The charges of cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking were revived in 1996, when a newspaper series by reporter gary webb in the san jose mercury news claimed that the trafficking had played an important role in the creation of the crack cocaine drug problem in the united states. The national response to the crack epidemic of the 1980s crack is a form of cocaine that is processed with baking soda to form small crystalline clumps crack rocks that users smoke in glass pipes and crackles as it burns, hence its name. Sean san jose play examines crack epidemic san francisco, ca. It was not orchestrated by the contras or the cia or any single drug ring. People used to taking cocaine would take an equivalent amount of crack and overdose, and hospital admissions due to cocaine overdose doubled in a year. The american crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the united states between 1982 and the early 1990s. Numerous african american families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty, especially in the inner city. It refuted charges that cia officials knew that their nicaraguan allies were dealing drugs. God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools.
The cia dropped crack into the inner cities in the 80s. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the. Ross said the crack epidemic also created a different, dangerous mindset. Others however argued that this is not true and that its some sort of liberal agenda to demonize reagans term. 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. This led to a drugfuelled disaster in the innercities of america. Outraged at cia role in drug trade duke university.
In another instance, the cia received allegations that five members of the democratic revolutionary alliance adren those fighting along the border of nicaragua and costa rica were involved in drug trafficking. As someone who is hispanic and was living in a mostly black and hispanic innercity community in the 1980s and 1990s, i was quite aware of the. Excellent article from the village voice in 1990 arguing that the u. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge. Reagan is heralded for her just say no antidrug campaign, the truth of the matter is that her husbands administration is singlehandedly responsible for the drug epidemic that. Usually the cia s activities have harmful effects on innocent civilians in foreign countries. The national response to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Where did the cia introduced crack to the inner cities in the 80s idea originate. Back in 1996, gary webb of the san jose mercury news broke a story stating not only that the nicaraguan contras supported by the united states in a rebellion against their leftleaning government were involved in the us crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, but also that the cia knew and turned a blind eye to the operation. These stories are nothing new to those living in the 80s and it played as the backdrop to the vh1documentary, planet rock. Crack could also be smoked much more easily, requiring a temperature of only 194f to vaporize. New jack city eats its young, the article was one of the first exposes of the effects of the crack epidemic on inner city communities.
In this case, the cia s activities led to the crack epidemic in americas inner cities, which caused american citizens much pain and misery. Webb doesnt think that anybody got the idea to start a crack epidemic. Mar 11, 2016 in the memorial of nancy reagan, a dark and twisted plot has resurfaced. A series of expose articles in the san jose mercurynews by reporter gary webb told tales of a drug. The crack epidemic in washington dc 4036 words 17 pages. 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.
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 cia was consequently not only involved in and ultimately responsible for the innercity crack epidemic. 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. Cia funnels drugs into poor us neighborhoods 6 jan, 2011 19. A complete history of crack cocaine drug rehab options. David icke americas crackcocaine epidemic created by the cia. More than lucky some ingenious drug dealer simply by seeing an untapped market, and created a product by mixing cocaine and some additives. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the possession or trafficking of crack when compared to.
In this case, the cias activities led to the crack epidemic in americas inner cities, which caused american citizens much pain and misery. On april 9, 1980 richard pryor was freebasing cocaine and drinking 151 rum and douched himself with the liquor and lit himself on fire and ran down the street. The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Clair who write for the nation lay it all out in their book whiteout. And we were able to show what the effect of that was.
Crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis by charlene muhammadnational correspondent. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university. Now, webbs bombshell expose is being explored anew in a documentary, freeway. Where did the cia introduced crack to the inner cities in. Fallout from the crack epidemic included a huge surge in addiction, homelessness, murder, theft, robbery, gang warfare, and longterm imprisonment.
Allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. The allure of crack spread swiftly through lowincome, innercity, mostly black and hispanic communities throughout the u. Even ross saw cocaine at 19 in 79, so it was established well before the crack epidemic of the 80s, and likely without cia assistance. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come.
The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic. Crack cocaine could be obtained for the same price at purities of around 80 percent. The crack epidemic had particularly devastating effects within the african american communities of the inner cities by causing the increase of addictions, deaths, and drugrelated crimes. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. By 2002, the united kingdom was experiencing their own crack epidemic, with the number of crack addicts seeking help climbing nearly 50% that year. Great essay against prohibition which discusses the u. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. Did the cia really introduce cocainecrack to the u. The five were allegedly working with known drug trafficker jorge morales.
Did the cia play a role in launching the crack cocaine epidemic. The use of crack cocaine reached epidemic proportions in this country at the end of the 1980s. Though evidence is thin, tale of cia and drugs has a life of its own. On october 14, 1982, president ronald reagan declared a war on drugs, doublingdown on an initiative that was started by richard nixon. Usually the cias activities have harmful effects on innocent civilians in foreign countries. These conditions were further strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crack cocaine. It was inspired by the late journalist gary webbs investigational series, published in the san jose mercury news in 1996, which revealed the shocking connection between the cia and the crack cocaine epidemic that ravaged the africanamerican community here, starting in the 1980s. The cia were funding the contra rebels via the sale of vast quantities of cocaine at a time when certain people had learnt how to produce crackcocaine, the highly addictive and most evil form of the narcotic. The invention of crack represented a technological innovation that dramatically widened the availability and use of cocaine in inner cities.
Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. 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 nities. The severelydistressed african american family in the crack. In october 1998, the cia released a declassified version of hitzs twovolume report, and the cia was cleared of its alleged complicity in the spread of crackcocaine in to the innercities.
Your worst fears are true the cia did help to smuggle drugs into american ghettos, says an investigative reporter, webb was asked whether his story had confirmed the suspicion within the black community that the crack cocaine epidemic might be part of a. Heres how the crack epidemic brought a city to its knees. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drugfree. Aug 30, 2012 one of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. The subject of todays hearings involves the allegations of cia in volvement in the u. In the memorial of nancy reagan, a dark and twisted plot has resurfaced. The crack epidemic refers to the surge of crack houses and crack cocaine use in major cities in the united states between 1984 and 1990. After reading about gary webb exposing the cias potential complicity in l. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. The story of hiphop and the crack generation, which aired on.
In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. It has long been known that the cia has illegally toppled foreign governments. The reagan administration is directly responsible for the. A thoughtful comparison of the governments response to. The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the inner city crack cocaine trade. New jack city eats its young, the article was one of the first exposes of the effects of the crack epidemic on innercity communities. A thoughtful comparison of the governments response to crack. How one journalist linked the cia to the crack epidemic and. How the drug war created crack, from cures not wars. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in. In the early 1980s, a new drug, crack cocaine, appeared on the streetsat a time when many youth in the inner city were being forced into the underground economy in order to survive. The cia was consequently not only involved in and ultimately responsible for the inner city crack epidemic. Hello reddit, i was doing a little research on the crack epidemic of the 1980s and from what i read the cia introduce crack cocaine to the u. 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.
Webbs series led to three federal investigations, none of. The uk reported an increase of 74% in seizures of crack cocaine in drug raids between 2000 and 2006. Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. One of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. So once you look at this here, then its easy for you to see they didnt mind sacrificing a particular sector of america, said ross. Cia funnels drugs into poor us neighborhoods rt usa news. Blandon and meneses were said to have used their drug trafficking profits to help fund the contra armys war effort. This post claims that the cia funded the contras by hiring drug traffickers which ultimately led to the crack epidemic that plagued the inner cities.
Essay about the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid 1980s. This led to a drugfuelled disaster in the inner cities of america. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drug. Mar 21, 2015 the cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia. Cia developed crack to kill off blacks the conspiracy blog. A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so. Reagan is heralded for her just say no antidrug campaign, the truth of the matter is that her husbands administration is singlehandedly responsible for the drug epidemic that created the need for her famous slogan. In fact, the cialed campaign to discredit webb is an interesting well documented story all by itself. How one journalist linked the cia to the crack epidemic. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia.
Dec 31, 2018 the cia were funding the contra rebels via the sale of vast quantities of cocaine at a time when certain people had learnt how to produce crack cocaine, the highly addictive and most evil form of the narcotic. Mchenry claims that the films main character, nino brown. The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the innercity crack cocaine trade. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in.
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. Conspiracy theorists still believe, however, that the government agency did in fact bring the crack epidemic to black communities and their denials have. Over the years, african americans have been accused of being a culturally suspicious group to a fault. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the 1980s earlier one of our younger duers asked why reagan was so bad. Crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis the final call. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum. The crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the irancontra scandal was being exposed. The federal governments impact on the crack epidemic in the district of colombia cutler fisher amst 3950w april 15, 2012 the term epidemic is typically used in relation to the spread of a disease however. The severelydistressed african american family in the. 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.
A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge, reviving old rumors about the agencys complicity in cocaine smuggling during the reagan administrations covert war in nicaragua, has some africanamerican leaders ready. People believe the crack epidemic in the 1980s was seeded by the cia to keep the inner city folks down. In 1996 the agency was accused of being a crack dealer. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. Crack produces an instantaneous, brief euphoric high for its users, followed by.
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