Gender in the Crackhouse

Terry Williams does a very good job in introducing the reader to this little known and forgotten subset of our society. The story focuses on his experiences and observations of a small group of crack and free-base cocaine users. His prose is devoid of moral undertones and is non-judgemental allowing the reading to form his own opinions and motivations.

Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line does not sensationalize or exploit the travails of these people in this lifestyle. This book does not shock anywhere near as much as it educates. Mr. Williams does not sugar coat anything, but he refrains from overstating the obvious. Mr. Williams has also included a nice glossary of terms at the end of the book concerning the crackhouse vernacular.

Terry Williams has contributed to Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line as an author. TERRY WILLIAMS is Professor and Head of the Management Science Department at Strathclyde University. After studying at Oxford and Birmingham he lectured at Strathclyde University in Operational Research before joining Engineering Consultants YARD (now BAe) where he worked for 9 years developing Project Risk Management and as Risk Manager for major projects. He re-joined Strathclyde University in 1992 and continues research and consultancy modeling on major projects, particularly as one of a team supporting multi-million dollar post-project Delay and Disruption claims in Europe and North Ameri (Williams, 25).

What Williams is trying to convey to the readers of the book is that gender differences in behaviors such as substance abuse and physical inactivity. Substance abuse is a preventable and treatable condition that imposes huge costs to society. These costs are measured by disease and death, lost productivity, violence, unwanted or unplanned sex, foster child care, and homeless shelters. A number of issues related to substance abuse differ by gender. Females are more likely than males to initiate substance use to manage depression and anxiety and escalate to abuse in response to these mood disturbances. Depression is also more common sequelae of chronic substance abuse in women (Williams, 26).

Women begin using illicit substances at a slightly later age than men and are strongly influenced by spouses and boyfriends who use. Although males are more likely to report initial exposure to illicit drugs, data suggest that women may be as likely to make a transition to drug use after initial exposure.

A similar pattern is seen in exposure to cigarette smoking ...