Baumer relates, free-basing "refers to the chemical process of changing the chemical structure of the cocaine molecule" by using either some type of solvent or a solution of baking soda (2007) which results in the hardened form of cocaine, usually smoked in a specially-designed pipe. However, in the early 1980's, this form of cocaine which came to be called "crack" was generally only purchased by wealthy persons, due to the chemical process which requires a larger amount of cocaine; thus, poorer individuals could not afford the luxury of free-basing, at least until crack became widely available at a lower cost in the early to mid-1990's (Baumer, 2007; Schmalleger, 2008)
However, in the early 1980's, this form of cocaine which came to be called "crack" was generally only purchased by wealthy persons, due to the chemical process which requires a larger amount of cocaine; thus, poorer individuals could not afford the luxury of free-basing, at least until crack became widely available at a lower cost in the early to mid-1990's (Baumer, 2007; Schmalleger, 2008). Of course, when crack cocaine became widely available on the streets of such American cities as New York, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, a number of extremely violent turf wars erupted, based on the incredible profits that could be earned from selling crack and the competition for business among rival dealers and street gangs (Safir, 2003)
At the same time, they are wrestling with lower economic social demographics in the community. (Hall, 2011) This means that drugs are prevalent inside numerous areas