Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Youth crime introduction
The Cocaine Kids and Dorm Room Dealers are two very different, but yet similar books. Cocaine Kids are about a group of kids, primarily of Hispanic race, with one kid of the Black race. The kids were raised in the inner city of New York. Dorm Room Dealers are about White, middle to upper-middle class college students, who was selling drugs for their status. The purpose of this paper is to prove that there are racial disparities among drug users. There will be examples from the texts that show the different takes on the drug markets and how race plays a factor. There also will be how these experiences shape the kids drug dealing and using. The paper will conclude how all the kids either remained in the drug career or left the drug career. The Cocaine Kids are about kids of New York, cocaine, and the way these kids do illegal business within their impoverished towns. There were drastic changes in the cocaine trade; from the preferred method of use, the value, to the ways it was prepared and distributed to the clients. The cocaine industry went from trying the cocaine before purchasing it, to it being prepackaged to make it simple and avoid arguments. The kids set up a crew of individuals who thought they would consider as trustful individuals. The …show more content…
The drug dealing process went from distributors, who were the Colombians; the supplier who was Max; and the dealers who were all of the other drug dealers that helped with the cocaine industry. The drug dealers were situated in Washington Heights, which was an area known as the “hot spot” for the war on drugs. The crew learned how to make quick money, and ways to get the most out of their money. This is a reason why the kids went from trying the cocaine out before the purchase to it being prepackaged. The members resorted to this lifestyle hoping to have a better life for themselves and their
They decided they could make better money on their own. Eventually they teamed up with some other neighborhood kids and formed what seems to be something between a criminal and a conflict gang. Conflict gangs are typically made up of unskilled criminals who don’t have legitimate or illegitimate opportunities to succeed so they partake in risky, petty crime like gambling, robberies and other violent crimes. They are also not as organized as criminal gangs. Gus and Pablo, along with some others, later formed a stick-up, or robbery team. However, I argue that the drug robberies that the kids partake in is not unskilled or unorganized. For example, the robberies were always planned in advance. They had ‘the girl’ who would open the door for the guys, either literally or figuratively by getting close to the drug dealer and making him feel comfortable. Then the guys would use the element of surprise to shock and restrain the dealer. The dealer would often be tight lipped about the location of his drugs, so the guys would often have to resort to torture in order to get the information. However, it was not just random, violent torture, it was thought out. There was a code between drug robbers to never kill someone. They knew the best torture techniques, like ironing someone’s back, but they agreed never to go as far as killing the dealer. While not all drug robberies went this exact way, they all seemed to
“Just Say No!” A statement that takes us deep into yet another decade in the history of the United States which was excited by controversies, social issues, and drug abuse. The topic of this statement is fueled by the growing abuse of cocaine in the mid 1980s. I shall discuss the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid 1980s from a cultural and social stand point because on that decade this country moved to the rhythms and the pace of this uncanny drug. Cocaine took its told on American society by in the 1980s; it ravaged with every social group, race, class, etc. It reigned over the United States without any prejudices. Crack cocaine was the way into urban society, because of its affordability in contrast to the powdered form. In society the minorities were the ones most affected by the growing excess of crime and drug abuse, especially African Americans; so the question was “Why was nearly everybody convicted in California federal court of crack cocaine trafficking black?” (Webb: Day 3). The growing hysteria brought forth many questions which might seem to have concrete answers, but the fact of the matter is they are all but conspiracy in the end, even though it does not take away the ambiguity and doubt. I will take on only a few topics from the vast array of events and effects this period in time had tended to. Where and who this epidemic seemed to affect more notably, and perhaps how the drugs came about such territories and people. What actions this countries authority took to restore moral sanity, and how it affected people gender wise.
The Cocaine Kids focuses on the lives of eight Latino and black young cocaine dealers in New York City from 1982 to 1986. This...
Williams, Terry. 1989. The Cocaine Kids: The Inside Story of a Teenage Drug Ring. New York: Da Capo Press.
In Less Than Zero, cocaine addiction tests a group of three friends against the backdrop of glamorous, 1980’s Los Angeles. I chose this film because I’ve read the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. While the movie differs quite a bit from the book, it still touches on some key points about drug use that Ellis speaks to in the novel. At the beginning of the film, Clay, Julian, and Blair have graduated high school in Beverly Hills. Clay chooses to leave and attend a prestigious university. Blair (Clay’s girlfriend) stays in Los Angeles because she is too afraid to go to school. Julian’s father gives him a large sum of money to start his own recording studio. By Thanksgiving, Clay returns to Los Angeles to find Julian and Blair sleeping together. At
Connecting Sociology to situations that arise in everyday life has become easier and easier as i have progressed through Intro to Sociology this semester. When choosing what book I was going to analyze for my report, I chose Methland by Nick Reding. It details the quote “death and life of an american small town” through the perspective of those involved in the epidemic of the production of methamphetamine’s in the rural town of Oelwein Iowa. Despite the odds of a poor, small, and rural town in Middle America, Oelwein climbed to the top of the economic ladder with a multi million dollar drug franchise spread throughout the 1990’s. The midwest suffered greatly in the 1980’s with the downfall of the agricultural business in the United States. Soon drug dealers started flocking to these seemingly desolate towns in rural America to safely distribute their product. With the loss of jobs due to the farming downfall, many residents of Oelwein were seeking work and pay in anyway they could find. This is what started the official meth epidemic. Reding spent 4 years in his hometown of Oelwein Iowa to gain insight on the production and consumption of methamphetamine’s in this small town and also shines a spotlight on the problems of meth in this country today. But ironically, the comparison in this story of how the production and consumption of meth seemed to be driving this small town further into extinction, it also brought it back to life. Despite the destruction methamphetamines caused in Oelwein Iowa, the epidemic also brought the town back to life in a way that is irreversible. The highlight of the division of social class and who is able to climb up the social ladder is themed throughout the entire novel.
"Cocaine delivers an intensity of pleasure - and despair - beyond the bounds of normal human experience."
In his talk about his book dreamland, Sam Quinnoes discussed the drug war epidemic in the United States. He discussed that this is the first time in history where drug abuse and sales is seen all across the country and not isolated in a specific area. Sam Quinnoes, was a crime reporter in Stockton, CA, as well as, a reporter for the LA Times after he spent about 10 years living in Mexico. As a reporter he began investigating the prevalence of black tar heroin trafficking from Mexico to a small town in West Virginia after reading that in the span of 6 months a dozed people died from overdose. He was working with a team of reporters trying to answer the question of “how drugs are trafficked once they cross the boarder into the US, and how do
Drug-law crime is having one or more illegal drugs in one’s possessions for delivery, sell, or even personal use is a crime. In this documentary, there were many individuals who were selling drugs on the streets to other individuals, buying drugs from their dealers, and using drugs to get and feel high and that would be considered a drug-law crime. A drug-related crime is a crime when it is done through trafficking, drug cartels, organized crime, and gangs. In this documentary, there were examples how gangs work to keep the drugs flowing through 5th ward and the Cartel and Cops working against each other for the control of the territory. But since the Cartel is keeping drugs flowing in the 5th ward and working against the cop this is considered a crime. But it is illegal to work as a group (a gang) to do illegal things like sell, distribute, or even use drugs for personal
It has provided those in South America an aid in dealing with the hard life associated with living in the Andes. It has seen its use in the medical field for helping patients with pain and has been used for recreational enjoyment. The outlook on this drug varies depending on who and where you ask about cocaine. The drug can be highly addictive and cause serve damage through continued use on both the mental and physical aspects of someone. History has taught us that cocaine can lead to violence as well as the personal downfall of someone’s personal life and it should be treated accordingly. Education is the best form of explaining the consequences of cocaine and through that a nation can only strive for their citizens to be
Carl Hart explained how his family had suffered from poverty and domestic violence before the drugs came around. He had said that drugs were never involved in his family, but alcohol was. His father drank alcohol only on the weekends, when he was not working. It was "to make up for the social and cultural isolation of his work as a warehouse manager" (Hart). This showed that the root of domestic violence was poverty and unemployment because people did not want to admit their real problems, so instead they blamed on drugs or alcohol. When Lyndon Johnson had declared a war on poverty, black people living in poverty had went down, but the unemployment among urban black men had rose. This is when the crack cocaine was on the rise, it correlated with the rise in unemployment among black men. The society had blamed crack for the problems with unemployment and poverty as well. In conclusion, drugs are used to blame the societies' problems where the drugs are not the issue. This was an eye-opening part because we as a society would assume that the drugs were a huge problem in America. It was causing crimes, violence, and addiction. But in reality, they are not the main issue to the problems, however they may play small roles to
The documentary, The House That I Live In, analyzes the introduction of the war on drugs in America, why it was called into action, and its respective consequences. The war on drugs started as lawmakers searched to find ways to legally prosecute minorities. Lawmakers identified medicines primarily used by a single race or ethnicity, then outlawed the medicine as a drug to convict that race. As different races became problematic, new laws were created. Now these laws take advantage of the poor community as police are geographically targeting areas for crime. Many of these poor areas contain a high percentage of African Americans, due to Northern Jim Crow laws that forced blacks into economically disadvantaged ghettos. Thus, creating an overrepresentation
The applicant is a 45 year old, never been married, but has one adult son, who is 26 years old. Applicant resides with his mother in Hartford. According to the applicant during his intake process, he started to illicit drugs at the age of 20. His drug of choice at the moment is cocaine-occasionally. Applicant discontinue his heroin use about a year ago. The applicant reported, he uses cocaine at least 1-2 times a week. Tends to purchase about a gram and uses the substance by inhalation. Applicant denies using any benzos and any other designer drugs.
Coca is a plant coming from South America that for thousands of years been cultivated in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. The coca leaves have played, and still play, key social, medicinal, and ritual purposes for millions of indigenous people living in the Central and North Andes and Amazonia. Coca is a mild stimulant, however, it has been criminalized and equated with cocaine. It was not until 1855, when a German scientist fabricated cocaine, the laboratory-produced alkaloid separated from coca leaves. This formerly licit commodity was transformed into an illicit drug, due to the influence of Western morals and behavior. In Bolivia, the transformation of coca has drastically affected the peasantry in the region, altering social discourses, local and national economies, as well as traditional, indigenous practices. Today, coca cocaine as a commodity employs billions of people, this is an economy of its own, but the lines of legal and illegal cross and blur.
I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to allow me to explain my criminal history. In regards to the 09/28/2004 charge of cocaine possession, case # F93-9882, I was asked to give a statement explaining reason for capias. During the time of my arrest, I was so messed up on drugs and alcohol; I really do not remember what happened. In fact, all of my charges were due to me trying whatever it took to get the next high. Reflecting back, I’m not certain, but I believe on this particular day, I had been out all night, stone out of my mind where at that time what seem to have been luck, turned out to be a nightmare. Because, I ended out degrading myself by having sex with someone for a few dollars in order to purchase cocaine.