It's Cheap; It's Deadly - And It's Aimed at Kids - Crack: A New Drug Menace

Oct 13, 2026

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A news feature warns that crack, a cocaine form sold for very small amounts, is spreading quickly across the United States and is portrayed as highly addictive to young people. It explains how crack is produced and sold, including “rock houses,” and describes impacts on users’ lives and health such as obsession, loss of eating habits, and links to severe medical harms. Law enforcement and officials emphasize the growing epidemic, barriers to prevention, and the urgent need for persuasion over scare tactics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Most Addictive Substance

Crack: A New Drug Menace

How Crack Is Sold

Fighting an Epidemic

Flghting an Epidemlc

A growing number of experts now think

It's Cheap;It's Deadly;And It's Aimed at Kids NEW YORK,N.Y.—A monster stalks.the streets of America.Each day it strikesdown hundreds,perhaps thousands,ofvictims.It robs young people of theiryouth;it tears apart families;it ruins livesand careersAnd it's getting stronger,notweaker. The name of this monster is crack—aform of cocaine that seems to be spread-ing like wildfire across the country.Drugdealers make crack(also known as“rock”)by mixing cocaine with bakingsoda and water to form a paste.After thepaste dries,it is broken up into little chipsthat look like cracked pieces of soap orbits of white gravel.Dealers then sell thechips for as little as $5 per chip.Usersoften smoke the chips—frequently in awater pipe. # Most Addictive Substance Many drugs take users down the sorryroad to drug addiction.But experts say A Street-comer Cocalne Deal on Manhattan's Lowor East Sido.Cocalne use in the U.S.Is belng called an“opldemle". # Crack:A New Drug Menace that crack may be the most addictive drugyet known. “About 95 percent of crack users be-come addicted to this form of cocaine inabout two months,"says a drugexpert.“Kids may develop an almost immediate[addiction]." Crack was reportedly developed byorganized crime as a cheaper and moreaddictive form of cocaine.And from re-ports around the country,the mob seemsto have done its job well—particularly inits attempt to hook young people.Anes-timated 48 percent of all crack users areteens.And officials point out that crackis partly responsible for the steady in-crease in cocaine use among kids.(Seegraph on page 4.) How Crack Is Sold In cities,crack is sold from so-calledrock houses—most often apartmentsfortified with heavy steel doors.A crack zny o dealer sits behind the door,taking inmoney through a slot in the door andslipping the crack out to customers.Insome New York City neighborhoods,there are long lines of customers outsiderock houses.And a number of these cus-tomers are teens.According to News-week magazine:“There are white kids,Hispanic kids—kids from the ghetto andkids from the suburbs....” Newsweek goes on to report:“AustinMuldoon,a New York City police offi-cer,remembers a recent rock housebust....Muldoon was stationed in analley while his partners broke through theapartment door.The dealer dumped theevidence—a plastic bag containing sev-eral hundred vials of crack—out a win-dow.Muldoon [who picked up the plasticbag]soon found himself mobbed by ‘acrowd of people,including young kids,begging for free drugs.The mob en- It has been linked to brain seizures—sudden malfunctions that affect thinkingor the senses.It has.been linked to heartattacks and lung damage.Some long-time users of crack and other forms ofcocaine suffer from malnutrition be-cause they have become so obsessed withusing the drug that they have actuallystopped eating. Contnved trom Page 1 gulfed him,and Muldoon was forced torun....It was just another day in thewar against cocaine." Police emphasize that crack is not justa big-city drugproblem but has begun toinvade small towns and suburbs too.Inone southern town,an ice-cream vendorknown as“Mr.Yummy”was arrestedfor selling crack to kids along with icecream. Flghting an Epidemlc Drug enforcement officials say thatcocaine use in the U.S.is an epidemic.There is so much cocaine being smug-gled into this country,they say,that eventhe toughest law enforcement has donelittle to stem the tide.For each dealerarrested,there are many other dealers totake his place. Crack can hurt users in a number ofways.It often becomes an obsession,leading the user to do anything—lie,cheat,steal,even kill—to get money tobuy the drug.Kids who have been hookedon crack tell a sadly similar story offailing grades,stealing from parents,be-traying friends,and getting into troublewith the law—all just to get some morecrack. A growing number of experts now thinkthat the battle against cocaine can be wononly by persuading Americans not to usethis dangerous

FAQs

What is crack, and how is it made and sold?

Crack is described as a form of cocaine made by mixing cocaine with baking soda and water, then drying and breaking it into small chips. Dealers sell the chips for as little as about $5 each, and users often smoke them in a water pipe.

Why is crack considered especially dangerous for kids?

The text claims that a very high share of crack users become addicted within about two months, and that kids may develop an almost immediate addiction. It also reports that crack is linked to failures in school, theft, betraying friends, and trouble with the law.

What do officials say is the best way to fight the cocaine epidemic?

Enforcement officials argue the problem is epidemic-level distribution and replacement of dealers, and that the battle can only be won by persuading Americans not to use the drug. They note that kids ignore scare tactics because they have heard those stories before.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Jacob