 U.S. Marshals Deputy seizing smuggled cocaine, 1986. | |
| Date | 1976-1980s |
|---|---|
| Type | Economic boom Drug epidemic Crime wave |
| Cause | Increase of demand for cocaine |
The cocaine boom was a stark increase in the illegal production and trade of the drug cocaine that first began in the mid to late 1970s before then peaking during the 1980s. The boom was the result of organized smugglers who imported cocaine from Latin America to the United States, and a rising demand in cocaine due to cultural trends in the United States. Smuggling rings of Cuban exiles organized trade networks from Latin America to Miami that streamlined the import of cocaine to the United States. Americans also began favoring less of the drugs popular in the 60s counterculture such as marijuana and LSD, and instead began to prefer cocaine due to a mystique of prestige that was developing around it. This increase in cocaine trade fueled the rise of the crack epidemic and government sponsored anti-drug campaigns.[1][2][3]
- ^ Boville, Belen (2004). The Cocaine War In Context : Drugs and Politics. Algora Pub. pp. 48–50. ISBN 0875862950.
- ^ Gootenberg, Paul (2010). "Blowback: The Mexican Drug Crisis". NACLA Report on the Americas. 43 (6): 7–12. doi:10.1080/10714839.2010.11722172. S2CID 157479298.
- ^ Flock, Elizabeth (21 January 2017). "What it was really like to be in Miami during the crazy cocaine boom". pbs.org.