Crack: A cheap and deadly cocaine is a fast-spreading menace

In New York City, the sleazy dealers peddling dope in Manhattan's Washington Heights call it "crack." In the south central part of Los Angeles, the desperate addicts chasing an ever more elusive high know it as "rock." On both coasts, and in Chicago, Detroit and other cities throughout the U.S., the drug by either name is an inexpensive yet highly potent, highly addictive form of cocaine that is rapidly becoming a scourge. Pushers sell pellet-size "rocks" in tiny plastic vials for as little as $10. Smoked rather than snorted, a single hit of crack provides an intense, wrenching rush in a...