NCJ Number
184905
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This chapter presents the results of the authors' survey of crack cocaine users in Miami, Fla.; interviews with youths are included to explore such issues as the involvement of youths in the crack business and the relationship between involvement with drugs and the commission of other crimes; media and law enforcement characterizations of the crack problem are assessed.
Abstract
The study used a crack data instrument that was administered in 254 interviews from October 1986 through November 1987. Of the 254 youths involved in the study, all but 50 (19.7 percent) had only "minor" involvement in the crack trade, as they sold the drug only to their friends, worked for dealers as lookouts and spotters, or steered customers to one of Miami's approximately 700 crack houses. Most of the youths (54.3 percent) were crack "dealers" involved directly in the retail sale of crack. Forty-six of the subjects (18.1 percent) were designated as "dealer+," because they not only sold the drug but also manufactured, smuggled, or wholesaled it. The study found that one major problem with the crack trade is that it facilitates crack addiction. Every youth in this subsample who was involved in the crack business to even a minor degree was a crack user; of the crack dealers, over 70 percent used crack every day; whereas, under 15 percent used it less than regularly. The cycle is clear: Crack dealing finances crack use, crack use encourages more crack use, and more crack use requires more profit-making crimes of all sorts to support an ever-growing addictive use pattern. 8 tables, 1 figure, 3 notes, and 10 references