NCJ Number
171786
Journal
Valparaiso University Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 647-659
Date Published
1997
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Criminalizing children of color who use drugs while patronizing white children who use drugs will only erode the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment efforts and compromise substance abuse prevention campaigns.
Abstract
The use of psychoactive substances by juveniles may constitute an attempt to cope with personal trauma, which may include witnessing or experiencing physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, school violence, street violence, and emotional neglect. In addition to the influence of personal trauma on adolescent behavior, there is the influence of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, physical and mental status, and ethnicity. Policymakers who disapprove of adolescent behaviors spawned by personal trauma and cultural diversity typically adopt approaches designed to punish and deter such behaviors through the fear of punishment. American society has persisted in sustaining a "war on drugs" that threatens to become a "race war," sending messages to young whites that because of their race and affiliation with dominant culture, their use of drugs is permissible. To young African Americans and Hispanics, their drug use is the pretext for incarcerating large numbers of them; and to young Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders, their needs are largely irrelevant to any public policy on substance abuse. 41 footnotes