http://www.drcarlhart.com/deal-with-the-pain-that-leads-to-the-problem/
How did rural drug problems come to inspire compassion rather than contempt?
Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, in a State of the State address devoted to what he called a “heroin crisis,” urged the state to address addiction “as a public health crisis, providing treatment and support, rather than simply doling out punishment, claiming victory and moving onto our next conviction.” Public officials throughout rural America, even law-and-order types, have echoed these sentiments.
But how did rural drug problems come to inspire compassion rather than contempt? Mind you, I support this enlightened approached. But, let’s be clear, “rural” means we’re talking about white folks. Can you imagine Gov. George Wallace of Alabama, at the height of the so-called crack epidemic, urging Alabamians to try crack as a health crisis? Even northern liberals, back then, were calling for life sentences for anyone caught selling crack cocaine. The disdain expressed toward those who used or sold crack was intense and the racialization of the issue was lost on no one. An astonishing 85 percent of those sentenced for crack cocaine offenses at federal level were black, even though the majority of users of the drug were white.
In light of our approach to past urban drug problems, forgive my tempered enthusiasm for the epiphanies of rural public officials. “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious,” James Baldwin once said, “is to be in a rage almost all the time.”
Nonetheless, we need to move the focus from the drug that is used to the person who is using it. No drug is inherently more evil than the other and the overwhelming majority of drug users do not become addicted. This shows that the drugs themselves are not the problem.
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