Milwaukee’s War on Drugs: Looking Ahead

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Milwaukee’s crack cocaine epidemic, which peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, had significant social, economic, and public health impacts on the city. Addiction, like many other illnesses, has no set demographic. This epidemic was a catalyst for trafficking, gang wars, and violent crime.

“You could just see it, little kids running the whole families because their parents were so strung out on drugs. I think it was the destruction of the family, that cocaine brought to the inner cities,” former Milwaukee police Detective Ruben Burgos said in an interview.

 “I mean, that was…” Burgos stops for a moment. “That just destroyed a whole generation of adults. And their children, now in their 30’s and 40’s – half of them are in prison, and that’s why. Because their families were destroyed back then, with their parents, and they didn’t know. They weren’t nurtured.”

The answers to some of the cases of missing people in Milwaukee are likely caught up in the crack cocaine epidemic, a Media Milwaukee review of police files found. One missing person was a drug dealer; others were known addicts, the files show.

By the late 1980s, crack cocaine use soared in Milwaukee, particularly in impoverished neighborhoods. This led to a surge in drug-related crime, including violent crimes and property theft areas like the 3rd Ward, parts of the north side, and the near south side of the city saw increasing drug activity.

According to the National Institutes for Health, the increased use of crack cocaine led to a range of public health issues, including a rise in addiction rates, the spread of HIV/AIDS due to needle sharing, and other health complications. The highly addictive nature of crack meant that many users quickly became dependent, with limited access to treatment and rehabilitation options.

While the prevalence of crack use has decreased, the damage done during the height of the epidemic continued to affect Milwaukee. High incarceration rates, loss of human capital, and the destabilization of families were some of the lasting consequences. Many of those affected by crack cocaine addiction struggled to reintegrate into society after serving long prison sentences, while entire neighborhoods still faced the lingering effects of crime, economic instability, and health issues.

A federal crackdown on all drug possession came swift and staggering in the mid-1980s, one of which being the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This law established a 100:1 sentencing ratio for crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine. For example, someone convicted of possessing 5 grams of crack would receive a minimum of 5 years in prison, while someone convicted of possessing 500 grams of powder cocaine would receive the same sentence. 

Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

“Even simple possession of marijuana saw a severity increase, with the maximum sentence raised to six months for a first offense and one year for a second. This reflected a national trend in the late 1980s to try to ensure greater accountability for all drug offenses, no matter how minor,” Marquette Law Professor Micheal O’Hear wrote in his article, Wisconsin’s War On Drugs – The Cocaine Front.

Growing up on the South Side of Milwaukee, Ruben Burgos was accepted to Marquette Law School, though he chose to pursue his career as a Police Officer. He went on to be at the Milwaukee Police Department for 32 years, serving years as a detective, lieutenant of the intelligence division, and serving in police management. His expertise is in bomb squads, polygraphy, criminal investigations of narcotics, gangs, and homicide. He has taught at Marian University, MATC, and UW-Milwaukee.

“The late 80’s and early 90’s was the crack cocaine epidemic that just destroyed families,” Burgos said. Welcoming yet blunt, much like how you would expect a long-time police officer’s demeanor to be, Burgos spoke about the child neglect that followed the Milwaukee drug boom. “Their parents got hooked into drugs and left them on their own. And that just fostered a whole generation of children who were never taught right from wrong because their parents were so screwed up on the coke.”

Families in many communities were severely affected, with high rates of neglect, domestic violence, and child welfare issues. The epidemic contributed to the destabilization of households, as many parents struggled with addiction.

The ramifications of this time are still seen today, including the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act created a disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine, with crack offenses receiving harsher penalties. Through this act, which prioritized incarceration lengths and police involvement, does not address the root causes of drug addiction. Root causes such as poverty, lack of opportunity, and mental health issues.

What do we do to go forward as a community? How do we societally aid a generation that has been devastated by drugs and addiction? “I think focusing on the little ones, the kids.” Burgos says.

“A lot of help to the kids, and mentoring on the children,” Burgos continues. “Focus on the children and the young parents and get them help to raise their children right. So that eventually, these kids will work themselves to adulthood.”

By the mid-1990s, crack cocaine use in Milwaukee, like in many other cities, began to decline. Factors contributing to this decline included increased law enforcement efforts, changing drug markets, and the efforts of community organizations.

Modernly, Milwaukee is seeing one of the worst overdose fatality rates in the nation, as focus shifted in the late 1990’s from crack cocaine to opioids – which then shifted to heroin, fentanyl, etc. However, addiction still runs rampant. It is a cycle seen nationwide during the now prescription opioid epidemic, an epidemic that we are still seeing repercussions of today.

“The opioid epidemic reaches communities of all kinds. The harm brought by the epidemic crosses all socio-economic, demographic and age ranges – there is no type of person who succumbs to opioid addiction,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a press release.

With settlement money being put towards treatment programs and county-wide opioid addiction prevention, hope floods the city of Milwaukee.

“Milwaukee County has agreed to enter into a second, historic $56 million opioid litigation settlement, as a result of one of three pending federal cases brought by the County against opioid defendants. This settlement, combined with the first $72 million settlement agreed to in late 2021, equals a total recovery of $128 million for Milwaukee County,” Crowley wrote.

“These dollars have the potential to be transformative for our community, especially at a time when we’ve seen the opioid problem, and the suffering of county residents not just continue but intensify,” he said. “Milwaukee County is committed to doing all we can to make the best use of these funds and get life-saving resources into the community.”  

This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into missing people’s cases in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. It was created by an advanced reporting class in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available here.