New Documentary Shows Crack Babies Epidemic Of The 1980's Was Overblown; Cocaine Scare Overshadowed Alcohol And Substance Abuse[ENTIRE DOCUMENTARY}

The 1980's "Crack babies" epidemic is now proved to be completely overblown in a new documentary. There is little proof of any major long-term ill effects in children whose mothers used cocaine or crack during pregnancy. The baby crack obsession is now considered false and other substances, such as alcohol, were not looked at closely enough because the crack babies crisis overshadowed other science. 

"Crack babies" were once called "the most expensive babies ever born" on account of the resources they'd inevitably demand from social services and other government programs. But blaming just crack and not substance abuse in general is not scientifically correct. The theory was overblown in the media causing an unnecessary scare. The New York Times documentary shows how the media scared hte public on an issue that was so overblown that it shocked our nation's core. 

Nearly three decades on, many people born in the crack baby era have managed to live perfectly normal lives. The drug no doubt contributed to some of the ill effects seen in newborns, but other substances like alcohol and social issues didn't receive as much attention as they should have thanks to the largely overblown "crack crisis."

As shown in a recent New York Times video investigation, one newscaster in the 80's described "crack babies" as a new "underclass of children unable to care for themselves, of infants born to suffer," and another labeled them as "the most expensive babies born in America," doomed to "overwhelm every social service delivery system that they come in contact with for the rest of their lives." Watch the entire documentary below.

The alleged "epidemic" was drawn from a preliminary study of just 23 infants. However, that didn't stop one reporter from

alleging a 500 percent increase in damaged babies, nor did it prevent the findings from being used to charge pregnant crack users with child abuse and murder.

"It became an exciting thing to talk about," says Dr. Claire Coles of the Emory University School of Medicine and Pediatrics. "As it got out into the world, it became this phenomenon." According to Dr. Coles, typical "crack baby" symptoms (tremors, low birth weight, seizures) are more indicative of prematurity than of drug exposure. She argues that cocaine was only part of a larger problem, not its sole cause, so targeting cocaine and cocaine alone wasn't helpful. Alcohol use during pregnancy, for instance, is much more severe and damaging to the unborn.

Since crack was relatively inexpensive and far more prevalent in poor areas, it was convenient to use this fear to justify classist and racist rhetoric. The use of any mind-altering drug while pregnant should be discouraged. We shouldn't single one substance out and demonize it simply because rich white people are less likely to be caught with it.

Devin Stone, who was interviewed in the film, was exposed to crack in the womb. She went on to be the first person in her family to graduate college, contributing to the false findings.