I see a lot of people talk about this subject with a great deal of authority, but it’s often from outsider, non-academic sources. For example, the hip hop community treats it a known fact that the CIA flooded black communities with crack cocaine in the 80s. Yet, other people view these claims as highly conspiratorial, with little grounding in reality — if the claims are even addressed to begin with. Worst of all, most attempts at truth-seeking quickly devolve into political mudslinging

I would just like to know, from an objective, apolitical, and scholarly perspective, what is the connection (if any) between the CIA and the crack epidemic. Is it akin to saying “Bush did 9/11”? Or is it every bit as bad as some people have been claiming for years?