With the recent developments in Hip Hop involving Katt Stacks, Soulja Boy, and a trail of cocaine in a hotel room…it’s very apparent that the public shock amongst African Americans demonstrates that most of us still believe that there’s a such thing as black drugs and white drugs. Even after T.I. and Tiny’s recent bust in LA, fans of both couldn’t make any sense out of rumors that the two could have been caught with a Meth in their rented vehicle, as if the color of one’s skin somehow has anything to do with the drugs they are most likely to use. This is an ignorant observation, and I hope that I will be able to put it to rest by the end of this article.
Crack cocaine is hailed as one of the leading illegal substances responsible for the destruction of the African American community. The drug hit the scene in the late 80s, and has been the culprit of many broken homes ever since. As a result, we as a people have been programmed to believe that it is a black drug. However, African Americans are not the only race to lose loved ones to the addictive narcotic.
After the increasing popularity of Ecstasy a decade or so ago, teens have now moved on to a more intense drug of choice. Now Meth is one of the leading drugs amongst teenagers, with Anti-Meth campaigns becoming more and more disturbing in hopes to break teens out of a deadly addiction. While it appears that the drug affects white teens more so than minority teens, can we really be so sure that our children can’t fall victim to the same drug that so many others have?
People become addicted to drugs for many reasons. However, race has little to do with any of that. Rarely do people get on drugs because they are white, black, Asian, or Hispanic; drug abuse is usually a result of psychological issues and economic factors.
Simply put, a person more likely experiencing emotional distress is most likely to become addicted to any substance, rather it’s alcohol, sleep medication, meth, or marijuana.
And when it comes to drugs, it all comes down to availability. It’s no coincidence that crack cocaine is sold more on the corners of poor and impoverished black neighborhoods, than the upscale white neighborhoods. In essence, people buy the drugs that are available by their respective dealers, in their perspective neighborhoods.
If a black celebrity has millions of dollars at their expense, why wouldn’t they purchase Meth, Heroine, Cocaine, or Ecstasy? They have the cash to spend, and an addiction to feed. Not once did they stop to think they shouldn’t purchase these drugs because they were black, so why is skin color an issue to you?
If that drug reaches your neighborhood, young black kids are most likely to try it.
So what’s the solution? We have to tackle the ignorance in our communities regarding drugs. We have to teach our children that all drugs are dangerous. We can’t only speak to them about the dangers of crack cocaine, but neglect telling them why Meth, Heroine, and Ecstasy are just as deadly. Because if they end up in the right place at the right time, they too can become another statistic, regardless of their skin color. Let’s rise above the ignorance regarding drug addiction, and take the proper measures to teach our children to not only say no to drugs, but understand the risks of every single one of them.
