I remember this well. Crime, drug, and gang hysteria were very big in the 90s. "Gangs are using pagers to sell drugs to children" was a quick and easy way to demonize them and ensure that they get banned hastily, without a lot of questions.
The funny thing is that in political discussion, drug, crime, and gang hysteria are back. Rates of crime and gangs are much lower than the 90s. With drugs, fentanyl and its difficulty to dose correctly is definitely more deadly. But the rhetoric is pretty similar to the crack epidemic and the period shortly after.
The funny thing is that in political discussion, drug, crime, and gang hysteria are back. Rates of crime and gangs are much lower than the 90s. With drugs, fentanyl and its difficulty to dose correctly is definitely more deadly. But the rhetoric is pretty similar to the crack epidemic and the period shortly after.