Psychology

For nearly thirty years, the African American community worldwide has been stereotyped as being the greatest users of crack and cocaine-- a drug that can cause severe anger, depression, anxiety, and other psychological and emotional disorders. Although Caucasians use cocaine much more than African Americans, black cocaine addicts do experience slightly different psychological effects than users of other ethnicities. This is primarily due to their socioeconomic status and customary differences within African American society, and not simply because of their ethnic background. They are not predisposed to using cocaine or having certain mental health complications but because of many factors beyond their control, they face many challenges in terms of avoiding and recovering from drug addiction and abuse.

In today s society, cocaine and excessive drug use has become closely related to the African American community. Ever since crack cocaine appeared in black communities in the 1980s, crime rates, family disruptions, and diseases have drastically increased (Belgrave  Allison, 2010, p. 391). The black population has therefore gained an unfortunate and inaccurate stigma in terms of cocaine and the percentage of the community that uses this drug. In reality, however, cocaine has been used for centuries and African Americans, in fact, do not use the drug as much as many other ethnic groups. By stereotyping black people as being avid cocaine users, society has lost sight of the psychological and physical implications of cocaine, as well as the fact that certain communities are more at risk than others of drug-related behavior-- not because of an uncontrollable desire to use illegal drugs, but because of factors such as socioeconomic status and societal pressures.

Cocaine is a product of the plant called Erythoxylon coca, which is a native to warm climates such as that of the east Andes mountains. It is also grown and cultivated in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Columbia, which produce cocaine with a concentration range from 0.35 to 0.72 (Madras, Colvis, Pollock, Rutter, Shurtleff,  von Zastrow, 2006, p. 239). There are four methods in which cocaine can be taken by a user. First, an individual can administer the drug orally by either chewing or sucking on the leaves of a coca plant. Cocaine can also be turned into a salt-like powder, which can be snorted up through the nasal passages. Since the powder requires a high temperature in order to melt, it is also ideal for rolling and smoking like a cigarette. Some users choose to inject the drug directly into their veins with a needle. In addition, crack cocaine, a cheaper form looks like a sort of rock made out of salt, can also be smoked.  Intravenous, smoked, or insufflated cocaine produces euphoria, heightened energy, alertness, sensory perception, self-confidence, anxiety, and suspicion. Cocaine also decreases appetite, sleep, and fatigue, effects that are short-lived and lead to repeated, frequent use in a short span of time  (Madras et al., 2006, p. 240). The onset of these symptoms are due to cocaine serving as a sort of barrier for a person s neurotransmitters.  Cocaine proficiently transforms intercellular and intracellular signaling, metabolism, electrophysiological responses, morphology, and neural networks, processes implicated in cocaine addiction  (Madras et al., 2006, p. 239). With so many side effects that affect both the mind and the body, it is clear why a cocaine addiction is such a serious problem. The drug has the power to alter one s physical and mental state, and excessive use can result in permanent physical or mental damage-- or even death.

While cocaine is a highly addictive drug, it is unique in the sense that addicts will not necessarily require daily doses in order to satisfy their cocaine cravings. In a clinical experiment conducted by Columbia University and the New York Psychiatric Institute, doctors allowed subjects to self-administer doses of the drug in order to determine the nature of typical cocaine addicts. Findings showed that the drug was normally taken in binges rather than on a constant basis-- that is, subjects would administer several doses of cocaine to themselves within a short period of time, as cocaine highs do not last very long. After a period of cocaine binging, they would go several days without the drug. These findings also indicated that if an individual takes cocaine, they will most likely take another dose within a short period of time (Haney, 2009, p. 10-11). Since cocaine use generally entails a habitual administration of the drug, doctors have been unsuccessful in finding a medication that could end such behavior. Each time the drug is administered, it conditions a user s cognitive behavior to use it again. The application of one particular behavioral theory has also been unsuccessful, as there is not one simple explanation for drug abuse. Psychiatrists may try to use personality theories such as type A and B personalities or various psychoanalytic theories, but they are often too confining and do not always help in determining how to help an addict effectively kick their habits. Even when an individual is able to achieve abstinence from the drug, they may still experience symptoms like panic attacks and sometimes, these setbacks cause patients to relapse back into their addiction (Hersen, Turner,  Beidel, 2007, p. 213). In addition to the process of taking cocaine being so addictive, the body also goes through withdraws with which addicts are unable or unwilling to cope. There are also many factor s in an individual s everyday life that could lead to the onset of a cocaine craving or relapse.  Although relapse is a defining feature of addiction, the factors influencing this behavior are poorly understood. Stressful stimuli, exposure to cocaine-paired cues and cocaine administration increase cocaine craving, yet craving does not necessarily predict self-administration or relapse to cocaine use in treatment seekers  (Haney, 2009, p. 12). It can be inferred that many of the triggers of a cocaine relapse are external rather than internal and in order to help an addict rid themselves of their addiction, it is critical that they learn how to deal with outside triggers.

When it comes to the hardships of everyday life, there are certain populations within the United States that tend to face more hardships than others. African Americans, for example, make up a large portion of people on the lower end of the economic spectrum. This is not to say that poor black people are automatically predisposed to use cocaine but as a community, they do face more risk factors than many other ethnicities. The media in the United States has played a role in bringing drug use by black people to attention. In many rap songs, drug use is even glorified. With hip hop music and culture making drug use appear to be acceptable and glamorous, it is no wonder why so many young African Americans would perceive abstaining from drugs to be anti-social behavior. When children are raised in areas in which illegal drugs are a social norm, they develop a sort of jaded perception about using drugs. To them, cocaine is not a big deal, because they have seen so many people use it. According to the DSM-IV TR model, this way of thinking correlates with the fourth axis, suggesting that environmental and psychosocial environmental factors contribute to a user s cocaine addiction. Since the beginning of rap music in the 1970s, the prevalence of illegal drugs and drug references has sky rocketed and today, more than 63 of rap songs mention illegal drug use (Herd, 2008, p. 168). One explanation is that the drug industry has helped to fund many African American record labels, and shaped the images and careers of several black artists. Since the crack epidemic of the 1980s, cocaine has become widely accepted as a normal part of black society. Whether good or bad, many rappers have recorded songs describing their lives growing up and unfortunately, they often grew up around crack addicts and were exposed to drug use at a young age (Herd, 2008, p. 175). Because of the worldwide popularity of rap music and hip hop culture, society began to label black rappers and thugs as being crack cocaine users. Media exaggeration and a lack of knowledge about minority populations have both   contributed to the construction of racist stereotypes, e.g. claims that most drug users are black people. However, this is generally not the case, as demonstrated by the findings of the British Crime Survey, which indicated that drug use is more widespread among whites than any other ethnic group  (Wanigaratne, Dar, Abdulrahim,  Strang, 2003, p. 40). Even with rap music and hip hop culture being such an influential part of the black community, African American youth are still less likely to use cocaine than white teenagers and young people (McCambridge  Strang, 2005, p. 149). Black cocaine users may publicize their habits but it is evident that it is the white community that makes up the greatest percentage of people who are addicted to illegal drugs.

While there are more white cocaine users than black, quality treatment centers are not as available or accessible to addicts within the black community. Many treatment facilities geared towards African Americans, for example, have not been thorough in addressing habits that users tend to possess. Studies show that the majority of black cocaine users are also light smokers, and that people who smoke are less successful at recovering from a cocaine addictions (Patkar, Vergare, Thornton, Weinstein, Murray,  Leone, 2003, p. 416). Doctors and professionals must therefore be diligent about tending to all factors that seem to hinder an addict s recovery. If smokers who use cocaine are seeking help, perhaps they would be more successful if they were instructed to quit smoking simultaneously with crack or cocaine. It does not help that African American cocaine users generally receive significantly less social support that those in white communities, even though it plays a major role in one s recovery.

Crack use remains a persistent social problem, particularly in low-income, inner-cityneighborhoods  It is increasingly recognized that social support and interpersonal relationships may be motivating factors for, as well as barriers against, reducing drug use. Drug use behavior of social network members, particularly intimate partners, and social support have been found to influence treatment engagement and outcomes. (Riehman, Wechsberg, Zule, Lam,  Levine, 2008, p. 85)

The lack of social support within the African American community can be explained by racial differences. Within black society, for example, social support is much less valued and perceived as important as it is in white communities (Riehman et al., 2008, p. 87). There is also an imbalance between the ratio of black men and women who use cocaine.  Some drug-using women may be more likely to have drug-using male partners because men are more likely to deal drugs. Women may choose to associate with men who will increase their access to drugs  (Riehman et al., 2008, p. 97-98). If black female cocaine users tend to build relationships with male users, then they involve themselves in a perpetuating cycle of drug use that is extremely difficult to break. This also shows how the black community seems to consider men to have more economic power than women, creating a certain dependency among the female population. The African American community may not make up the majority of cocaine users, but they have a much harder time recovering from drug abuse.

There has not been a shortage of African American cocaine addicts in the public eye. Rappers such as Tupac, Method Man, and Snoop Dogg are all famous for doing hard drugs, or at least dealing drugs on the streets before their music careers took off. Whitney Houston is also one of the most famous cases of cocaine addiction in pop culture-- an addiction that changed her reputation as being the best singer in the world to being an avid crack addict, along with Bobby Brown (Herd, 2008, p. 175). Although many cases are dealt with in a routine manner, cocaine has also created another area of black society in which black individuals are often discriminated against or mistreated by the government and law officials. United States Congress addresses crack cocaine with much more severity than the more pure version of the drug. Crack dealers and users are therefore given longer and harsher sentences and since African Americans make up 80 of crack users because of its cheaper price, they endure most of the punishment (Los Angeles Times, 2009). Eugenia Jennings, from Illinois, is an example of the unfairness of laws distinguishing crack from cocaine.  At the age of 23, she was arrested for trading just under 14 grams of crack cocaine  Because the federal government has imposed a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine  she was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. If she had been selling powder cocaine, her sentence would have been half as long  (Los Angeles Times, 2009). Considering the fact that the effects of crack and the powder form of cocaine are identical in their effect on the human body, the difference in punishments for dealing the two types of cocaine is absurd. While crack has been proven to be more addictive, it is only because it is administered via smoking instead of snorted like the powder form and is able to reach the brain quicker. There is no difference, however, in the long-term effects or crack rocks and cocaine powder, and dealers of both types of cocaine should be given the same punishments.

Another case within the United states pertaining to the unfair assumptions about black people and crack or cocaine use was in 1996. In the United States v. Armstrong, it was stated that the government officials were carrying out the crack drug law in a way that was discriminatory towards African Americans. This claim, however, was dismissed.  The fact that all twenty-four defendants were African Americans who were indicted in 1991 in central California for the possession of crack cocaine was not viewed as discriminatory because there was no evidence that the government had failed to prosecute Caucasians or Hispanics   (Lippman, 2007, p. 77). This does not dispute the fact that the majority of crack dealers or people who are in possession of the drug are African Americans, and that they are usually given harsher sentences than Caucasians who are arrested for selling cocaine. Since other ethnic groups are greater users of cocaine, it is interesting how the statistics of court cases and arrests do not reflect this. Instead, they suggest that African Americans are society s greatest offenders.  While African Americans constitute 13 of all monthly drug users, they represent 35 of arrests for drug possession, 55 of convictions, and 74 of prison sentences  (Harvey, 2004, p. 37). Along with being at greater risk of maintaining a cocaine habit due to social circumstances, black users are also at a risk of being given a longer jail sentence or a more severe punishment for handling or dealing the same illegal drugs that are handled and dealt by individuals of other racial groups.

Some of the worst effects of crack or cocaine use involve an individual s psychological well-being.  The Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) study estimated that 71.2 of drug-abusing or drug-dependent people experienced lifetime co morbid psychiatric disorders  , with cocaine addicts being the most likely to develop such mental conditions (Yi-Lang, Kranzler, Gelernter, Farrer,  Cubells, 2007, p. 343). In a study conducted by Dr. McMahon of the University of Florida, the behavior of a group of subjects tested high for psychopathology was observed. Subjects demonstrated frustration with being unappreciated or misunderstood, and were very irritable. After further research, he concluded that  Substance abuse may be linked with attempts to cope with critical attitudes about self and others, social anxieties, and interpersonal frustrations  (McMahon, 2008, p. 200). These subjects also consisted of more drug addicts than other groups consisting of individuals with a lower psychopathology rating, indicating a strong connection between drug abuse and an individual s psychological state. For the purpose of measuring brain activity among cocaine users, one study observed a group of African American addicts.

Among the various components of the central serotonin system, the serotonin transporter modulates central effects of drugs of abuse  Cocaine involves blocking the uptake of both serotonin and dopamine by binding to the transporters specific for each neurotransmitter  Clinical studies have demonstrated serotonin involvement with the manifestation of cocaine use and craving, euphoria, anxiety, and aggression. (Mannelli, Patkar, Murray, Certa, Peindl, Mattila-Evenden, Berrettini, 2005, p. 261)

Abusing cocaine for a long period of time will only worsen these effects on the brain, and can lead to permanent damage. Although there is no evidence stating that African Americans are biologically programmed to be more likely to use crack or cocaine than other ethnic groups, there is evidence regarding their likelihood of developing certain mental conditions that can escalate to damaging levels if illegal drugs are taken on a regular basis. African-Caribbean men, for example,   are more likely than other ethnic groups to be diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychoses   (De Maynard, 2007, p. 27). Black communities are also more likely to attempt to self-medicate themselves when dealing with stress or anxiety, especially since quality therapy and counseling is not usually available to them. Many black men admit to turning to crack in order to relieve their stress in situations such as the loss of a job and if they did not have any crack, then they would feel violent or angry until they were able to find another rock-- indicative of a psychological dependency on the drug resulting in violent behavioral disorders (De Maynard, 2007, p. 35). Various studies involving African Americans have shown   psychological underpinnings for their mental state, implying that a psychological intervention would be a more appropriate course of treatment  but most clinics choose to administer prescription drugs and medications to deal with their cocaine addictions instead (De Maynard, 2007, p. 37). African American women are even more likely than men to be untreated or misdiagnosed for psychological or emotional problems. Depression and anxiety disorder is a key factor in the development of a substance abuse problem but out of the seven million American women who are diagnosed with clinical depression every year, black women are treated much less often than those of other ethnicities (Carrington, 2006, p. 781). Black women are also more prone to other risks associated with crack use. It is not uncommon for them to exchange sex for money in order to fund their drug habit, and they are more likely than men to become single, homeless, and contract sexually transmitted diseases-- all, of which, are highly correlated with posttraumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, anxiety, and other major psychological disorders (Risser, Timpson, McCurdy, Ross,  Williams, 2006, p. 646).

With so many barriers between African American crack and cocaine users, it is difficult to imagine how anyone may actually receive any help. Black women are statistically less likely to seek out treatment than men and even when they do, they often have to drop out of rehabilitation programs due to other factors such as taking care of children, lack of transportation, or being unable to afford medical insurance (Stahler, Kirby, Kerwin, 2007, p. 183). Considering the everyday struggles of African American, particularly the women, it is clear how this population faces many more complications than other ethnic groups may when it comes to the psychological impact of crack and cocaine, and receiving the proper therapy to treat their addiction. There has been, however, a certain treatment center that has proven to be successful in the rehabilitation of several black drug addicts-- church. Traditionally, the black community has demonstrated a greater connection to God and their spiritual needs than others. One study showed that   recovering individuals were able to find meaning and increase self-efficacy through their spirituality by confronting bad feelings with prayer rather than drug use  (Heinz, Epstein,  Preston, 2007, p. 47). Whether or not divine intervention can be credited for their progress is not the question. Instead, this study shows how crack and cocaine addicts require more than the flippant and generic treatment that is typically given to African Americans. Since cocaine has the power to drastically alter one s psyche, it is only natural to treat each individual by addressing their psychological health and what their specific needs are in order to recover from their addiction.

It is not being African American that compels a black person to start using cocaine, but a series of outside triggers. Their psychological state does not differ from other ethnic groups, but their surroundings can absolutely effect the severity of any mental health issues that may occur due to drug use. With black communities suffering from drug addictions more than others, even though other racial groups use cocaine more often, it is obvious that African American crack and cocaine addicts need the same treatment that is available to others.