RSSCrack is Wack Vol.1: My Crack Memories
Throughout the life of this blog, we’ll feature different segments addressing issues that are TROUBL. This is the first installment of TROUBL’s “Crack is Wack” segment. To illustrate the impact of crack on American society, we will examine the history, people, legislation and culture surrounding the drug.
Growing up in the inner city during the 1980s, I witnessed first hand the impact of crack. From family members battling addiction, to friends using and selling, my crack memories shaped my relationship with the drug. They are what kept me away. Of the many, here are a few.
I remember being taught the “just say no” slogan in elementary school; and friends, who just entered the game, bringing rocks to show off in junior high school. I remember dudes lying about their crack cooking exploits. I remember when New Jack City first came out and dudes trying be their block’s Nino Brown. I remember when we started refering to people as pookie. I remember when “bass head” become apart of my vocabulary. I remember when if you had a pager (or beeper as we called it then) meant you were in the game. I remember rappers beginning to adopt the crack swagger and it becoming a staple of their lyrics. I remember the “zombies” that would appear late at night. I remember the feeling when I realized how the drug was taking friends lives.
Whether or not your life has been directly affected by the drug, speak up. Let us know some of your crack memories.
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Q.
For me, my memories are just as vivid as yesterday.. I won’t take it back to the south side of Chicago.. for me, it’s still here.. some form of it.. cuz when i see addicts, i’m always referring to them as “crack heads”.. so, for me, it touched me so much that when i see anyone looking like they are tore up, or acting a fool, i just call them crack heads.. crack and crack head became brand names for me.. just like Coke or Xerox.. that’s real..
[Reply]
Malia
I am not not proud of my life in the drug game, but I will attest that it kept me well KEPT!!! I was such an idiot!!! I was sooo young and so trusting. I always wanted to believe the best in everyone - in the process - I sabotaged my entire life!!! I fell in love with with a drug dealer and he NEVER led on to the fact that he was an underling in the society!!! His activity is in the criminal world was hard to indicate because he led a truly secretive and clandestine life. He was so loving and giving but at the same time he was always reluctant to give me accurate and truthful information about himself. Everyone in my life (my mom, my friends, his friends, his mom, my employer, my co-workers) often perceived our relationship as so sacred and beautiful but in all all actuality it was sick and SCARY. I was afraid ALL THE TIME!!!! I was in a state of panic all the time….I cried and cried and cried and cried!!!!!! When the DA started seeking damaging evidence for juridical purposes the most common suspicion was the friends and family and loved ones closest to him, INCLUDING ME!!!
[Reply]
Sienna
drugs are not the business. i know the dangers of its possession. although i’ve never experienced crack, coke, heroin, etc first hand…i know that it will literally destroy the mind and the body. not only that, but the use of these drugs have such huge impacts on family life.
we need to start at home. education is crucial. good parenting is crucial. good role models are a necessity. with the media glorifying major celebreties with their probelms with drugs these days, no wonder why the young generation can’t help but buy, sell, and sniff!
much love, sien.
[Reply]
DEEP BLU SEE
The war on drugs also threatens America’s already overburdened prison system. Between 1993 and 2000, the prison population doubled, and over 58 percent of the new inmates had been arrested for drug offenses. According to research by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), drug arrests display an acute racial bias, as approximately 74 percent of incarcerated drug offenders are African American, while African Americans constitute only 15 percent of the drug-using population. Similar studies have shown that police are more likely to target ethnic minorities and economically underprivileged persons for drug arrests.
[Reply]
Troublsome
Did you know that 82% of prison inmates who are incarcerated for crack are black? The amount of crack that has to be in your possession to do time in jail is equivalent to (5) packets of sugar that you would put in your coffee at the local Starbucks.
Another statistics that I thought was interesting was that 80% of inmates incarcerated for possession of powdered cocaine are Caucasian. The amount of coke that would have to be in their possession is equivalent to (500) packets of sugar from your local coffee joint.
Do the Math!…
[Reply]
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SEE ALSO
♦ TROUBLMan - Crack is Wack Vol.2: Crack Head Talk
November 16, 2007
♦ Q - AOG: Baby Powder Awards
May 12, 2008
♦ TROUBLMan - I Know Sumthin You Don’t Know
January 30, 2008
♦ Q - Anatomy of a Gangster Part 3
December 24, 2007
♦ Q - Anatomy of a Gangster Part 2
November 14, 2007