From bag brides to skeezers: a historical perspective on sex-for-drugs behavior

There are many ways that women support their use of crack cocaine, including sex-for-crack bartering and other forms of prostitution. Empirical studies conducted in the mid-1970s and in the mid-1980s in New York City, and in Chicago in the late 1980s to early 1990s are compared, analyzing similarities and differences between the contemporary crack-prostitution scene and previous prostitution scenes. Findings suggest that the arrival of crack cocaine has directly and indirectly affected the drugs-prostitution nexus by lowering the price of sex for street prostitutes, altering the social status of cocaine, and increasing the level of social disorganization in illicit street activities, including prostitution. Barterers are shown to be the heaviest drug users, using the greatest variety of drugs, using larger amounts of drugs, and using more frequently.