Drug user settings: a crack house typology

Both lay persons and members of the scientific community have come to view the inner-city crack house as a facility where drug dealers and crack addicts sell, buy, and use crack cocaine. It is suggested in this article that the term "crack house" be unbundled into four more meaningful terms based on the physical conditions of the house, its functionality, and the social relationships that it supports. Two typologies are proposed. The first separates drug houses into four general categories: (1) Crack House, (2) Cop House, (3) Drug House III, and (4) Drug House IV. The second typology categorizes the Crack House into four types: (A) the Party House, (B) the Hit House, (C) the Smoke House, and (D) the Bandominium. Each of these types is explored in detail.