ABSTRACT
Why has crack-cocaine smoking become so widespread across the United States? How have individuals of all races, classes, and income levels, and even children and adolescents, become users of crack cocaine? This chapter seeks an answer to this question through a review and analysis of several interacting factors. We shall explore how societal demand for chemicals, the art of drug distribution, and the pharmacology of crack all help to explain how people begin crack use, persevere in its use, and end up driven to pursue compulsive crack smoking despite severe personal deterioration and numerous negative consequences.
