A Black boy caught with marijuana at school is far more likely to be suspended, arrested, or referred to juvenile justice than a white classmate with the same behavior. Once in the system, he is rarely offered treatment—only punishment. This cycle of criminalization makes recovery far less likely.
Your addiction is not your identity. It is your attempt at survival. You learned, somewhere along the way, that it was safer to be numb than to feel. That was a lesson taught by a world that was cruel to you before you could even speak. But that lesson can be unlearned. black boy addictionz
When we talk about addiction in America, the images that often come to mind are shaped by racial bias—the suburban opioid user, the privileged college student experimenting with stimulants. Left out of that picture is the Black boy or young Black man struggling with substance use, whose suffering is often criminalized rather than treated. A Black boy caught with marijuana at school