BBH Exam 3 - The Crack Epidemic

Mexican Cartels

- Control 90% of the cocaine that enters the US - US consumers give Mexican cartels about $30B/year

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

- Created a large disparity between possessing crack and cocaine - Might have been racially motivated - Led to the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

Cocaine and Babies

- There is limited evidence to show that cocaine use detrimentally harms babies - Alcohol does more damage

When was the crack epidemic?

1980s-90s

Where does production of cocaine happen?

Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia; mostly South America

Overdoses today

Overdose deaths have gently increased

Did crime increase during the crack epidemic?

Yes, but correlation does not mean causation

What reason was behind the crack epidemic?

high supply lead to low prices to encourage demand