In his book “The Cocaine Kids” Williams (1989) suggests that implementing ethnographical research is significant in order to disclose a detailed account of the cocaine kids, and their lifestyle. On a broad scale, ethnography is a research method that studies the culture of the subject at hand. When looking deeper, it also analyzes key social dynamics that can stem from structural factors such as hierarchical systems present in the community being researched. Similar to observational research, Williams made notes of the cocaine kids in their natural setting, while doing what they would normally do. This is to ensure that his presence does not raise suspicion and allows for quantitative measures including basic details of age, sex, and race; …show more content…
Williams suggests that due to the deviant lifestyle of his subjects, the cocaine kids, this interviewing stage can delay the time between interviews (1989). That being said, Williams seems to strongly support this method of research because it not only helps him get answers to his questions, but also allows the interview to branch and bring up relevant topic that he had not thought of before. Beyond this, Williams tried his best to understand sub-communications such as the subjects’ body language, including emotions, discreet forms of communication via hand signs, and attire. He did this to ensure he also observed instances that are generally under-the-radar, but still have meaning. Williams reveals his limitation in studying the verbal language and speech of the cocaine kids. This is due to the hectic environment, and if he were to use a recorder, it would render the voices of his subjects incomprehensible. Also, taking direct notes in front of his subjects could have potentially triggered some sort of observer effect, whereby the cocaine kids would behave differently than they normally would. This is more severe in scenarios where others are present such as buyers and groupies (Williams 1989). Thus, a key part of Williams’ work was to not look like he was actually working as an …show more content…
Overall, Williams claims he was able to overcome these barriers and still accumulate a collection of observations on each cocaine kid’s behaviour, and their business operation including production, packing, selling, profits, and cocaine consumption (1989). Williams’ book is based on his ethnographical research on eight teenagers who are involved in the cocaine market, their role being sellers. This is the first weakness of Williams’ work because his sample size is relatively small. In other words, his findings on eight cocaine dealers is limited in numbers and in terms of geographical locations – Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights. Thus they are not universally applicable, and general conclusions cannot be made. That being said, Williams has done his best in collecting both quantitative and qualitative observations on his subjects, the cocaine kids. This was executed by forming relationships – he would even call it friendship at times, with the cocaine kids (1989). Nonetheless, the relationship had strengthened over the four years of his research, encouraging the cocaine kids’ behaviour to remain natural during his presence. This worked in favour of Williams because it supports his research method, where his objective is to get the most clear-cut observations on the cocaine kids’ lifestyle which revolves around the drug market, and all
To start off, the main driven idea of this book is the black market, or what they refer to as the underground and “shadow economy”. The underground has its choices and consequences as well as any other type of economic system do. But, in this case the underground can be a country’s main economy for survival such as, “In Bolivia the underground economy is responsible for an estimated 65 percent of GDP. In Nigeria it accounts for perhaps 76 percent.” (7) This type of GDP from the underground is usually found in the developing worlds. That’s not to say that we don’t have a dark side of our own in the mix. The US has been the largest competitor in the Black Market in many fields for example: Marijuana,
Crack users range from the Wall Street stockbroker to a homeless person living in Central Park, but by and large this evil drug called crack had its biggest impact on New York’s inner city minority population. A New York doctor, Dr. Mark Gold who is the person who set up and helps run the not for profit organization called 800-COCAINE, a hotline set up to help addicts and perspective users answer questions about the drug and also offers counseling and drug intervention services; suggested that his findings showed that, “occasional users of crack quickly increased, the amount and frequency of crack use until total dependency was achieved.” Men and women who were once law abiding citizens and honest people were now robbing and stealing to pay for the drug, and many who once enjoyed good health were now suffering from a variety of physical and mental aliments springing from their cocaine abuse. Crack brings along with its amazing high, some ominous dangers. Dr. Robert Maslansky is the director of New York City’s Bellevue Hospital
Contributing to these drug issues throughout America are multiple street gangs, drug cartels and drug lords. These groups to transport illegal drugs into America, to sell them illegally on the streets, for a very hefty profit. High crime profiled states and cities such as, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Chicago host some of America’s most notorious gangs, cartels, and drug lords. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the life of a notorious Baltimore drug lord, by the name of Anthony Ayeni Jones, and how a life of drugs effected his personal life, caused criminal actions, and resulted in court trials and a life sentence in prison.
Critics argue that legalization of certain drugs will not end the drug war and that instead, it will cause more violence and issues for the county’s well being. In the mid-1980’s the cocaine epidemic hit and a large amount of crime, deaths from overdoses and violence came with it. The result of this was laws being placed with minimum punishment for drug trafficking to attempt to control the issue. Throughout the early 1990s crime started to slowly decrease and in 2013 the amount of crime was reduced in half. One viewpoint is that once the title of being non-violent labeled drug traffickers crime started to rise anew. Some crimes included murders of innocent bystanders and more drug flow into the U.S (Cook1). William J. Bennett and John P. Walters, Boston Globe writers, complicate matters further when they write “For 25 years before President Obama, U.S policy confronted drug
In Claire’s Sterk’s book, “Fast Lives: women who used crack cocaine”, she uses information from observation, conversations, interviews and group discussions to explain how using crack affects active users. She also shows how they started using, how they survived, how they developed and maintained relationships with friends and family, and how they were mothers and drug users at the same time. In addition, Sterk started Project FAST, the Female Atlanta Study to identify the impact of drug use patterns on lives of active female users. In this study, most of the women’s stories are similar but yet different in many ways to each other. While curiosity and peer pressure caused these women to experiment with drugs, others were
This story is from a book “Righteous Dopefiend” by Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg, published in 2009 May. The introduction basically talks about the powerful study of anthropological plunges the reader into the world of homelessness and drug addiction in America. According to the study from the late 1990s to early 2000s, based on ago and gender profile of homeless men and women were mostly heroin injectors and they also smoked crack and drank large amount of alcohol. Many of the injectors were distressed and from poor families. In the study in 2008, many African-American and Latino who used drugs primarily smoked marijuana even while they were selling heroin on the street. Heroin effects the human bodies and daily routine, within couples of weeks of daily use, heroin creates a strong physiological dependence operating.
The book being reviewed in this papers is Code of the Suburb: Inside the World of Young Middle-Class Drug Dealers by Scott Jacques and Richard Wright. This book is written on the context of 30 different individuals from a small location referenced as “Peachville” in Atlanta Georgia (Jacques & Wright 1). Each of these known individuals during their time in high school were selling drugs. Marijuana was the particular substance to be sold, but few dove into other illicit drugs including ecstasy, cocaine etc. (3). Generally speaking, the first questions that appears is what pushed these students to dive into the prospects of peddling and using drugs? Better yet, why continue to use them? The 7 chapters included in this book contain various stories of popularity and financial gains and losses along with the destruction of relationships.
“Just Say No!” A statement that takes us deep into yet another decade in the history of the United States which was excited by controversies, social issues, and drug abuse. The topic of this statement is fueled by the growing abuse of cocaine in the mid 1980s. I shall discuss the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid 1980s from a cultural and social stand point because on that decade this country moved to the rhythms and the pace of this uncanny drug. Cocaine took its told on American society by in the 1980s; it ravaged with every social group, race, class, etc. It reigned over the United States without any prejudices. Crack cocaine was the way into urban society, because of its affordability in contrast to the powdered
Before we thought of the question, we recalled why we chose the topic and wondered why drugs would be an important topic in Main South. In the end, we realized we wanted to know how drugs became important, not just why. To not only learn about the negative drug effects on the many adults located in Main South, but also the youth, since we were included within that group too.
In quite a few lower-class communities, phrases like “your mom is a crack head,” or “shut up crack baby” are said jokingly to make fun of someone during what we call a “rip session.” Although said as a joke, some are very offended by the comments. Why? because for some, crack addiction hits too close to home for comfort. Seeing how easy it is obtained in lower class and poverty stricken neighborhoods, many find themselves falling victim to the powerful substance, crack cocaine. Low sociable economic systems are just one of the many factors that can lead to the use, and addiction of crack cocaine, others include movies, music, peer pressure, alcohol and cigarette ads. In this report I will discuss
Most criminological research focuses on communities, where some assume and think that small towns are quite safe and crime-free environments. Meanwhile, using methamphetamine has become surrounded in rural parts of the country. In her book Methamphetamine: A Love Story, Rashi K. Shukla focused and enlightened on the understudied of poverty and drug abuse. Through her journey, she proves emotionally how meth has become the spotlight to the lives of some residents. In the process of uncovering how and why she participated in their drug using careers, Shukla tells how the lifestyle surrounding meth use becomes as addicting as the drug itself and highlights the unsustainability of meth addiction and the struggles
This paper explores drug abuse as a problem that crosses ethnic lines for all Americans and translates to a major problem for all society. The articles used show the impact of drug abuse and how it is felt by all Americans. As a result of this paper, the author has discovered the institutional response to drug abuse and how it is felt disproportionately among the poor and among African Americans and Hispanics. According to the research it was discovered from a global survey data from the World Health Organization, that Americans are more likely to try illegal drugs than anyone else in the world. Approximately forty-two percent of American adults have tried marijuana and Americans are also number one in terms of annual prescription
Drug trafficking has played a huge role on many people's lives. It is believed to be stimulated by their environments, peers, upbringings and psychological factors.
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
"Cocaine and crack are among the most addictive substances known to modern science, and they have already ruined the lives of millions of Americans" (Morganthau and Miller, 208). Cocaine and crack are both dangerous, harmful drugs. Though pleasurable effects can be obtained from these drugs, the use of crack and cocaine cannot be worth the actual consequences that are inflicted on mind and body. The bad effects of these drugs, by far outweigh the good. Because crack and cocaine are so closely related, it is important to have a firm understanding of both drugs.