Ep. 16: The CIA's Iran-Contra Affair, the crack epidemic, & the women who paid the price

The War on Drugs didn’t start in the streets; it started in the shadows of the offices of the CIA. This episode traces the timeline from the late 70s up through the late 90s, connecting the dots between anti-communist funding in Central America, the Middle East, & the sudden influx of crack cocaine into black communities in America. We’re also peepin' the exact moment the Second Boland Amendment went into effect..and how, as the CIA searched for alternative funding for the Contras, the streets began to change. We are discussing the crimes of Oliver North, Gary Webb's brave af reporting, and the biological warfare of "pseudoscience". We also talk about the extremely damaging articles that manufactured the "bio-underclass" myth to justify the lack of resources and the systemic abandonment of the very communities the state helped destabilize. By the time we get to the late 90s, the trap was already set, and waiting to be triggered. When you look at the outcomes of the crack epidemic, it becomes clear who was at fault, who was targeted, and who won.   This is the final episode to the witch-hunt series...for now ; )   **SHOW NOTES**   Socials:  https://www.tiktok.com/@greatinthesackpodcast  https://www.instagram.com/g.i.t.s.podcast  https://www.bsky.app/profile/greatinthesackpod.bsky.social    Sources: Behind the Bastards Cracktoberfest episodes:  https://youtu.be/MT6lnjIVWOE?si=-psWolEJFyTZib2H  https://youtu.be/UoqC9av2DcA?si=yN9uFQIDQuFm9pRo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DKko0WCOgI&t=18s  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjOnWFLq_Os https://youtu.be/4F3IwLDZ1ss?si=vI5T9UopMoCf41x8    https://webhelper.brown.edu/cheit/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/    https://allthatsinteresting.com/gary-webb    https://www.britannica.com/topic/intersectionality    https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Contra-Affair    https://fair.org/extra/the-myth-of-the-crack-baby/    https://www.jstor.org/stable/48750576?seq=1    https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19920114/1470264/new-research-explodes-crack-babies-myth    https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ferguson-v-city-charleston-2001    https://www.splcenter.org/about/    https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/victory-regina-mcknight-case    https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-a-crack-baby-the-term-the-myth-and-the-truth/    https://feminist.org/news/woman-convicted-of-stillbirth-remains-in-jail/#:~:text=On%20Monday%2C%20the%20United%20States,to%2020%20years%20in%20prison.    https://www.britannica.com/topic/crack-epidemic  https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/DeprivedLiberty/Others/Human_Rights_and_Gender_Justice_Clinic_at_CUNY_School_of_Law_and_others-3.pdf