Crack: new directions in drug research. Part 1. Differences between the marijuana economy and the cocaine/crack economy.
Crack use and trafficking in low-income, minority communities in New York City have pushed into prominence many aspects of drug use/misuse and distribution which had formerly received inadequate attention. For example, the generation and reinvestment of drug incomes are important determinants of how various drugs are experienced. While in retrospect marijuana trafficking appears to have been an almost benign affair, crack trafficking is fast-paced, ruthless, steeped in violence, and impoverishes everyone who becomes engaged in it. In this part the differences between rates, volumes, and methods of income generation related to the use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine are elaborated. The contrast raises a question: Do economies like drug distribution follow a particular rhythmic pattern (capital accumulation during the benign marijuana passage followed by capital depletion in the overheated crack era), and how is it related to the changing demands of the regional economy? Viewed from this perspective, drug distributors and users appear not so much as "deviant" or "alienated" or as a "reserve pool of labor," but rather as a type of labor force which does indispensable work for the whole society.
Hamid
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Department of Anthropology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York 10019.
D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000191:economics* / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D016578:Crack Cocaine / Q000191:economics* / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008913:Minority Groups; D009519:New York City; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014505:Urban Population; D014900:West Indies / Q000208:ethnology
D002186:Cannabinoids; D016578:Crack Cocaine