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The origin of crack cocaine research paper
Physiological effects of cocaine on people
The origin of crack cocaine research paper
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Prologue: Dr. Carl Hart was doing an experiment on a man smoking crack cocaine. Another hit of cocaine would be available to the man after 15 minutes according the computer. The man had to signal his choice rather he wanted to smoke crack again or receive cash instead. The purpose of the experiment was to "understand how crack cocaine users would respond when presented with a choice between the drug and an 'alternative reinforcer' -- or another type of reward, in this case, cash money" (Hart). One day, Dr. Carl Hart had received a court letter claiming that he was a father of a sixteen year old boy in Florida. He thought it was absurd, but had realized that he had intercourse with a women back when he was a teenager. Also, Dr. Carl Hart realized …show more content…
that his newly found son, Tobias, grew up without his biological father. Dr. Carl Hart was determined to provide the tools to Tobias that had got himself off the streets. I could not imagine how Dr. Carl Hart was feeling. It had must been a huge shock to him, but at the same time it was good for Carl because it had made him to be more determined to reveal the truth about the real effects of drugs and the choices the society makes. Chapter 1: In this chapter, Dr.
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
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For example, he uses the book discussed in class The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. A lot of material discussed in class he discusses in his book. Dr. Hart talks about how the charges for have crack cocaine are far worse that having pure powdered cocaine. Within his research as stated before, he presents myths about drug addiction. Everyone is taught to believe that people become so addicted to a drug that the drug becomes irresistible. He uses the alternative of cash and discovered that even those who are regular users or “addicted” would prefer the
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.
She describes that the mass incarceration policies that were made are a “comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow”(Alexander2016). The War on Drugs escalated quickly in 1982 with the Reagan administration, claiming that they were responding to the crack cocaine epidemic that was going on around black neighborhoods and ghettos. The Reagan administration actually were contributing to the high rise of crack cocaine consumption in the US, mainly inner cities. Alexander points out that the Drug on War had escalated way before 1982, in the mid 1980’s the use of crack cocaine had escalated so quickly that they Federal Drug authorities had to publicize the issue and use scare tactics to try to get control over the
“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 mother cannot comprehend the diagnosis and believes the etiology of the psychosis is from drug use only. Charles is in denial as well but accepts the medication and when feeling better he stops and resumes his substance abuse. Charles cycles between the adult cr...
Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, as well as Eugene Jarecki’s documentary, The House I Live In, both discuss the controversial issues surrounding the War on Drugs, mass incarceration, and drug laws. Ultimately, both Alexander and Jarecki concede that the court systems have systematically hindered growth and advancement in black communities by targeting young African Americans, primarily male, that have become entangled in drugs due to their socioeconomic status. There is a disturbing cycle seen in black underprivileged neighborhoods of poverty leading to drug use and distribution to make money that inevitably ends with the person in question landing in prison before likely repeating these actions upon their release. Both Jarecki and Alexander present their case, asserting that the effects of the War on Drugs acted as a catalyst for the asymmetric drug laws and
Throughout “Chasing the Scream” many intriguing stories are told from individuals involved in the drug war, those on the outside of the drug war, and stories about those who got abused by the drug war. Addiction has many social causes that address drug use and the different effects that it has on different people. In our previous history we would see a tremendous amount of individuals able to work and live satisfying lives after consuming a drug. After the Harrison Act, drugs were abolished all at once, but it lead to human desperation so instead of improving our society, we are often the reason to the problem. We constantly look at addicts as the bad guys when other individuals are often the reasons and influences to someone’s decision in
The War on Drugs is believed to help with many problems in today’s society such as realizing the rise of crime rates and the uprooting of violent offenders and drug kingpin. Michelle Alexander explains that the War on Drugs is a new way to control society much like how Jim Crow did after the Civil War. There are many misconceptions about the War on Drugs; commonly people believe that it’s helping society with getting rid of those who are dangerous to the general public. The War on Drugs is similar to Jim Crow by hiding the real intention behind Mass Incarceration of people of color. The War on Drugs is used to take away rights of those who get incarcerated. When they plead guilty, they will lose their right to vote and have to check application
“[The war on drugs] has created a multibillion-dollar black market, enriched organized crime groups and promoted the corruption of government officials throughout the world,” noted Eric Schlosser in his essay, “A People’s Democratic Platform”, which presents a case for decriminalizing controlled substances. Government policies regarding drugs are more focused towards illegalization rather than revitalization. Schlosser identifies a few of the crippling side effects of the current drug policy put in place by the Richard Nixon administration in the 1970s to prohibit drug use and the violence and destruction that ensue from it (Schlosser 3). Ironically, not only is drug use as prevalent as ever, drug-related crime has also become a staple of our society. In fact, the policy of the criminalization of drugs has fostered a steady increase in crime over the past several decades. This research will aim to critically analyze the impact of government statutes regarding drugs on the society as a whole.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience on the history of cocaine, current prevalence rates and health effects among other issues.
The reason with the old ways do not work, Alexander say, is because “self-destructive drug users are responding in a tragic, but understandable way” (226). It is not their drug- problem that caused the dislocation, but the dislocation that cause the drug problem. He uses the term dislocation to describe the lack of integration with “family, community, society and spiritual values” (226). Alexander goes on to explain that history proves that inability to achieve health opportunities can take on the form of violence, and damaging drug use. Therefore, the “drug problem” (226) is not the problem. The problem is more the “pattern of response to prolong dislocation” (226). Alexander supports this by explaining the reason for the dislocation as being globalized by a society that is market driven which can only be established by the displacement of tradition, economy, and relationships. This has been seen in history before in England during the 19TH century, when “a brutal, export-oriented manufacturing system” was accompanied by work...
It was the late 19th century when a lot of conflict for families from the Industrial Revolution and illegal drugs had easy access to anyone in the United Sates. These illegal drugs like morphine, cocaine, and alcohol were available through manufacture, delivery, and selling. It was proved that the over use of alcohol and violence in families’ homes were linked together around the 1850’s and that women and children were being abused by the father and husband from the letters and journals that were wrote. These were times when women were stay at home mothers and it was the man’s responsibility to be the provider for the wife and children. Because of the abuse in the household it led up to the temperance movement. The purpose
An important application is how tipping points and trend lines apply to the present status and future course of the war on drugs. According to Webster’s dictionary, a war is the “organized effort by a government or other large organization to stop or defeat something that is viewed as dangerous or bad” (Merriam-Weber’s online dictionary, n.d.). Most people will unanimously agree that drugs and alcohol are bad and at least potentially dangerous, especially in the case substance abuse. Alcohol, drugs, and synthetic substances are associated with crime, violence, moral decay, brain damage, higher high school dropout rates, a multitude of health issues, and a myriad of other societal issues. As a society, Americans actually pay a high toll for substance abuse. The bill for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse costs Americans more than $600 billion annually in areas such as crime, unemployment, loss of productivity, and health care cost ( National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d.). Based upon these facts, it ma...
In 1993, Elliott Currie wrote an essay titled "Toward a Policy on Drugs" where he argues that there is a correlation between drugs and the crime rate. Currie explains that the drug problem has worsened since the 1990s because the law is clearer than what it once was in regards to the justice system. Correctional facilities now have limited space to house all people who have committed crimes due to the fact that people who are addicted to drugs commit the most crimes. Drugs continue to be a "law-enforcement problem" because it is unclear what the people want the justice system to do (Currie, 1993, p.571). Currie goes on to say that the justice system can help drug users improve their lifestyles so that they are not caught up in the streets
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Humans have used drugs of one sort or another for thousands of years. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 BC in China.