1 00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from House Stuff Works 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: and Clark. There's Charles w Chuck Bryant, Jerry's over there, 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: and uh, this is stuff you should know. Jerry just 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,440 Speaker 1: waved like she's waving at the audience of this anger. 6 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: She's waving to the world. It's a little weird. She 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: may be on something. Uh, Josh, you know what's whack? Uh? 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: The Zach Attack from Saved by the Bell. I don't 9 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: even know what it is. You don't know what's Saved 10 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: by the Bell is what's wrong with No? I know 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: that I know what that show is, but I've never 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: heard of the Zach Attack. It's just Zach being Zach. Gotcha? 13 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: That is whack? Yeah, well, never mind. I thought Crack 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: was whack, but the Zach Attack is truly wack. No, 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: I disagree. I was gonna say, no, it's not right, 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: because that's actually a pretty good show. But okay, Crack 17 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: his whack. This we're like imminent up in here. We're 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: what we're like eminem up in here. Yeah, I guess, 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: so refer to Hip Hop episode now. No, I'm just 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: saying people that they're confused about why we sound so 21 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: stilted and square. Just go listen to hip hop and 22 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: that explains everything. People like that one. Surprisingly, Yeah, it's 23 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: a good one. Man. We got a good email from 24 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: me or a Facebook post from a graffiti artist. Yeah, yeah, 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: good stuff. I can't remember his tag, but it was 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: like really nice. But he was complimenting us or he 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: was just saying hey. No, he's like, hey, I'm a 28 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: graffiti artist and here's my my work. And uh, I 29 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: was very impressed. And he is not on crack, no, 30 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: because he's not whack right exactly, So Chuck, I have 31 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: a little, uh, a little intro. Great, just if you'll 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: bear with me. And the year was okay, I was fourteen. Okay, 33 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: what is it when you p b g very early 34 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: on UM cocaine, which is a drug that had been 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: sweeping the nation for about ten years by then. Yeah, 36 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: uh was up to a hundred and fifty dollars a graham. 37 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: That's thanks to the demand um and the available income 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: of its well healed yuppie users who are willing to 39 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: spend that kind of money on it. It's very much 40 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: an expensive, white, upwardly mobile person's drug. Cocaine run. Yeah, 41 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: and there were at the time articles that kind of said, 42 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: cocaine's probably not that addictive. We shouldn't worry that much 43 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: about cocaine. It's not a very big deal. It was mostly, 44 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: like I said, a white drug. That same year, a 45 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: new drug hit the scene. It was cheap, five to 46 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:09,119 Speaker 1: ten bucks pop. It gave you a very quick, very 47 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:15,239 Speaker 1: intense high, short lived, and it swept through lower income 48 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,239 Speaker 1: African American areas of the United States, and all of 49 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: a sudden we had a problem, an epidemic. Yes, because 50 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: it was cocaine in a different form. Yeah, the country 51 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: went crazy for it. And not only was it cocaine 52 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: in a different form, it was cocaine being used by 53 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: a different demographic that, as we'll see, America has always 54 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: been threatened by and always made legislation to damp and 55 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: drug use among Yeah, it's pretty interesting when you dig 56 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: into this stuff. And so when people started to get worried, 57 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: Nancy Reagan became concerned. And when Nancy Reagan became concerned, 58 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: as as usual, she started to lie. And we will 59 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: we will get into what allegedly might have happened and 60 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: why crack might have been introduced in this country because 61 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: some people think it was the U. S. Government straight 62 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: up c I A. Yeah, that's a really um good point. 63 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: So what you're referring to is UM Garry Webb's Dark 64 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: Alliance article. Yeah, series of articles in our book from 65 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: I believe. Garry Webb was an investigative journalist for the 66 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: San Jose Mercury News, and Um, they had a front 67 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: page story where he basically figured out the connection between 68 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: the CIA and the crack epidemic that started in I 69 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: think in Los Angeles south central. It was a dude 70 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: named Freeway Ricky Ross, who's still around I think, yeah. Um, 71 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: And he was the largest cocaine distributor UH African American 72 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: cocaine distributor in l A. He was big time, and 73 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he had a 74 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 1: new product called crack and it became very popular, very quickly. UM, 75 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: and Gary Webb in trace the origin of this epidemic 76 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: back to through Ricky Ross, back to some Nicaraguan freedom 77 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: fighting guerrillas that were backed and trained and possibly commanded 78 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: by the CIA. We're getting into this, so we just 79 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: go ahead and dive in. Yeah, do you want to? Yeah? 80 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: Why not? Um? All right, here's the deal. In Nicaragua, 81 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: Central American country. UM, in the nineteen thirties, man named 82 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:45,920 Speaker 1: Anastasio uh Samosa took power, and then about forty years later, 83 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy nine, the people revolted, um overthrew him, 84 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: and they were called the Sandinistas. Yes, so you know 85 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: the whole Contra Sandinista war in Nicaragua that raged in 86 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: the seventies and eighties, that's what we're talking about. And 87 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: the Sandinista's um, we're a communist and that didn't fly 88 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: so well with the US, who would long cherished Nicaragua 89 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: for their farmland and like to have a toe in 90 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: their pond, so to speak. And so communists and there 91 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: didn't fly. And so they said, you know what, I 92 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: think maybe we should fund the contrast maybe give them 93 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: a little bit of financial assistance. Yeah, And the contrasts 94 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: weren't just one group. They were it was like an 95 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 1: umbrella term for any democratic or um an anti communist 96 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: group that was trying to paramilitarily overthrow the socialist leadership 97 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: in Nicaragua. That's right. So we decided to help fund 98 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: their civil war. And UM, the problem was that there 99 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: wasn't a lot of dough like that we could say, like, hey, 100 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: let's use this money to do this. Because it was 101 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: a secret war. There was no congressional approval. It was 102 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: a proxy war with the Soviet Union at the time. 103 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: So some allege that this is when um, the Reagan 104 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: administration and the CIA got together to literally introduce cocaine 105 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: dealers in cocaine H two South Central and crack cocaine 106 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: to spread throughout the ghettos, to raise money and use 107 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: that money to fund the contrast. Right, So here's the thing, 108 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: like that was never proven and Gary Webb never ever 109 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: said he did not He didn't say that the government 110 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: directly introduced it on purpose or with the aim of 111 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: creating an epidemic in the ghetto. He found connections between 112 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: the CIA and drug lords, specifically Ricky Ross on one end, 113 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: and then the CIA backed impossibly commanded UM, the Nicaraguan 114 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: Democratic Force, the this contra force. UM, it's so their 115 00:07:55,240 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: their business. Their group was funded entirely from cocaine sales 116 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: in trafficking, and they all went to this guy, Ricky Ross. 117 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: And there's no way that the CIA didn't know about this. Yeah, 118 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: and there were at the time, well we'll get back 119 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: to web in a second. But UM, in the eighties, 120 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: there was you know, when the whole Iron Contra thing 121 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: broke out, there was the Carry Committee who did some investigating. 122 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: The Carry Committee report, UH from John Cary. Obviously, UM 123 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: found that quote the Contra drug links included payments to 124 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: drug traffickers by the U. S. State Department funds authorized 125 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the contrash. And 126 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: then later on there was an internal CIA investigation in 127 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: the nineties where they found that there is no evidence 128 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: that UM, the CIA actually brought drugs into the United States. UM. However, 129 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: and these these royal quotes. However, during the Contra era, 130 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 1: the CIA worked with a variety of people to support 131 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: the Contract program, and let me be frank, there are 132 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: instances where the CIA did not in an expeditious or 133 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: consistent fashion cut off relationships with individuals supporting the contract 134 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: program who are alleged to have engaged in drug trafficking activity. 135 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: So basically, the internal investigation said, well, there might have 136 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: been some people, we were dealing with it, we're doing this, 137 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: and as it turns out, we didn't really do much 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: about it. Right, So, as far as you can go 139 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: without hyperbole, and it's still pretty shocking. Sure, the CIA backed, trained, 140 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: and possibly commanded UM at least one guerrilla group, the 141 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: Nicaraguan Democratic Force and the Nicaraguan Democratic Force the f 142 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: d n UM sold cocaine to Freeway Ricky Ross. Freeway 143 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: Ricky Ross is where the crack epidemic originated. And so 144 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: just to finish up with web though Um, after he 145 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: wrote this Dark Alliance series, he was shunned by mainstream 146 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: press in the United States. Sadly, all three of the 147 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: major newspapers. Um, you know, the l A Times, New 148 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: York Times, and I guess was that Washington Post came 149 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: out and it was not only shun they like tried 150 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: to discredit him. Oh yeah, they wrote articles they put 151 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: um seventeen reporters in twenty words to a three day 152 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: rebuttal of Dark Alliance. That was the the l A Times. Yeah. 153 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: Rather than pick up the story, they tried to demolish it. 154 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: And Webb New York Times um suggested he was a 155 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: reckless reporter prone to getting his facts wrong. He already 156 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: had wanted pull a surprise at this point, I think 157 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: for something else, and Um the Mercury News defended it 158 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: for a little while and then backed off and apologized. 159 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: He ended up quitting and committed a very weird suicide 160 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: in which he shot himself in the head twice. Uh, 161 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: who knows. Obviously, if you get on the internet, there 162 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,839 Speaker 1: are tons of outlets that say, well, obviously it's not 163 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: a suicide. It was a murder. Um so who knows 164 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: about that? Other other people have said no, it does 165 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: look kinky, but the first shot wasn't fatal and he 166 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: was able to do it twice. Who knows. Draw your 167 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 1: own conclusions. It's some raw nerve right there. But he 168 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: claimed that there were people like, you know, he saw 169 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: what he thought were c i A. People like climbing 170 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 1: up his fire escape and stuff the previous days. And 171 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: who knows. All I'm saying is they're making a movie 172 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: about it with Jeremy Renner this summer. Oh is that right? Great? Good? 173 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: I'm glad he I ran across him when I wrote 174 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: an article on America's Army. Jeremy Renner. Yeah, he wrote 175 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: an expose a America's army. Is this Uh it's a 176 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: video game and it's basically like a training game for 177 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 1: the army where you can play this free game. Um, 178 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: but you sign up to be contacted. If you're any 179 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,439 Speaker 1: good at it, the Army contacts you. And he did this. 180 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: It's like a recruiting tool through video games. But the 181 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: Army categorically denied that's what it was. But that's obviously 182 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 1: what it was. And Gary Gary Webb, one of the 183 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: last expose as was on that, and you know, we 184 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: should mention that today all three of those major news 185 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: outlets all say, boy, we kind of got that one wrong. Yeah, um, 186 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: we shouldn't have done that. Maybe we shouldn't have driven 187 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,839 Speaker 1: Gary Webb to his possible suicide. Um. So, so Gary 188 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: Webb did all this investigation, did all this leg We're 189 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: canning connect to the dots pretty well, but there's still 190 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: this maddening question of tantalizing question, who invented crack? It 191 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: came out of nowhere? And so to kind of answer that, 192 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: which we can't, Um, you have to look at how 193 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: crack is made, and look at how crack is made. 194 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: You have to go back a lot further than the nineties. 195 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: You have to go back to the eight and eighties 196 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: and actually a little further before then, when cocaine first 197 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: was introduced to the United States after it was isolated. 198 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: The alkaloid was isolated from the coca plant in the 199 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: mid nineteenth century. Yeah, and that's when it was isolated 200 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,679 Speaker 1: in I mean for centuries. People in South America were 201 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: wise to the fact that if you chew on this plant, 202 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: it'll give you some go juice. You didn't work more, yea, 203 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 1: and people still chew the heck out of it. Yeah, 204 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: so it was it was no secret to the South Americans. 205 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: But like you said, it was the mid eighteen eighties 206 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: when it was actually isolated and UM became a narcotic, 207 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,560 Speaker 1: an abused narcotic drug. Right. But first UM you could 208 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: buy it all over the place. You could order it 209 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: through catalogs. UM you can, doctors could prescribe it. Sigmund 210 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:55,319 Speaker 1: Freud was an ardent prescriber of it um and it 211 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: was a very popular drug found in tonic cocacola for real, 212 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: that's not a myth. Um and cocaine was. Everybody loved 213 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: it for a while, ye until well not until they 214 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: still loved it and still do today, I imagine. But 215 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen it was made illegal with the Harrison 216 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: Narcotics Tax Act and UM right, which do you remember 217 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: I said earlier that like everything like this, crack has 218 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: a real history of um. It shows the history of 219 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: racism in regards to drug laws. So the Harrison Narcotic 220 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: Act Um outlawed opiates and cocaine for the first time 221 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,760 Speaker 1: in the United States, and it was based on concerns 222 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: like Chinaman were luring white women there were to their 223 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: to their dens of iniquity in open Chinatown through opium 224 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: and Uh, Southern blacks were sniffing cocaine and it gave 225 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: them super him and strength, and they were raping white 226 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: women as a result. So those those two things were past, 227 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: and we have federal legislation from as a result of 228 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: those kind of fears. And if you kind of if 229 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: you keep that in the back of your mind and 230 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: then pay attention to the drug policy that comes out 231 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: later on from crack, you'll it's been going on since 232 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: then and it continues to today. Are you saying a 233 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: pattern emerges, a pattern emerges? So, UH, cocaine is um. 234 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: Cocaine powder is you have to actually manufacture it. You 235 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: don't find a cocoa plant and like not shake it 236 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: and shake it and white powder falls out. It makes 237 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: like a tinkling sound of the way. Uh. It is 238 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: made by dissolving the paste, the cocoa paste um in 239 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: a mixture of hydrochloric acid and water. Then you had 240 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: some potassium salt separate out the bad junk, maybe had 241 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: a little ammonia, and then the powder is separated out 242 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: and you've got cocaine powder cocaine and from there you 243 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: can sniff it. You can add a little water to 244 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: it and inject it. Yeah, or you can something called 245 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: free base. Yeah. I never quite understood what free base was. 246 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: I thought it was. I thought free basing was a thing. 247 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: It is, yeah, but free base is also and it's 248 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: a noun aniverb Okay, so you free base, free base. 249 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: Oh you see, I've been doing it wrong. You verb 250 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: the down So he've been doing this stuff doesn't work. 251 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: I don't know what everybody's so excited about. Um. So 252 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: with free base, you take cocaine and you add something 253 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: highly flammable, say ether um, and you after you dissolved 254 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: the the cocaine in an ammonia, you add ether to it. 255 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: Then you smoke it. But you're smoking something that has 256 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: like a highly flammable solution involved. To Richard, Parker. Yes, 257 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: in night when he was filming Busting Loose, he caught 258 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: himself on fire because he was he was smoking free Base. 259 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 1: He was smoking free Base and drinking one if do 260 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: you want proof rome one night and I think he 261 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: was doing it in his garage to which so it 262 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: was unventilated and he caught fire. Yeah, but you know what, 263 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: there's also reports that he set himself on fire on purpose, 264 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: that he poured the stuff all over his head and 265 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: lit a match. Oh, we went a little little self immolation. Um, 266 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: I think that may be the right story. Now. I 267 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,920 Speaker 1: just saw a documentary on him, and I think that's 268 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: what they say. I'm so glad you just corrected me 269 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: mid podcasts. Do you have any emails you prevent? Well? 270 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: I mean that was the long stories that he free based, 271 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: and I think he even came out later and said like, yeah, 272 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 1: I was free basing, but I also purposely set myself 273 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: on fire in the ravages of a free basing binge. Okay, 274 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: so free basing it was a thing, at least as early, 275 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: but it was it was difficult to do multi step 276 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: process and you needed something like ether. Ether is not 277 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: the easiest thing to get your hands on and dangerous obviously, 278 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: sure um. But there was a way to smoke cocaine, 279 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: and free base was the way to do it, but 280 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: that never really got a big foothold in any demographic 281 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: in the country. It was just kind of a thing 282 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: that some people like Richard Pryor did right looking for 283 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: a more intense high. I guess then all of a sudden, mysteriously, 284 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: out of nowhere, there is crack cocaine. Yeah, crack is 285 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: also manufactured UM, but it doesn't require something like either 286 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: or anything flammable. UM. You dissolve it in a mixture 287 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: of water and either baking soda, sodium bicarbonate UM, or ammonia, 288 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: and you boil it up, separate it out into the solid, 289 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: cool it down, and then break it up and you've 290 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: got your little white, ish or tan crack rocks. And 291 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: if you buy it on the street, supposedly they range 292 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: in size from point one to point five grams UM 293 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 1: and they contain the d e A says between seventy 294 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: five and pure cocaine. So it's quite a rush for you, 295 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: sure um, because it's so easy to make crack from 296 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 1: cocaine UM. Like nobody imports cracked across the border into 297 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: the US. It's all coke that comes into the US, 298 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:19,680 Speaker 1: and then Wesley Snipes converts it into crack uh and 299 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 1: a factory operated and run by naked people because he 300 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: doesn't trust them. What was that new Jack City? Oh man, 301 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: I was like played, Yeah, I forgot all about Jack City. 302 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: That was great. And they call it crack because it 303 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: makes a crackling sound. That's the baking soda when you 304 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: put the fire on it, and speaking you put the 305 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: fire on it. That's how you do it. Um, you 306 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:46,840 Speaker 1: have a little I mean, there's different kinds of pipes, 307 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: but the most often crack pipe you will see is 308 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: the little straight shooter, a little glass tube. Yep. I 309 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: find him on my dog walks in my neighborhood. Yeah, 310 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: crack is still around. It's not like it when anywhere. 311 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,959 Speaker 1: Um he thought, Oh they got that problem all under control. 312 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: Lickt uh. So you you you know, you have the 313 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: crack in one end and then a filter of some 314 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: kind like a steel wool or something in the other. 315 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: You heat it up with your lighter, yeah, under like 316 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: on the outside of the glass tube or you can 317 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: I guess hit it with the flame. But I think 318 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: if you light it under the glass tube, that's generally 319 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: the way to do it. I think it vaporizes it, 320 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: that's right, and you smoke it and um pretty much immediately, Uh, 321 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: you're gonna feel the effects. It's it's an immediate rush 322 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 1: that lasts only about ten or fifteen minutes. And that's 323 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: something that I didn't used to know. I learned it 324 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:39,919 Speaker 1: a few years ago, but I had no idea. I 325 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,480 Speaker 1: thought a crack high was like, you know, a couple 326 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: of hours or something. No, I think it's one of 327 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: the shortest ties on the market, which is I guess 328 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,400 Speaker 1: why it's so addictive and dangerous rampant because you come 329 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: down and you're like, I'd like to do that again, 330 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,959 Speaker 1: exactly because it's a short high, but it's also an 331 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: extremely intense high to so um. Yeah, the the the 332 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:07,400 Speaker 1: it's addictiveness or potential for addictiveness is really high. Yeah. 333 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 1: And so I know this article summarized very nicely for 334 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: you exactly how it reacts with the brain. And so 335 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 1: why don't you go ahead and just lay it on people? Alright? 336 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: It has to do a dopamine, as we know, Yeah, dopamine. 337 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: It's like your pleasure center it's it's the the basis 338 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: of the reward system that we have, which is how 339 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: we learn to eat and how we learn to have sex, 340 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: to reproduce. Like we we feel good when we do 341 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: certain things, we want to do it again, and the 342 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: basis of that is dopamine. So in the brain, the 343 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,399 Speaker 1: way it functions normally is UH neuron will release dopamine 344 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: and it will travel to a neighboring neuron, causing it 345 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: to fire and release a pleasurable sensation. And then that 346 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 1: dopamine UH molecule travels back to the original neuron via 347 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: a transporter and is reabsorbed. So it does it's little 348 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: thing and then goes back home, and it's good. Right, 349 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: there's a certain finite amount of pleasure humans are designed 350 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: to experience naturally because that when we say reabsorbed, we 351 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: said it said that a lot. I don't think people 352 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: understand that means basically, it turns that off again. Right, 353 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: It does its thing, and it's done. It doesn't do 354 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:19,959 Speaker 1: his thing and do its thing and do its thing 355 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 1: and do its thing. It does its thing once and 356 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,439 Speaker 1: goes back to the original neuron exactly sits on the 357 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: couch in this little neuron waits to be released again. 358 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:29,400 Speaker 1: Let me know when you have sex again or eat 359 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: something to some pizza. UM. So with with crack or 360 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:40,120 Speaker 1: other drugs that UM target the dopamine system, UM, they 361 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: interrupt the process. Crack specifically interrupts the process of reuptake 362 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: or reabsorption. So you're you're smoking the crack, right, and 363 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: it triggers this dopamine release flood. But crack attaches to 364 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:02,159 Speaker 1: the transporter which keeps the the dopamine from being reabsorbed, 365 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: which means it's just floating around in the synapse, the 366 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: area between two neurons, like hitting that one neuron again 367 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: and again and again, and it does it all throughout 368 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: the brain or all throughout the ventral tegmental area, and 369 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: you have this long or well not long, but you 370 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,640 Speaker 1: have this very intense pleasurable sensation. Right. So basically the 371 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:25,719 Speaker 1: re uptake, they just shut that down. So you're out 372 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,360 Speaker 1: there on your own and then floating around. Yes, your 373 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: brain is a big pleasure center. And then after I 374 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: guess five to fifteen minutes, like the crack wears off 375 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 1: in the dopamine is taken up once more. That's right, 376 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: and the high is over and your are left going 377 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: I want to do that again, exactly. I guess we 378 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:50,680 Speaker 1: should talk about some of the effects of crack use. Um. Obviously, 379 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: just like with cocaine any kind of stimulant like that 380 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: or in phetamine, you're gonna be at risk for heart attack. Yeah, 381 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: sometimes on the spot. And because you smoke it too, 382 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: like it has real, um, real potential for problems with 383 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: your respiratory system and your cardio pulmonary system in general. Yeah, 384 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:12,199 Speaker 1: stroke is also a risk. Um. It's gonna make you 385 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: very energize at first. You might although your senses may 386 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: be heightened temporarily, your heart rate is gonna shoot through 387 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: the roof, your pupils are gonna dilate, your temperature is 388 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: gonna rise. Um, you're gonna be pretty anxious or irritable 389 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 1: as you start to come down, and then you could 390 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: be really aggressive and you could, you know, be more 391 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: prone to start a fight with a cop, feel like 392 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,919 Speaker 1: you have superhuman strength, or say some crazy stuff to 393 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: a passer by on the sidewalk because you have and 394 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: you have a went to a gunk on the corners 395 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: of your mouth. That's true. Uh, if you have it 396 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: with alcohol, that's not a good combination, because that produces 397 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: a chemical called uh coca ethylene. Yeah, lifts up like 398 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: this is a thing. It's like toxic, is I'll get out. Well, 399 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 1: it's the crack or cocaine and alcohol, um produce a 400 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: third drug, basically a hybrid drug that's more than the 401 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: sum of its parts. And um, it creates a longer 402 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,000 Speaker 1: lasting intense or high from crack. Um. But it's also 403 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:21,120 Speaker 1: really toxic to the liver, really bad for you. Yeah, 404 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,679 Speaker 1: as if alcohol itself wasn't. Yeah, And it's not like 405 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: you have to do anything to it or to to 406 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: get this thing. Like you just drink and smoke crack 407 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 1: and your body does the rest. Your your metabolism breaks 408 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: the stuff down and creates this coca ethylene and it's 409 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: like alcohol on cocaine. Right. So, as we said, it's 410 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:46,399 Speaker 1: super addictive. Um. And of course all this stuff whenever 411 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,119 Speaker 1: you hear about drugs being addictive, it's all dependent on 412 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: the person. Of course. One person might smoke crack and 413 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: never want to do it again. One person might be 414 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: hooked immediately. Uh. It all depends on your your susceptibility 415 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: to addiction, which varies greatly for sure. Um. I remember 416 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 1: learning when I was a kid that you smoke crack 417 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: once and you're addictive for life. Yeah. I heard that 418 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,160 Speaker 1: about heroin too. Um. Yeah, the but there is a 419 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 1: very high potential for abuse with crack because it's long life. 420 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: It's short, short term, short high, but an intense high. Yeah. 421 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: And we don't want to say, like crack it's not addictive, 422 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: but we don't want to spread the misinformation, Yeah, which 423 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: was really big in the eighties in the in the 424 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: Nancy Reagan War on Drug era, Like a lot of 425 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: misinformation was put out there just to scare people. Um. Yeah. 426 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: So um, we're talking about it being addictive. It's addictive 427 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,199 Speaker 1: and because of the effect that it has on dopamine, 428 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: but it's also deletrious to your health because of the 429 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: effect that it has on your dopamine reward system. Well yeah, 430 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: because uh, and I know we've covered this in other drugs. 431 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: If you do enough drugs like this, um, it rewires 432 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: your brain to the point where it just isn't working 433 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,399 Speaker 1: the same any longer. Your brain has like something some 434 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: sort of sensor in there that's like, Okay, there's way 435 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,159 Speaker 1: too much dopamine going on. This person should not be 436 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: feeling this much pleasure. So I'm going to just stop 437 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 1: producing as much dopamine naturally don't need it. I'm going 438 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: to destroy the dopamine that's floating around in the synapsism, 439 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 1: going to reduce the level so that when you now, 440 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: when you stop smoking crack, the the letdown is way 441 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: worse because you don't have as much natural dopamine as 442 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:39,439 Speaker 1: you did before you started smoking crack. And um, so 443 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: you're craving. Your desire for crack to get back up 444 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: is much more intense, much higher. Yeah, and here's the 445 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: thing with crack, which is a little weird. Um many 446 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: times you need to smoke more and more of it 447 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 1: because of what you were just talking about, because you 448 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,040 Speaker 1: need to get that high. But sometimes it'll act so 449 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: you make you more sensitive to it, and you will 450 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: get super high off crack, even as an addict, super quick, 451 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: and you could super die instantly. Um, which I'm not 452 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: sure if they've reconciled how it can do both of 453 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,159 Speaker 1: those things depending on who you are. Well, I think 454 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 1: it's the same thing. It's like, you know, some people 455 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: get addicted to it immediately and other people take longer. Yeah, 456 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: but I'm just talking about how it affects you. But 457 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,120 Speaker 1: I guess it's the same with alcohol, because some hardcore 458 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,719 Speaker 1: alcoholics take a long time to get drunk and some 459 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:33,879 Speaker 1: get drunk like really quickly. Yeah, so it gets this 460 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: the same deal. I guess I'd probably have to do 461 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: with metabolism, pantons metabolism, right, I guess so. So. Um, 462 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: once you, once you are fully addicted, if you stop 463 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: smoking crack, which by the way, I think I speak 464 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: for Chuck too, and I say we highly recommend it 465 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: if you smoke crack, to stop smoking crack. Yeah, and 466 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: if you haven't started yet, then just keep that up. Yes, 467 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: do not start smoking crack, no reason to um if 468 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: you have are if it's if you listen to this 469 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: podcast after you became addicted to crack. Um. If you 470 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 1: withdraw from crack, you're going to experience a pretty big 471 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: calm down in general, severe depression, anxiety, cravings. You're gonna 472 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: be not fun to be around. You're gonna be really 473 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: irritable and anxious, um and exhausted yet like agitated all 474 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: at the same time. Yeah. The good news is that 475 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: your brain will eventually restructure itself to return its dopamine 476 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 1: levels back to normal or somewhere near normal. UM, So 477 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 1: you won't be depressed or withdrawn or anxious or irritated, 478 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: irritable for the rest of your life. It's just while 479 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: you're undergoing withdrawals. That's what it's going to be like. 480 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: And it won't be pretty. It won't be pretty now. 481 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: And there's no UM medication designed to specifically treat crack UM. 482 00:29:55,960 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: And most therapies are pretty standard rehab therapy, like cognitive 483 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: behavioral therapy, which teaches you how to UM, how to 484 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: basically go through life resisting the temptation of smoking crack, 485 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: how to disassociate maybe UM triggers like places you go 486 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 1: just from that lifestyle. Yeah, just to thecouple your mentality 487 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: from being addicted. It's just standard rehab treatment pretty much. 488 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: And we covered that like extensively in addiction. And there's 489 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 1: another type of treatment that I hadn't heard of, UM 490 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,080 Speaker 1: called contingency management. Had you heard of that? No? I hadn't. Actually, 491 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 1: it's apparently fairly popular for crack treatment. Well what is it? Well, 492 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: basically it's UM you are rewarded for not smoking crack, 493 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: which I'm sure goes over really well with Republicans. Where's 494 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: my reward exactly. I haven't smoked crack ever, Well, you 495 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: haven't been addicted. You have to be addicted. So um, 496 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: the you're given like a voucher or something, you make 497 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: it like thirty days you get a free movie ticket 498 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: or something, or like you're giving stuff to um. Yeah, 499 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 1: Incent not doing crack, and I'm sure stuff that is healthy, 500 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: good for you distracts you from thinking about crack. That 501 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 1: kind of thing. I hadn't heard of that before this article. 502 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: Give someone a movie ticket. You know you did good 503 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: today by not smoking crack. Here's a movie ticket. I 504 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: always like the street terms. We should go over those 505 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: real quick, because street terms, I think you're probably just 506 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 1: made up by the media. Yeah, you know, I always 507 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: feel like they probably just call it crack or rock, right, 508 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: or they call it bassa or French fries or real 509 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: tops or glow glow. That's like, um, wasn't that the drug? 510 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,239 Speaker 1: And strangers with candy? Was Jerry like rubbed on her 511 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,400 Speaker 1: gums and they call it like glow? Probably that great 512 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 1: um rock san that's my favorite, hot cakes, c d s. 513 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: Where is that candy? Sugar yam, jelly beans. I guess 514 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 1: they kind of makes sense. Jelly beans and French fries 515 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: makes sense. French fries does, yeah, because I mean doesn't 516 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 1: it look kind of like little pieces of French fries? Um, Yeah, 517 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: it's it's more. It makes more sense than bostha. Well 518 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,880 Speaker 1: that's or real tops or here's one. There's no way 519 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 1: that anyone in the history of humanity has ever called 520 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: crack this electric kool aid. Yea, they got the wrong 521 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: drug there, Yeah, that would be acid from the famous book, Like, 522 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:37,840 Speaker 1: what is that? I don't know. I think those are 523 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: newspaper writers who've never been on the streets. The kids 524 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 1: today are on the electric kool aid. Uh. So. One 525 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: thing that we talked about about crack is the weird 526 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:56,959 Speaker 1: sentencing um laws dating back to nineteen fourteen and up 527 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: until two thousand and ten, when we past the Fair 528 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 1: Sentencing Act. If you were caught with one gram of 529 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: crack cocaine, you would get as much time as someone 530 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,000 Speaker 1: caught with one hundred grams of cocaine powder. Yes, and 531 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 1: let's go back over this. In a graham of cocaine 532 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: powdered cocaine cost a hundred dollars, a hundred and fifty dollars, 533 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: and it was extraordinarily favored predominantly by white people. Crack 534 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:28,240 Speaker 1: comes along five to ten bucks, cheap, intense, high um, 535 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:33,640 Speaker 1: and it becomes favored by African Americans statistically speaking. Yeah, 536 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 1: so some might allege that the US government actually had 537 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,240 Speaker 1: a hand in introducing crack to the ghettos and then 538 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: made stiffer sentencing once people were addicted to crack to 539 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 1: put And I'm not saying crack users are like awesome 540 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: people and people should do this, but it's a non 541 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: violent crime, and they were being put in prison for 542 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 1: the same amount of time as white counterparts who may 543 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: be raped and murdered people hundred to one ratio. To 544 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: get caught with a hundred times the powdered cocaine, to 545 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: get the same sentence as somebody caught with a hundredth 546 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: of that amount of crack, they were all well hold on. 547 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: When there was one other thing too, There were mandatory 548 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: minimum sentences that were extraordinarily harsh. Just getting caught with 549 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:22,719 Speaker 1: a little bit of crack on you, any amount of crack, 550 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:26,560 Speaker 1: I believe you got five years automatically, five years that 551 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:29,640 Speaker 1: was the mandatory minimum for possession. Five years in prison 552 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: for nothing else, Like you could just be walking down 553 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 1: the street and get caught with crack and never have 554 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,919 Speaker 1: committed another crime in your entire life, and you would 555 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: get five years in prison for that. And that was 556 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:49,279 Speaker 1: from the Anti Drug Abuse Act, of which screams Nancy Reagan. Um. 557 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: And it was that was a big deal. It was 558 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: the law of the land until two thousand. Yeah, and uh, 559 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: finally Congress past the Fair Sentencing Act, which reverted the 560 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:02,279 Speaker 1: ratio to one to eight teen instead of uh one 561 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 1: to a hundred by weight, and I got rid of 562 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 1: that mandatory minimum. And now Attorney General Eric Holder is 563 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: actually trying to get some retroactivity in these sentences and 564 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:19,280 Speaker 1: not trying to they are actually releasing some people from prison. Um. 565 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:21,960 Speaker 1: I remember we talked about that in the Presidential Partner episode. 566 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: That was something that a lot of people were calling for, 567 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: was blanket pardoned non violent crack users who had been 568 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: busted under this these mandatory minimums. Here's an idea rehab somebody. 569 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 1: But even still there's still a skew in the ratio 570 00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 1: between crack and cocaine. Um. Uh, probably arrest, no, not 571 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: not just that, the the sentences, I guess, Yeah, it's 572 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: still an eighteen to one ratio. It used to be 573 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: a hundred to one, but it's still eighteen to one, 574 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,520 Speaker 1: and people are like, why not just make it one 575 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 1: to want? It's both it's cocaine and it's cocaine exactly, Like, 576 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 1: what's the problem here. So, yeah, there's been a long 577 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:04,960 Speaker 1: history of Um, I guess racism, just put plane and simple. 578 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: There's really no other way to put it. Racism among 579 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:13,200 Speaker 1: drug laws. Yeah, and since they introduced the retroactivity releases, 580 00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:17,560 Speaker 1: they've reduced seventy sentences for an average of twenty nine 581 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 1: months per inmate and saved American taxpayers five and thirty 582 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: million dollars in the process. Um. Other people will say, 583 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: you're letting drug offenders out on the streets. Why are 584 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:35,560 Speaker 1: we doing this? And um, so there are two sides. Obviously, 585 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: opinion lies that that story. We'd be remiss if we 586 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 1: didn't point out that people are upset about it in 587 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 1: some circles. Oh sure, it's not like it's a it's 588 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:48,480 Speaker 1: a great idea, categorically yeah, Um yeah, there's problems with 589 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:52,240 Speaker 1: it for sure. Uh. Can we talk about crack babies? Yeah? 590 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: That was another thing that came out of the eighties 591 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,200 Speaker 1: was the so called crack baby. Like, there was a 592 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 1: huge part of this crack epide. Mick wasn't just addiction. 593 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,400 Speaker 1: It was babies being born addicted to crack. And thanks 594 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,440 Speaker 1: to a paper from by a guy named Dr Ira Chasnoff, 595 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:16,760 Speaker 1: the crack baby fear started sweeping the nation. I mean huge, man. 596 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:20,120 Speaker 1: There's a New York Times video that you can go watch, 597 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:23,279 Speaker 1: like ten minutes long called retro Reports. Is that what 598 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,360 Speaker 1: it was called. Yeah, it was really good and it 599 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,360 Speaker 1: basically kind of brought and I remember now, you know, 600 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,360 Speaker 1: back in the eighties, Peter Jennings on the nightly news 601 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:33,840 Speaker 1: saying that you know, babies are and it's not Peter Jennings, 602 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:35,799 Speaker 1: of course, it's whoever wrote the story. It was Peter 603 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:41,440 Speaker 1: Jennings Dan. Rather it was People Time Newsweek. It basically 604 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 1: saying these babies are being born addicted to drugs. It 605 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: will ultimately cost crack babies will cost the United States 606 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:49,759 Speaker 1: five billion dollars. Yeah, they were saying it was going 607 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,960 Speaker 1: to be a lost generation, a nation of kids who 608 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,720 Speaker 1: are you can't rehab. They're going to be the babies 609 00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 1: or aloof They shake, they avoid eye contact, they've void 610 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:02,839 Speaker 1: in contact with their own mothers, which proves that they're 611 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,399 Speaker 1: going to be anti social deviance when they grow up. 612 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: And this is not like we're not rewriting history, man, 613 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,160 Speaker 1: it was like hardcore stuff that they were saying it 614 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,960 Speaker 1: was gonna be uh they were One quote was, um, 615 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: they will not be able to hold uh to form 616 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,400 Speaker 1: to hold a job, or form meaningful relationships. Right, So 617 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,919 Speaker 1: they were expected to completely overwhelm the education system, maybe 618 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: not even have an IQ of fifty yeah, and then 619 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:31,239 Speaker 1: completely overwhelmed social services. So basically there was this this 620 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: whole um generation of kids that were expected to be 621 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,759 Speaker 1: totally messed up because their mothers had smoke crack while 622 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,120 Speaker 1: they were pregnant, and so women were having their kids 623 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,440 Speaker 1: taken away from them. Some women were arrested, and um, 624 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:48,280 Speaker 1: the the guy, the doctor who wrote the original paper, 625 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:52,160 Speaker 1: Dr Ira chasin Off like started to very quickly back 626 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,120 Speaker 1: off of the original statements, which he is still today. 627 00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: Like he admits like he was pretty mouthy and not 628 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 1: very savvy, pretty meat, a naive, I guess you could 629 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 1: put it. And he said he would give these long 630 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,239 Speaker 1: winded statements and then the press would just pick out 631 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:10,280 Speaker 1: like the juiciest part and like this guy single handedly 632 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: created the crack baby myth because it never panned out 633 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:18,120 Speaker 1: in any way, shape or form. And what they were 634 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,839 Speaker 1: saying was like the twitchy babies that you're seeing on 635 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:24,359 Speaker 1: TV when they're talking about the the symptoms of being 636 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,439 Speaker 1: a cracked baby, that's premature babies. Like you take any 637 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:30,759 Speaker 1: premature baby who's premature for any reason, and they're going 638 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:35,399 Speaker 1: to display these symptoms that are supposedly associated with crack babies. Yeah, 639 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,279 Speaker 1: they did. The US government sponsored a twenty five year 640 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,719 Speaker 1: study of crack babies, not a two year study or 641 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,359 Speaker 1: a five year study. Twenty five years. They followed these 642 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:48,440 Speaker 1: babies up into adulthood. Uh is now over the funding 643 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:52,520 Speaker 1: ran out, and they found that um by age four, 644 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:57,000 Speaker 1: the average i Q of cocaine exposed children was UH 645 00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 1: seventy nine. The average i Q for the non expos 646 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,319 Speaker 1: children was ade UM. When it came to readiness at 647 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:07,720 Speaker 1: age six, about in each group scored in the abnormal range. 648 00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:12,839 Speaker 1: Basically all of the findings said, it's the same as 649 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:16,000 Speaker 1: these other kids. But here's the deal. They weren't doing 650 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,680 Speaker 1: the study against crack baby babies and white suburban kids. 651 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,120 Speaker 1: They were doing it against a like model, which was 652 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:25,640 Speaker 1: other you know, poor black kids basically that were not 653 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,920 Speaker 1: crack babies, and they said they are all below average. 654 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:33,319 Speaker 1: So the deal is is it's poverty. Right, it's not 655 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 1: crack cocaine. They're scoring the same as non non crack babies, 656 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:41,160 Speaker 1: and they're all scoring lower because of poverty and and 657 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:46,759 Speaker 1: basically bad postnatal care through adulthood. Right, like you, you 658 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:52,719 Speaker 1: might not have any problems physiologically or not as not 659 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:56,520 Speaker 1: or cognitively from being exposed to crack in the womb, 660 00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 1: but if your mom's still smoking crack after you're born, 661 00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:02,200 Speaker 1: you're probably not to get the best care from your 662 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:06,400 Speaker 1: parents as possible. Um. And they did find in that 663 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,719 Speaker 1: same study that children that were being raised in like 664 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:13,880 Speaker 1: a supporting, encouraging house, even in um poverty stricken conditions, 665 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,200 Speaker 1: uh tended to excel. So um it is it's pop. 666 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:21,799 Speaker 1: It was poverty they found out, and um postnatal care 667 00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: like you said, and being born premature. But yes, but 668 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,480 Speaker 1: the correct baby thing never happened. It was another example 669 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:30,880 Speaker 1: of hysterics. So right about now, I want to say, 670 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,560 Speaker 1: if if it sounds like Chuck and I are being cavalier, 671 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:39,239 Speaker 1: have been cavalier with the idea of crack. Uh we're 672 00:41:39,239 --> 00:41:42,600 Speaker 1: not We're not being cavalier with crack or addiction. That's 673 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,440 Speaker 1: nothing to take lightly. But I think what's created a 674 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,799 Speaker 1: bit of freneticness or passion maybe in this one is 675 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,479 Speaker 1: just this idea that we're able to look back now 676 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:59,360 Speaker 1: thirty years on and say, wow, like America was genuinely 677 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:05,239 Speaker 1: hysteric coal and it's it's something to be amazed by 678 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:09,440 Speaker 1: and a little disconcerted with. Two. Yeah, of course you 679 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:12,040 Speaker 1: should not take cocaine or smoke crack when you're pregnant. 680 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:13,920 Speaker 1: No doctor on earth is going to say that's a 681 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,759 Speaker 1: good thing. But the crack baby was a myth. And 682 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:19,120 Speaker 1: the one Emory professor that was in that New York 683 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 1: Times researcher in the New York Times video came out 684 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:26,200 Speaker 1: and said, you know what, alcohol does much more physical 685 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:31,680 Speaker 1: damage and is much more widespread as an abuse drug 686 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:36,919 Speaker 1: during pregnancy than crack or cocaine ever is. But they're 687 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,920 Speaker 1: not lacking ladies up that are pregnant for drinking. And 688 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:42,920 Speaker 1: the reason they were doing it back then, it's because 689 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,799 Speaker 1: they were poor black women. Right. Um, we should say 690 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:52,480 Speaker 1: the crack epidemic. Also, while the sentences were stiffer, the 691 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,760 Speaker 1: the amount you got caught with was a hundred times 692 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,640 Speaker 1: smaller to get the same The same rap is getting 693 00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:03,279 Speaker 1: caught with powdered cocaine. There was something that came out 694 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,200 Speaker 1: of this crack epidemic that was a real threat, and 695 00:43:06,239 --> 00:43:10,920 Speaker 1: that was the rise of the modern um inter city gang, 696 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:14,040 Speaker 1: at least as far as we know it. Like crips 697 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:18,040 Speaker 1: and bloods and folks and all those guys, they they 698 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 1: came out of this era. They were able to buy 699 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,160 Speaker 1: the guns that they bought and fight the turf force 700 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:30,480 Speaker 1: that they fought because they had this incredibly addictive drug 701 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,759 Speaker 1: that they could sell and control pretty easily in their 702 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:37,839 Speaker 1: hands all of a sudden. So where that came from, 703 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:41,720 Speaker 1: who knows, but you can all you can. The big 704 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,560 Speaker 1: problem with the crack epidemic that you can trace directly 705 00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,600 Speaker 1: back to it is the rise of the modern gang 706 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:55,840 Speaker 1: drug gang. So in summary, crack whack, Yeah, crack babies, 707 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:04,880 Speaker 1: crack sentencing laws, Why back whack Gary webb Um whacked 708 00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:11,000 Speaker 1: whack very nice? I got nothing else perfect. Well, since 709 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:14,200 Speaker 1: I said something perfect, I am going to tell you 710 00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:18,360 Speaker 1: to go ahead and research crack more on our website 711 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:22,680 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com. One of our websites these days. Um, 712 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:24,879 Speaker 1: you can type crack into the search bar and I'll 713 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:27,640 Speaker 1: bring up this article. And since I said search bar, 714 00:44:27,719 --> 00:44:35,480 Speaker 1: it's time for a message break, chuckers, how about you 715 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:39,520 Speaker 1: take us out with some listener mail. All right, this 716 00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:44,680 Speaker 1: is from Rebecca and it is about PTSD and UH 717 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,399 Speaker 1: police chases. UM. I've been a fan of you guys 718 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,120 Speaker 1: since the inception. I've listened to every episode. I always 719 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:53,760 Speaker 1: wanted to write in until now, I didn't have a reason. 720 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:55,719 Speaker 1: Listening to the Police Chase podcast made me want to 721 00:44:55,719 --> 00:44:57,920 Speaker 1: share my story. Years ago, I was a victim of 722 00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:00,880 Speaker 1: a police chase. Some teenagers had stolen a car and 723 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,520 Speaker 1: were pursued by the cops. I'm not sure what caused 724 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:06,080 Speaker 1: them to pursue at high speeds, but they did. The 725 00:45:06,160 --> 00:45:08,839 Speaker 1: chase resulted in the kids t boning my car when 726 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:11,040 Speaker 1: I was stopped at a red light. The kids tried 727 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,080 Speaker 1: to take an incredibly sharp turn. Essentially you turn onto 728 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:16,960 Speaker 1: another road and they're going way too fast. Um. The 729 00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:21,440 Speaker 1: chase escalated to an on foot chase. UM, and it 730 00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:23,920 Speaker 1: actually did end and arrests. I ended up having to 731 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:25,440 Speaker 1: be cut out of the car with the jaws of 732 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,760 Speaker 1: life only suffered minor head injuries despite my car being totaled. 733 00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:32,480 Speaker 1: As a result of the incident, I began having anxiety 734 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:36,120 Speaker 1: and PTSD symptoms that were triggered by police irons and 735 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:39,880 Speaker 1: intense stress. I had to receive treatment similar to some 736 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:44,239 Speaker 1: of what you discussed in the PTSD episode all as well. 737 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,480 Speaker 1: Now I didn't take too long, UM with therapy to 738 00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:49,759 Speaker 1: overcome everything. I just wanted to share the downside of 739 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:52,959 Speaker 1: police chases. I don't think that incident required a high 740 00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:56,000 Speaker 1: speed chase, and the result could have been much moss worse. 741 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:58,520 Speaker 1: I really wish that police would stop to think before 742 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:01,840 Speaker 1: they pursued for minor crimes UH and would get fined 743 00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:05,000 Speaker 1: even or have some sort of penalty for causing accidents 744 00:46:05,040 --> 00:46:08,920 Speaker 1: within US at five standards. And that is Rebecca. Thanks Rebecca, 745 00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:11,279 Speaker 1: I appreciate you sharing that. Sorry that happened to you. 746 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:14,360 Speaker 1: I'm glad you're doing better. UM. If you want to 747 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:18,080 Speaker 1: share a personal experience from something that we have talked 748 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:22,560 Speaker 1: about in this episode or another one, you can tweet 749 00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:25,880 Speaker 1: to us. That's y SK podcast, Facebook dot com, slash 750 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,400 Speaker 1: Stuff You Should Know Stuff podcast at Discovery dot com, 751 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:32,080 Speaker 1: and then check out our website. It's Stuff you should 752 00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:39,759 Speaker 1: know dot com for more on this and thousands of 753 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:49,560 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com? Like 754 00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:52,600 Speaker 1: a good neighbor, state farm is there with eighteen thousand 755 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:54,719 Speaker 1: agents across the country who are ready to help you. 756 00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:58,760 Speaker 1: Seven three. That's getting to a better state.