Question- what is the “crack problem” Gorbachev faced in the late 1980s? Why did he face this problem?
(I had to do this for homework, so I hope that my answer helps you:))
Answer- The “crack problem” that Gorbachev faced in the late 1980s was that in the late 1980s, the majority of cocaine being shipped to the United States, landing in Miami, was coming through the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. Soon there was a huge glut of cocaine powder in these islands, which caused the price to drop by as much as 80%. Faced with dropping prices for their illegal product, drug dealers made a decision to convert the powder to "crack", a solid smokeable form of cocaine, that could be sold in smaller quantities, to more people. It was cheap, simple to produce, ready to use, and highly profitable for dealers to develop. In '85, cocaine-related hospital emergencies rose by 12%, from 23,500 to 26,300. In '86, these incidents increased 110%, from 26,300 to 55,200. Between '84 and '87, cocaine incidents increased to 94,000. By '87, crack was reported to be available in the District of Columbia and all but four states in the United States.