Multiple Styles of Recovery for African Americans

By pinguino k CC BY 2.0

Key Words: Blacks/African Americans, Men, Addictions, Substance use disorders, Addict

A popular television commercial advertising addictions treatment ends with the phrase, "You can't beat addiction on your own. No one can!" The commercial then displays an 800 number for you to call if you need help. The idea that everyone needs to go to a treatment center to begin recovery is untrue. Solo recovery is the most common pathway of recovery, particularly for individuals who are in the early stages of addiction and individuals who have a great deal of recovery capital. That is internal and external assets that they can bring to bear on their recovery. Examples include success before addiction; a good education; highly employable; positive family support; and they live in a community that supports recovery, etc.

The idea that there is only one way to recover was very popular in the 1980's when clients were called "addicts" and the one solution to address the addiction was a 28 day stay in a hospital. Much has changed! We now know that persons seeking recovery have multiple ways of initiating recovery. In an article entitled multiple styles of recovery for African American Men, the authors highlight multiple styles of recovery including treatment-assisted recovery; medication-assisted recovery; 12 step recovery; harm reduction; temporary drug substitution; religious pathways; cultural pathways and quantum change, sudden overnight transformation. This was the pathway of recovery for actor Samuel L. Jackson.

When Jackson was in treatment for crack addiction, he received a phone call from movie director Spike Lee, who invited him to play the role of a "crack addict" in the movie Jungle Fever. Jackson dropped out of treatment to play a role that he qualified for in the real world. In one scene in the film, Jackson is shot and killed by his father. He stated, "When I heard the sound of the gun, it killed the active addict in me." Jackson is in long-term recovery. To learn more about multiple styles of recovery for African American Men click here.

Down with Dope, Up with Hope!

Key Words: African Americans with substance use disorders, Substance abuse prevention, and African American communities

As Barack Obama is leaving office as the first African-American President of the United States, the media talks daily about his opposition parties plan to dismantle his "signature or most important legislation," that being Obama Care. Obama Care provides medical care for 20 million Americans who otherwise would be uninsured. Some experts believe that if this legislation is overturned, the Presidents legacy will be destroyed.

There is a part of his legacy that will never be destroyed. The hope he has given to millions of African American youth who now believe they can be anything they desire to be, including President of the United States! The picture included in this blog post is of 5-year-old Jacob Philadelphia. As Jacob was leaving the White House, he asked a question to President Obama. Jacob asked, "I want to know if my hair is just like yours? " This picture speaks volumes.

The title of this post, " Down with Dope, Up with Hope " is a frequent quote used by Civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, Sr. Hope is an important ingredient in substance abuse prevention in African American communities. Hope allows youth to believe that success is possible. For African Americans with substance use disorders in need of treatment, hope is also an important motivator. Particularly for those in communities who experience despair due to extreme poverty. A Native American outreach worker said it best. "My clients don't hit bottom; they live on the bottom. If we wait for them to hit bottom, they will die. The obstacle to their engagement in treatment is not an absence of pain; it is an absence of hope."

If We Knew Better, We Would Do Better: Time to Release African Americans with Substance Use Disorders From Prison

By Adria Richards - Flickr: CC BY-SA 2.0

Key Words: African Americans with substance use disorders

The title of this blog post, "If we knew better, we would do better," comes from late poet Maya Angelou in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey. This quote could easily be applied to the high imprisonment rates of African Americans with substance use disorders. Following the cocaine related death of All American college basketball player, Len Bias (University of Maryland), the US Congress intensified its war on drugs. This led to millions of Americans being arrested for possession of small amounts of drugs. Disproportionately, African Americans with Substance use disorders (approximately one million). As a part of the war on drugs, congress passed mandatory minimal sentences for possession of small amounts of cocaine. In some instances 20 to 30 years, in other instances, life sentences. These arrests were not based in Science. They were primarily based upon the stigma of cocaine and the betrayal of African Americans as the primary user of this drug. Today we now know that alcohol and tobacco do more damage to society than all illicit drugs combined.

At the time of this writing, the country is in the midst of a heroin epidemic. More Americans are dying from drug overdoses than gun violence. The face of addiction has now shifted from African Americans addicted to crack cocaine to white suburban youth addicted to heroin. Congress has responded to the current crisis by increasing the addictions treatment budget by a billion dollars. Cities and states are drafting more legislation that includes alternatives to incarceration. While our consciousness has awaken to the fact that addiction is an illness that needs to be treated, lets remember the millions incarcerated for non violent drug offenses. At the time of this post I just read an article that indicated that President Barack Obama pardoned 1000 persons in federal prisons for non violent drug offenses. While this is a good start it is not enough. Programs such as the National Alliance For The Empowerment of The Formerly incarcerated will grow in importance. There mission is to mobilize and organize ex-offenders to fight for their citizenship, expungement legislation, reduction of sentences for non violent drug offenses and to help those leaving prison successfully reenter society. According to the Director, Benneth Lee, "Laws created the war on drugs. If ex-offenders united, we could swing any election."

Benneth Lee Website: www.naefi.com