The public's high demand for drugs promises to sustain ethnic gang violence. In addition, especially in poor areas, alienated youth join with similarly disaffected peers and engage in gang violence. Drug-related homicides have significantly increased since the late 1980's, and feuding between rival gangs for the control of drug markets has become a notable feature of metropolitan centers. Moving beyond common, nonorganized street crime, gang members have entered the realm of intraethnic gang rivalry and contend, often violently, with similar newcomers from their own ethnic group for drug trafficking profits. Inner city neighborhoods have witnessed an increase in drug-related violence that frequently involves control of the expanding crack market. Specific examples are cited of how different ethnic gangs conduct their operations and commit violent acts associated with the drug trade.