Most people never become addicted, and those who do are likely vulnerable to the conditions in their environment that make addiction more likely. Crack caught on, certainly, but it did not ravage cities the way the media and politicians have claimed. Hart, the author of a recent book, 'High Price,' says targeting crack cocaine in black communities was easier than addressing more grave concerns like poverty, unemployment and dwindling federal aid for struggling families.Ĭrack rose to prominence in poor, black, urban environments (and not in the suburbs) not because of its overwhelming strength but because it was an affordable source of pleasure to communities deprived of basic resources. Carl Hart told AlterNet, the hype around crack has a lot more to do with political expedience - politicians cynically vilifying poor black people for electoral gain - than the drug's actual potential for harm.

But most of the claims about crack cocaine's potential for destruction have proven exaggerated or flat-out false.Īs neuropsychiatrist and Columbia University researcher Dr. Crack, many people think, is such a hard drug that using it once could cause a user to act recklessly, even dangerously, become addicted, or die. Powder cocaine use, however, maintains an element of glamor it's associated with the culture of elites, from socialites like Paris Hilton to Wall Street traders. Few well-off people would casually do, or suggest trying crack cocaine, and if they did, they'd likely get a litany of concerned responses from friends.

While casual pot-smoking and cocaine use are tolerated in college dorms and clubs, crack cocaine is often considered to be on a different level - a 'hard' drug, like heroin. It's no secret that crack cocaine carries a stigma. This article originally appeared on Alternet.

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