rereading the story of the crack epidemic jstor daily. Drug use was actually dropping in 82 when reagan kicked off his drug war. A steady course of africanamerican progress was essentially halted in its tracks as the crack epidemic escalated, peaked and, finally, in the late 1990s, began to subside. The high amount of people in jail is a direct result of the crack epidemic, which was started by the cia.
God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools. Mchenry claims that the films main character, nino brown. How one journalist linked the cia to the crack epidemic and. The heroin epidemic resembles the days when crack cocaine became the major drug that destroyed communities across the united states and other parts of the world including the caribbean that began in the early 1980s. His book cocaine true, cocaine blue documents the brutal realities facing communities affected by the drug. How one journalist linked the cia to the crack epidemic. The crack epidemic that once ravaged black neighborhoods didnt get the same sympathy as todays opioid epidemic. Jan 10, 2018 popular media coverage of the crack epidemic in the 1980s helped rile up enthusiasm for more punitive laws. The big lie is that we started it all the crack epidemic we were just a small part. The answer is the same as it was a decade ago following a central intelligence agency cialed invasion of afghanistan. During the 1980s crack epidemic, most of the blame seemed to.
In his report, webb who had won a pulitzer in 1989 for a different story claimed that the cia was partly responsible for bringing crack cocaine to. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university. Cia admits tolerating contracocaine trafficking in 1980s. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the. It has long been known that the cia has illegally toppled foreign governments. The crack epidemics impact on black communities 91. Documenting the ravages of the 1980s crack epidemic al. Between 1985 and 1989, the number of regular cocaine users jumped from 4. Jan 20, 2020 there once was a republican president that wanted to look like a hero by getting iran to release some hostages. Neighborhoods and families were severely impacted by this epidemic. Follows the lives of several characters who are about cross. One of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. The method is to dissolve cocaine hydrochloride into water with sodium bicarbonate baking.
The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the innercity crack cocaine trade. 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. The crack epidemic had particularly devastating effects within the african american communities of the. The dark alliance series recounted how ross began peddling. Nicaraguan drug rebels were exporting drugs for money, with the cias covert assistance. 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. Levine found analyzing the reaction to crack in the 1980s, sensationalist reporting can lead to troubling responses. Oct 03, 2017 this past weekend, the hollywood version of what pilot and drug runner barry seal did for the cia in the 1980s, opened in movie theaters across the country. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. Many commentators have attributed the spike in black youth homicide to the crack epidemics rise and ebb blumstein 1998, cook and. According to one article, the cocaine that flooded in through blandons drug ring helped spark a crack explosion in. It doesnt help that this media blitz coincided with cia funding of drugs cartels to fund their war in nicaragua. Cooper was a journalist for the village voice, who had received acclaim for a 1987 story about the crack epidemic in detroit titled kids killing kids.
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. Now, webbs bombshell expose is being explored anew in a documentary, freeway. In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. The crack epidemic that once ravaged black neighborhoods. If you go see the film, there are some things you should keep in mind, as hollywood is prone to sensationalize reallife events, especially when tom cruise. 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. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in. Around the same timethe early 1980sa letter between attorney general. Crack cocaine, swept throughout the us in the 1980s as an inexpensive and easily accessible drug. Gary webb and the san jose mercury news have performed a tremendous community service by publishing the excellent threepart series aug. History of crack cocaine the recovery village ridgefield. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drug. Its no wonder then that the communities hit hardest by the crack epidemic of the late 80s were americas poorest. The crack epidemic that once ravaged black neighborhoods didn.
This came at the price of webbs career and ultimately his life. New jack city eats its young, the article was one of the first exposes of the effects of the crack epidemic on innercity communities. Virtually unheard of prior to the mid1980s, crack spread quickly across the country, particularly within black and hispanic communities bourgois 1996, chitwood, et al. Aug 30, 2012 one of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. Dec 31, 2004 crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis. These claims have led to investigations by the united states government, including hearings and reports by the united states house of representatives, senate, department of justice, and the cias office of the inspector general. The method is to dissolve cocaine hydrochloride into water with sodium bicarbonate baking soda, which precipitates solid masses of cocaine crystals. By 2002, the united kingdom was experiencing their own crack epidemic, with the number of crack addicts seeking help climbing nearly 50% that year. Then take a look at 37 startling photos of 1980s new york city, when crack was king. The first article also discussed oscar danilo blandon reyes role in the drug ring. 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. The series related to a drug ring in california and its alleged connections to the central intelligence agency ciabacked nicaraguan contra resistance of the 1980s.
Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the possession or trafficking of crack when compared to. 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. Unlike powder cocaine, crack was easier to develop, more cost efficient to produce, and cheaper to buy, which made it more economically accessible. Outraged at cia role in drug trade duke university. The emergence of crack cocaine started in the 1970s and 1980s during the boom in cocaines recreational use. May 02, 2017 the crack epidemic that once ravaged black neighborhoods didnt get the same sympathy as todays opioid epidemic. The american crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the united states between 1982 and the early 1990s. Crack has destroyed families and, in many ways, destroyed communities, which still suffer the effects of crime, druguse, and incarceration. Heres how the crack epidemic brought a city to its knees. There once was a republican president that wanted to look like a hero by getting iran to release some hostages.
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. When ronald reagan became president soon after, he quietly began. The dark alliance series recounted how ross began peddling small quantities of cocaine in the early 1980s and rapidly grew into one of the largest cocaine dealers in southern california until he was convicted of federal drug trafficking charges in march 1996. This led to the us having the highest incarceration rate in the world. After reading about gary webb exposing the cias potential complicity in l. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. 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. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yes. The 1980s crack epidemic crack usage began to surge in the 1980s. 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. Renowned documentary photographer eugene richards bore witness to the ravages of the crack epidemic that gripped the northeast in the 1980s.
Mchenry claims that the films main character, nino brown, was based on a composite of three people. Although our crack index remains high through the 1990s, the deleterious social impact of crack fades. How an ugly cocaine controversy reignited 30 years later the hiphop community is convinced reagan oversaw a vast trafficking network during the crack epidemic. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the 1980s earlier one of our younger duers asked why reagan was so bad. In the interview notes with filmmaker levin, blandon confirms his support of the contras and his role in drug trafficking, but downplays his significance. Aaron dixon, the former seattle chapter captain for the black panther party, is writing a book on the impact of crack cocaine on black communities. Similarly, starting in 1985, media reports focused obsessively on the idea of crack babies infants permanently damaged because their mothers smoked crack while pregnant. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack 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 crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drugfree. Cia admits tolerating contracocaine trafficking in 1980s by.
The use of crack cocaine reached epidemic proportions in this country at the end of the 1980s. Crack, cartels and cia clash as crime drama snowfall. By 1985, cocainerelated hospital emergencies rose by 12 percent, from. Jun 04, 2019 crack cocaine, swept throughout the us in the 1980s as an inexpensive and easily accessible drug.