Credit- Visual Hunt
New Generation drugs
infiltrating Young
Black Homes
By Ebony Satterfield
A drug is any substance (other than
food) that, when inhaled, injected,
smoked, consumed, absorbed, or
dissolved into the body that causes a
physiological change.
An addict is someone who devotes
or surrenders themselves to some-
thing habitually or obsessively.
Addiction is the compulsive need for
and use of a habit-forming substance.
Let’s look at these words. Now break
them down, digest them, and now
apply them. Is this you or someone
you know?? We often get confused
with what our perception tells us to
be true and what reality actually is.
That is what we like to call a gray
area. In our community, we have too
many “grey” areas, and drug addic-
tion is the largest one.
Today’s youth has to be the biggest
growing drug ridden group since the
80’s and it truly saddening how lost
our future is. Given the circumstanc-
es of what we have evolved from, this
seems to be one Pandora that will not
escape our people. From Percocet to
Xanax, to molly and ecstasy pills, just
to name a few of today’s favorites,
is nothing short of being the mod-
ern-day heroine. To walk through the
streets to see an addicted child call-
ing and addicted adult an addict and
be baffled how they do not see the
similarities in their choices is a both-
ersome but dreadfully true reality.
The rate of drug abuse in our com-
munity for youth and young adults
is off the charts with the age range
between 15-30 being the highest age
group for overdosing, and the highest
age group that are currently addicts.
Believing that this is something we
can change, I can see why the hab-
it is starting at a younger age. What
society promotes to our children,
is eventually what OUR world be-
Credit- DailyMail.Uk
comes. With drug acceptance being
so heavily populated by music artists.
Our children and youth idolize this
new fad. Which makes the war on
revamping us as a people hard to do.
Every day, you walk the street or turn
on the radio, or any streaming ser-
vice for that matter, every popular rap
artist song today exudes one of the
following, sex, money, but most of
all prescription drugs. According to
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, African Amer-
ican teens represent 14.2% of the
population that’s currently abusing, or
addicted to drugs. We have the most
broken homes, and in the last 5-10
years, the birth rate of infants addicted
to drugs has tripled. For every 1,000
babies born, 5.6 of them are born in
withdrawal and addiction.
Personally, as a direct connection
with this epidemic, I truly cannot of-
fer answers to combat the current
crisis with our people. We must find
a way to be greater than shallow in-
fluences, and the knowledge of what
is popular for our community is not
what is always best for our commu-
nity. Science says people are born
with addictive tendencies and be-
havioral traits. With what’s happen-
ing not only in the world but most
importantly our world, we have to be
the deciding factors of change. We
as a people must advocate change
for our people. Between losing our
sons and daughters to this disease
called addiction, at some point we
must reclaim, regroup and rebuild
our brokenness. We are responsi-
ble for each other. Black Lives must
matter at all times even when it’s
self-destructive. Enough is enough!!
Extend your hand to help, to love, to
be accountable for what our com-
munity’s future becomes.
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