Crack Epidemic

Between 1984 and 1990, a crack epidemic affected the United States. This epidemic included a surge in number of crack houses, cocaine use and addiction, arrests for cocaine related crimes, murder and robbery, and homelessness, especially in major cities such as New York, Baltimore, Miami, Houston, and Chicago. It began in the early 1980s when a smokeable form of cocaine, known as crack, was developed in the Bahamas. Due to the surplus of cocaine powder, the price of crack dropped 80 percent, but remained very profitable for dealers to manufacture. The high purity of the cocaine that was readily available often made the users become addicted in a very short amount of time. A highly addictive substance readily available at a low price set the conditions for an epidemic.
By the late 80s, higher quality cocaine was available at the low price of 100 dollars per gram. In 1987, there were 55,200 crack related hospital admissions, an increase of 110 percent from the past year. It was considered an epidemic in all but four states. The epidemic prompted rumors and investigations surrounding the CIA and the Contras, a Nicaraguan rebel group. Reports stated that the CIA under the Reagan Administration had drug ties to the Contras and trafficked cocaine to the U.S. David MacMichael, a CIA agent from the time, revealed that ties to drug cartel were unintentionally made when supplying support for the Contras rebels. Later, in 1986, Reagan admitted that the rumors were true, and there had been some cocaine trafficking when the rebels were especially low in funds. A series of hearings proposed by Senator John Kerry and Senator Chris Dodd found that the U.S. State Department had paid over 806,000 dollars to known traffickers for “humanitarian assistance.”

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/08/total-coverage-cia-contras-and-drugs
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9712/index.htm