Abstract The introduction of highly addictive crack cocaine in the 1980s caused widespread devastation in inner city communities. Under a tough 1986 crack law, vast numbers of black males are serving long prison sentences, yet crack sales and crack addiction have not decreased. Despite the failure of the War on Drugs to reduce drug use or crime in inner city neighborhoods, protests that the crack law targets blacks for prosecution and long prison sentences, and evidence that the CIA was involved in introducing crack cocaine into inner city neighborhoods, the government has refused to change its tactics and take measures to actually help the black community recover from the crack epidemic.
Abstract This paper discusses how, historically, punishments for convicted users and sellers of the drugs cocaine and crack have differed. Penalties are more severe for those individuals who use crack, although it is merely the solid form of essentially the same drug. These disparate penalties may result from several things. The paper further discusses how the most prevalent of these causes seems to be that of race. The powdered form, cocaine, is more popular among Caucasians. In addition, cocaine appears to be the drug of choice for the middle-class and above. The dangers associated with either cocaine or crack seem to differ greatly.
Abstract This paper seeks to explore the crack growth fracture mechanics with a focus on the factors that influence the fatigue crack growth rate and how the Paris-Erdogan equation can be used to predict fatigue crack growth as well as in the calculation of crack growth rate. The paper also presents research on modes of mechanical failure.
From the Paper "According to Hancock, G. J. (2003, p.125), fracture mechanics is used to predict the effect of cracks on the durability and integrity of structures and components. It helps in detecting cracks in structure before a crack grows to significant length as a result of sustained stress cycles. During fatigue, crack growth rate can be calculated by the Paris-Erdogan equation given by da/dn = C (Δk)n where a represents the crack length, n represents the number of fatigue cycles, Δk represents the applied stress intensity factor range while c and m are considered to be constants of a material. Δk increases with time as a load is applied due to the growth of the crack. For a crack of length a, the rate of crack growth given by da/dn per cycle varies with Δk. Where c and m are constant with m between 2 and 4. The upper limit of a crack growth rate curve represents the fracture toughness of the material while the lower limit is the threshold. There is characterization of sub-critical crack growth using linear plastic fracture mechanics parameters and acoustic emission data to predict crack propagation rates. This determines the number of cycles required for an existing crack to attain a substantial size. (Reuter, W. G, Robert, S. P. 2002, p.458)Acoustic emissions are elastic stress waves generated by a rapid release of energy from a localized source within a stressed material. Fatigue crack growth rate is influenced by many factors some of which include: notch radius where research indicates presence of higher fatigue crack growth rate in a blunt notch. This is because of accumulation of fatigue damage at the tip of the notch initiating the crack a head of the notch. Material strength, initial crack tip condition, mean stress, overload as well as non-proportional load determine the crack growth rate. Research has also shown that ferroelectric ceramics experience cracking and mechanical degradation when subjected to large alternating electric fields. (Anderson, T.L., 2005, p.455)"
Abstract This paper elaborates the effects of crack and cocaine use on human behavior. Cultural perceptions of crack users vs. those of cocaine users are discussed, as well as the comparative economies of crack and cocaine markets. The use of cocaine products to alleviate psychological trauma and dysphoria are discussed, as well as the causes of this dysphoria and possible connections between post-traumatic stress disorder and crack use.
Abstract This paper examines how British feminists feel about crack prostitution in Britain. It explains how Britain's proliferation of crack prostitution should be a lesson to Canada and seen for its complete subjection of women. The paper looks at how British feminists want to know why the sex industry has normalized and they demand better help for women trying to get off drugs, demanding tougher laws against those exploiting or abusing prostitutes, including references to mandatory minimum sentencing for repeat procurers. In conclusion, the paper shows that Britain's feminists paint a clear picture of crack prostitution as a male problem, arguing in favour of punishing those who victimize women, as a step forwards.
Outline:
Introduction
Crack and Sex Work
Lessons for Canada
An Intensified Problem
Cultural Myths
Concluding Remarks
From the Paper "In January of 2006, Britain toughened up enforcement of anti-prostitution laws due to better insight into a changed sex trade with prostitution for most something other than a job of choice but a cash-based industry like any other that preyed upon vulnerable women. Preparing this paper, from a Canadian point of view, has brought new insight into the naivete of saying that prostitution should simply be legalized, that this would remove its related abuses, implying that women have choices who engage in the sex trade."
Abstract This paper explains that cocaine is an alkaloid drug processed from the leaves of the coca shrub, which creates a feeling of well-being, self-confidence, and alertness that lasts for between ten and thirty minutes. The author points out that crack cocaine magnifies the effects of cocaine, making it quicker to have an effect, and the effects are likely to be much stronger. The paper stresses that most drug-related visits to the emergency room are caused by cocaine.
Table of Contents
What is Crack Cocaine?
Who Uses Crack Cocaine?
Popularity of Cocaine
Drug Use Comes in Waves
Still a Drug of Choice for a Lot of People
From the Paper "McCaffrey's report found that cocaine use had stabilized or declined in many cities. It also noted that today's crack users are the "aging" and the ?sick,? contrasting with the legions of healthy young people who started using it in the mid-1990s. A Department of Justice official noted that perhaps today's young people had witnessed the havoc crack had brought to their friends and families and decided against that path.
Tags: alertness, stronger, emergency, cheap, party
Abstract This paper argues that racial discrimination in the sentencing of blacks has taken away judicial discretion and created an expensive and regretful policy of imprisoning large numbers of blacks, who might have been better off given second chances. The author points out that the passage of the crack cocaine law in 1986 made black defendants much more liable to spend time in prison if they were street dealers of crack cocaine rather than if they were dealing powder cocaine, which is essentially the same drug. The paper emphasizes that crack cocaine sentences are the largest factor in racial disparity in federal sentencing. Includes charts.
From the Paper "The cocaine sentencing debate that followed the implementation of the 1986 law has shown the depth of the impact of crack sentencing disparity. In the 1980s, crack cocaine use was covered widely by the press, due to its rapid growth in the drug market. For the first time cocaine was made available to a wider economic class because of its cheap price. By taking powder cocaine, cooking it with baking soda and water, a hard rocky substance is created that can be cracked into smaller pieces called "Crack." These "rocks" are then sold in small quantities."
Abstract The paper tells us that Hip Hop artists powerful lyrics describe the crack cocaine epidemic in detail. For examplethe paper tells us that many songs describe The ''Dark Alliance", which attempts to link the CNA and the crack epidemic. The paper also explains that other songs describe the tragic results that blacks underwent due to the crack epidemic and also the torment that the black city communities faced. The paper notes, however, that many Americans do not believe that these songs are a legitimate source of information.
From the Paper "Hip hop artists powerful lyrics have been ringing throughout popular culture in America for years; however, it was not considered a legitimate source of information in the eyes of many powerful Americans. This is painfully apparent when in the 1980's rapper Chuck D famously said "rap is the CNN of Black America.(np)" It would take nearly two decades after the crack cocaine epidemic for a "legitimate" source of information to not only to tell the story, but also put it on center-stage. In 1996 a journalist named Gary Webb from a small California newspaper wrote an article that put the world of media in absolute turmoil. Webb wrote about the racist travesties that had been affecting Los Angeles since the 1980's. His article titled "The Dark Alliance" attempted to definitively link a connection between the CIA and the crack epidemic in 1980's. Webb argued that the CIA, in an effort to raise money to finance the Contra revolution to overthrow the Nicaraguan regime, funneled crack cocaine from South America to the streets of Los Angeles. This elaborate system focused on two people, Danilo Blandon and "Freeway" Rick Ross. Blandon, who was apparently working with the CIA, supplied Freeway Rick and in turn Freeway Rick sold it."
Abstract This paper discusses whether crack and cocaine are "proletariat hunger killers," meaning the drugs are used by the public as a necessary food source, or "genussmittels," or whether they are recreational drugs, free of any valuable sustenance. The author points out that there is a close connection between cocaine and crack use and crime, which more directly reflects the proletariat hunger-killer analogy than the genussmittels terminology, although recreational cocaine users become addicted, and the drug may replace their hunger, but this is from the biological nature of the drug. The paper states that policy should focus, first, on the proletariat hunger-killer model to stop drug use in its most harmful beginning.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Drugs
The Effects
Impact and Analysis
From the Paper "In the end, that is why the proletariat hunger killers model is more useful: More people in crime-infested areas are affected by cocaine and crack as life substitutes. They lose interest in all else, whether family, job or friends, and they focus only on the drug. In fact, they care not about the recreational aspect, as per the genussmittels model either: The highs garnered from the drug take a backseat to the fuel the drugs act as for the livelihood of the users."
Abstract This paper discusses a study on crack cocaine addiction in five Canadian cities and the use of the harm reduction model with regard to situational factors. The paper presents a comparison with pro-active de-addiction interventions in other countries and considers the view that crack addiction is a 'hopeless' problem despite a growing success rate in treatment knowledge. The paper also discusses the role of better attitudes and approaches based on less disparaging views of the addict.
From the Paper "A study of crack cocaine in five Canadian cities imparted a sense of its relative permanence. (Fischer et al: 2005) As in the United States and Britain, Canadian crack cocaine addiction is linked directly to crime beyond the prostitution in which addicts commonly engage, and serious mental illness led by the personality disorders found in 24% of crack addicts. (Fischer et al: 2005: 260) 'Crackheads' present paranoid psychosis, depression and anxiety hard that can be difficult to distinguish from simple addictions. Doctors must discern if a person's main problem is addiction or mental illness, in thousands of vagrant persons who are psychotics-turned-addicts or addicts developing psychoses."
Abstract The paper describes the incidence of crack cocaine addiction and its relation to mental illness and homelessness. The paper researches the treatment approaches in central Canada and compares them to the more varied, successful treatments and therapies in the United Kingdom and Europe. The paper notes Canada's resigned attitude towards a form of addiction that is considered 'untreatable' or 'hopeless'. The paper reveals the need for Canada to actively encourage crack addicts to attempt recovery, to learn more about different approaches to treatment and finally, adapt them to the Toronto environment.
Outline:
Introduction
Not Just Addiction
A Second Intervention
Towards a Different Approach
Concluding Discussion
From the Paper "An important dimension of the problem is the coincidence of crack addiction and mental illness. Crack addicts often present symptoms of the mood disorders and psychosis in addition to those of the personality disorders found in almost 25 per cent. (Falck Et Al: 2004:504) In homeless patients, it can be difficult to determine a primary problem of mental illness or addiction. Many vagrant schizophrenics, for example, become addicted to crack just as crack cocaine induces symptoms of paranoid psychosis in persons without histories of mental illness. Through it all, homelessness remains a key determinant of addicts' health. (Fischer Et Al: 2005:252) Awareness of crack cocaine addiction in homeless populations enhances insight into why many homeless persons remain as they are, failing to take up occasional opportunities for housing."
Abstract This paper deals with the harmful effects of crack cocaine on both the body's physical and mental health. Injury to the brain and heart are discussed, as well as a look at mental illnesses caused by the drug. Also addressed is the drug's threat to the stability of today's society.
From the Paper "In 1996, 3.6 million Americans indulged in the dangers associated with the drug crack cocaine ( Nadelson 31 ). Along with a short-lived "high" users experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and vomiting to death. According to NIDA's Drug Abuse Warning Network, an average of 2500 Americans per year lose their lives due to this deadly "treat" (The Crack Cocaine Epidemic 14 ). Even more astonishing is the number of adolescent users in the nation. A shocking 7 % of high school students admit to using cocaine, and in Miami, Florida, the average age for a person to start using the drug is 12.6 years old ( The Crack Cocaine Epidemic 17 )! The use of crack cocaine results in detrimental effects on the human body's physical and mental well-being, as well as a serious threat to the stability of today's society."
Abstract This paper discusses the book, "Crick, Crack Monkey," written by Merle Hodge, describing it as a fantastic example of what is known as a picaresque novel in which an outsider experiences a life of trial, trying to assimilate and fit in, despite the challenges of existence as an outsider. The paper examines the role played by the main character of the story, Tee, illustrating the differences in her character as a child and as an adult.
From the Paper "Tee fondly remembers the way in which she used to tease and even brutalize her city cousins with the help of her brother and yet cannot honestly remember how she ever felt the courage and self value to do so. (87) Though Tee knows that this person inside her once existed she feels more and more foreign to her as she realizes the demands placed upon her cousins, as those now placed upon her and though she feels for their plight she also sees no way clear to redeem herself in their eyes or in the eyes of her forever critical aunt, cousins or teacher."
An analysis of the book "Cracking India" by Bapsi Sidhwa looking into the socio-political setting of the book, and a deeper look into Indian's social and religious caste systems.
2,003 words (approx. 8 pages), 0 sources, 2006, $ 63.95
Abstract This paper examines the historical context of the characters of the book "Cracking India". It explains how the novel is a testament of Sidhwa's defiance and disagreement to the Partition, which the author believed was a political action implemented to induce disunity among the Indians. The writer further discusses the religious and social caste systems and their impact on British occupation.
From the Paper "This was the socio-political landscape in which Sidhwa's characters found themselves in in "Cracking." Through the main characters Lenny and Ayah, we, the readers, were able to witness how the Partition was perceived and interpreted by people within the Indian society. Sidhwa's characters were evidently not able to grasp the gravity of the political condition their country was in. As India entered into the agreement called the Partition, glaring and antagonistic diversity emerged, creating disunity and inciting violence among people of various cultures and religious beliefs."
An analysis of Phillipe Bourgois' representation of gendered identity in his anthropological field study, "In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio".
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 3 sources, 2006, $ 62.95
Abstract While Phillippe Bourgois' anthropological field study "In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio" is heavily focused on issues of class, culture and economics in East Harlem, the issue of gender relations and gender construction within this cultural frame is also a prominent theme. This paper critically examines Bourgois' representation of gendered identity and how gender is constructed in El Barrio through public displays of forms of masculinity and femininity. It is argued that as traditional Puerto Rican patriarchal authority appears to be collapsing in El Barrio, the residents are improvising new gendered identities.
