Word: cracking
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Psychologists say upwardly mobile Americans who turn to crack share personality traits that may make them vulnerable to the drug's siren call. Dr. Jeffrey Rosecan, director of the Cocaine Abuse Treatment Program at Manhattan's Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, sketches a profile of the typical crack user: a man in his 30s or 40s, single or divorced, with a high- pressure job, little inner peace and a history of moderate drug use and heavy drinking. "They're extremists, hard drivers, workaholics," says Rosecan. "With an all-or-nothing personality and a history of drug experimentation...
...Crack is not for men only. One of the most striking developments of the past five years is the increase of crack abuse among middle-class women. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the organization whose members perform 80% of the drug tests in the U.S., reports that among people who test positive for drugs, the percentage of women jumped from 25% in 1972 to 40% in 1988. Many of them first used cocaine to help lose weight...
...rich have special problems procuring crack. They often have to make their buys in unfamiliar (and unsavory) neighborhoods, where they are prey to all kinds of rip-offs. Street crack is contaminated with an astonishing variety of chemicals, from amphetamines and meat tenderizers to pesticides. To make sure they are not being poisoned, some users are going back to a process popular years ago. They buy cocaine and convert it into a purer form of crack at home. This dangerous process, called free-basing, involves combining cocaine with baking soda and cooking the mixture. The latest trend among well...
Initially, a crack addict can continue to function at work. But that first euphoric kick can be followed by depression and paranoia, which the user suppresses by getting high again. So begins a cycle of compulsive binging known as "chasing the high." Five-dollar "nickels" give way to $40 "doves." Soon crack addicts are spending $200 and more every night...
...poor have a built-in defense against runaway crack abuse: they run out of money. The rich have the same limit; it just takes longer to get there. Stories abound of well-heeled users smoking their way through trust funds, savings accounts and charge-card credit lines. Some take out second mortgages and go on to sell jewelry and household items like TVs, VCRs and answering machines...