Webbs series led to three federal investigations, none of which found evidence of any conspiracy by the cia or its employees to bring drugs into the united states. Hearings before the select committee on intelligence of the united states senate, one. When there was a general pao, who was the general in laos, who was the kingpin drug dealer in southeast asia, the cia became partners with him. 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. Harvard university society of fellows and nber paul s. 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. While the use of coca leaves as an intoxicant dates back three thousand years, crack cocaine, a crystallized form of cocaine, was developed during the cocaine boom of the 1970s and its use spread in the mid1980s. 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. Did the cia really introduce cocainecrack to the u. 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.
Numerous african american families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty, especially in the inner city. Comparing that to us sentencing commission data showing 79% of 5,669 sentenced crack offenders were. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum. For many, crack use became an obsession, dominated their lives, and. The drugs the cia let into the country contributed to the deaths of many africanamericans in the ghetto, these drugs were part of the crack epidemic. Murphy university of chicago april 2006 we would like to thank jonathan caulkins, john donohue, lawrence katz, glenn loury, derek neal, bruce. Crack was an innercity drug, a streetcorner drug, a drug of gangs and guns that white america largely experienced from a distance. This came at the price of webbs career and ultimately his life. Cia played a role in promoting crack, ceppos and webb have said that. Allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. There were drug epidemics in the unites states well before the 1980s, but it was then that the combination of cheap street prices and the conversion of cocaine to the smokable crack powder created a public crisis that saw unprecedented government spending and helped launch the war on drugs. 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. His book cocaine true, cocaine blue documents the brutal realities facing communities affected by the drug. In 1967, thomas braden, a former cia man, defended the intelligence agencys cold war tactics in the post, though his argument was ultimately undermined by the truths he left out.
Crack is offwhite in color and resembles hard shavings similar to slivers of soap or chips of cracked paint. He acknowledges theres no proof of cia involvement in. The crack epidemic had particularly devastating effects. What the cia could not control they obviously tried to destroy, and s. The drug dealers first distributed the drugs among gangs, and then to individual smaller drug dealers. What can we learn from the crack epidemic and when black leadership supported the war on drugs. A panel discussion on the mercury newws series drew an overflow crowd at the washington convention center on sept. Fallout from the crack epidemic included a huge surge in addiction, homelessness, murder, theft, robbery, gang warfare, and longterm imprisonment. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. 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.
God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. Why americans dont trust the cia the saturday evening post. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drug. When we started having women to put their own children out for prostitution to get crack, well, i knew it was all over, ms. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb telegraph.
Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. The first article also made other specific allegations of cia knowledge of, or involvement in, the drug rings activities. In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. What can we learn from the crack epidemic and when black. Later in the same region, while the cia was sponsoring a secret war in laos from 1961 to 1975, it was openly accused of trafficking heroin in the area then known as the. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the 1980s earlier one of our younger duers asked why reagan was so bad. The us central intelligence agency has itself been the subject of scrutiny, with many conspiracy theories forming around.
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. The true story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still untold. Rereading the story of the crack epidemic jstor daily. Documenting the ravages of the 1980s crack epidemic al. The allegations were made by a californiabased newspaper in 1996. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact by roland g. The full story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still yet to be told.
In 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between. The cia planned a covert invasion of china, and organized several thousand troops led by general li mi, who were joined by a further 8,000 recruits from the indigenous hill tribes in burma and 1,000 crack kmt troops shipped in by the agency from taiwan. A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so that we could do each other in. This led to the us having the highest incarceration rate in the world. The high amount of people in jail is a direct result of the crack epidemic, which was started by the cia. These conditions were further strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crack cocaine. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. Nicholas writes in the books epilogue, is not to define a national agenda. The hip hop generations poorest started peddling a kind of rockhard cocaine, that many. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge.
Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. First of all, they started giving him planes to be able to export his heroin around southeast asia. The crack epidemic in the united states was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. Typically, crack is sold in small plastic vials containing. The dark alliance series recounted how ross began peddling small quantities. By 1985, cocainerelated hospital emergencies rose by 12 percent, from.
The epidemic was driven, so they say, by a combination of factors that began appearing across the country. Cia crack i shall discuss the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid. The first effects of the epidemic started in the early 1980s, but the dea officially classifies the time of the. Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy table of contents. Distrust of the cias methods and motives is almost as old as the cia itself. How the cia created americas heroin and cocaine epidemics. Renowned documentary photographer eugene richards bore witness to the ravages of the crack epidemic that gripped the northeast 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. 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. What did the cia have to gain by being involved with. The effect the crack epidemic started in south central, and spread throughout the us.
During the korean war, the first allegations of cia drug trafficking surfaced after 1949, stemming from a deal whereby arms were supplied to chiang kaisheks defeated generals in exchange for intelligence. The crack epidemics impact on black communities 91. The first article in the newspaper said that cocaine was virtually. Amongst webbs fundamental problems was his implication that the cia lit the crack cocaine fuse. Crack cocainea crystallized form of the drugbecame popular in the 1980s.
Epidemics are always a great time to remind america that racism still exists. The drug was made from powder cocaine, it was safer to make than freebase cocaine. Oig analysis of allegations regarding blandons and meneses relationship with the contras and the cia. As crack and dope became parts of our neighborhoods, they started to have an impression on our culture through music and television. The cia was new fx series focuses on crack epidemics toll on community. South central already had existing drug markets that were virtually ignored by greater society. Excerpt from allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the possession or. However, the crack cocaine had a particularly devastating impact. The united states justice department has issued a report clearing the central intelligence agency of any role in introducing crackcocaine into americas inner cities in the 1980s. Others however argued that this is not true and that its some sort of liberal agenda to demonize reagans term.
Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come. Levine found analyzing the reaction to crack in the 1980s, sensationalist reporting can lead to troubling responses. 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 severelydistressed african american family in the.
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