Is crack making a comeback?
- Studies by the DEA, UN and CDC show use of crack cocaine is on the rise
- A DEA official says demand has remained consistent but the supply is rising
- In the 1980s and 1990s, the crack crisis triggered a surge in violent crime
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(NewsNation) — Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration are reporting a “resurgence of crack,” also nothing an increased demand for cocaine in its powdered form.
“The demand never really went away, but the supply has increased exponentially,” Frank Tarentino, head of the DEA’s New York Division, told the New York Post.
The United Nations’ most recent Global Drug Report also shows the global supply of cocaine is at record levels regardless of its form, after a sharp rise in 2021.
This trend mirrors a surge in cocaine seizures by law enforcement.
More than 53,000 Americans died of an overdose involving cocaine and other psychostimulants in 2021, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a 32% increase from 2020.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the crack crisis brought with it a surge in violent crime, causing drug laws to be strengthened in a way that treated crack cocaine differently from its powdered counterpart.
This distinction drove an unequal treatment of drug users that was almost exclusively based on race, with an explosion in incarceration rates of Black and Latino people.
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