What is Substance Use About? Assumptions in New York's Drug Policies and the Perceptions of African Americans Who are Low-Income and Using Drugs

• NCJ Number: 229989
• Journal: Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: January - March 2010 Pages: 64-87
• Author(s): Liliane Cambraia Windsor; Eloise Dunlap
• Date Published: January 2010
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA09056; R01 DA021827
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the social impact of relying only on Eurocentric worldviews when developing drug policies that affect African-Americans that are low-income and use drugs.

Abstract

The current article uses intersectionality and standpoint theories to examine the social impact of solely relying on Eurocentric worldviews when developing drug policies that affect low-income African-American communities. It is argued that low-income African-Americans share a unique cultural and historical background that must be taken into account in the development and implementation of policies and interventions that effect this population. Analysis of longitudinal qualitative data will compare the assumptions informing New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws with the worldviews of drug using and low-income African-Americans in New York City, NY, while examining the impact of these policies in participants' lived experiences. Tables and references (Published Abstract)