I teach in the Human Services department at Long Beach City College. My main topic is addictions. Every semester we watch a video titled "Substance Abuse Disorders". I have a handout I made for the students to fill out while they watch, hoping it would help them pay better attention. Just recently, I was looking at that handout and incorporating it into my mid-term exam. These words really hit me:

One of the reasons cocaine is so addictive is that it instantly activates the pleasure centers of the brain. Cocaine that is snorted reaches the brain in 3-4 minutes. Yet it only takes 8 seconds for cocaine that is smoked to be absorbed by the lungs

Eight freaking seconds for the body to trigger the pleasure center. The pleasure center is what controls everything. You will do crazy things when the pleasure center wants something. The pleasure center drives your instincts for food, sex and survival. Can you imagine that urge for 'more' nagging at you every 8 seconds? Even the most educated, controlled, composed person would fall into addiction very quickly when using a drug that directly stimulates the pleasure center every 8 seconds. So that might help you understand why Crackheads do what they do, but what about this for a thought: Statistically speaking, what ethnic group uses the highest amount of crack? What neighborhoods does crack show up in and why. My experience is its not above the reach of corrupt authority to use various methods to "control" groups of indentured people. Allowing this to happen is parallel to co-signing genocide. Please keep that in mind when it's time to vote for laws that fund treatment centers and mental health services.