Research Paper on:
Street Drugs in Jersey City

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
pertaining to the problem of the ready availability of street drugs. The report, first of all, offers a statement of the problem, and then outlines what research has suggested are  possible social causes for this type of crime. Then, the report focuses on research pertaining to prevention programs and how private businesses and neighborhood residents can work collectively with law  enforcement to prevent drug abuse. The bibliography lists 8 sources. Statement of the problem The problem of the ready availability of street drugs is not an isolated social ill  restricted to Jersey City, but rather a worldwide phenomenon that affects all walks, all socio-economics levels of society (Robson, 1999). In an international study, it was found that 41 percent  of the sixteen-year-olds interviewed in the UK and 34 percent of sixteen-year-olds in North America reported that had used cannabis (marijuana) (Robson, 1999, p. 5). Of course, cannabis use is  merely the tip of the iceberg. Far more serious, but just as easily available, are the opiate drugs of crack cocaine, cocaine, and heroin. These poisons are vended on the  streets of Americas cities as often as hotdogs or soft drinks. In 1985, law enforcement officers began encountering use of a new drug on the street of Americas cities  that became known as "crack" cocaine, which is cocaine in its purist form (Marcocci, 2002). After its first appearance, crack quickly spread like a plague from city to city (Taylor  and Brownstein, 2003). Like its predecessors in the opiate family, Heroin and cocaine, this new drug proved to be extremely addictive. Marcocci (2002), a police officer, cites that he and  his partner personally observed parents trading foot stamps for crack cocaine, while their children went hungry. Law enforcement has addressed this urgent drug problem with public education, drug awareness