Some could say the War on Drugs began with the Crack Epidemic of major American cities in the 1980’s.
Crack is the street name of a smokable form of cocaine that causes an intense “rush” and euphoric high. Crack (also known as crack cocaine) is a mixture of cocaine and baking soda in a crystalline, almost rock like appearance. While crack initially was made as a more potent smokable form of cocaine, drug users will also melt down the “crack rock” and inject the drug intravenously directly into their bloodstream to achieve a greater high. The dangers of crack became evident during the 1980’s due to its highly addictive properties. Many anti-drug campaigns claimed that all you needed was one hit of crack to become addicted. This was in part due to the euphoric rush the crack user would experience on that first hit. The individual would then have a desire to recapture that initial high. However, with each additional hit of crack cocaine, the drug user would develop a greater tolerance. As the tolerance built, that feeling of the “first high” the individual so desperately tried to recapture would slip further and further away from their grasp as they became addicted to crack.
