The Fading Lessons of the Crack Epidemic

As the U.S. enters a “fourth wave” of the opioid crisis, I spoke with journalist and author Donovan X. Ramsey about the crack epidemic. In his book, When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era, and in conversation, Donovan details how the epidemic began, why government policies were ineffective, and how lessons from the crack era are fading from memory.

Donovan’s reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, WSJ Magazine, Ebony, and Essence, among other outlets. He has been a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, NewsOne, and theGrio. He has also served as an editor at The Marshall Project and Complex.