The Central Intelligence Agency, which profited from the crack cocaine epidemic it fueled in the 1980s, is behind hip-hop\u2019s glamorization of drugs, according to former cocaine kingpin Rick Ross.<\/p>\n
The reformed drug dealer, who was unaware his cocaine sources were connected to the CIA until an expos\u00c3\u00a9 by the late journalist Gary Webb, said the agency has weaponized mainstream hip-hop to influence America\u2019s youth into pursuing drugs without fear of consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026They were the guys who were behind me when I was selling drugs,\u201d Ross said of the CIA. \u201cAnd now they\u2019re behind hip-hop and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been well documented that the CIA makes monstrous profits from the international drug trade, which likely funds many of its black operations.<\/p>\n
For one thing, the trade of opium, which is used to produce heroin, was nearly extinct in Afghanistan prior to the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, but\u00a0by 2006 the country\u2019s opium trade had increased 3200%<\/a>\u00a0and was supplying 92% of the world\u2019s supply.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the interim government of Hamid Karzai, opium poppy cultivation once again began to skyrocket and opium markets were restored,\u201d Kurt Nimmo\u00a0wrote<\/a>. \u201cAccording to the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), opium cultivation increased by 657 per cent in 2002 in relation to its 2001 level.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe UNDCP estimated 2002 opium poppy cultivation would cover an area between 45,000 and 65,000 hectares.\u201d<\/p>\n In comparison, Afghan opium cultivation in 2001 only covered an estimated 7,606 hectares.<\/p>\n