

by Peter Moskos

September 27, 2009

New Heroin Addicts

“Believe it or not, as a high school teenager, [heroine] was easier for us to get than alcohol,” he said. “It’s cheaper than anything out there.”
That's because alcohol is legal and restricted and heroin is prohibited and unrestricted.

But I guess it's only newsworthy when rich white kids get hooked.

Here's the story in the New York Times.


Adrian said...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought white people did heroin in greater numbers than black people?

PCM said...

Heroin usage rates, as far as I know, are higher among blacks than whites. (see for instance: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/treatan/toc.htm).

But my point isn't here isn't about race. Forgive me for being cynical, but why am I supposed to care if a spoiled rich kid gets hooked when we've got big heroin problems destroying neighborhoods already? I'm supposed to feel for a girl whose first drive in her fancy birthday present/car is to buy drugs?

I also hate the way the article strongly implies that marijuana led to it all.

ChristiansAgainstProhibition.org said...

My 2 cents at the cross-post.

I agree with you Peter, clearly they delighted in trying to drag marijuana in to this as well.

Anonymous said...

I agree here where I live we have a mix of getto and yuppies. Recently a young man was driving a car under the influence of fentanyl patchs his sentence was 5 days in jail and 500.00 fine! Yes he was white and from the yuppie part of town. I do see a major diffrences in the way things are handled in the courts and news based on class not just race. No mention of marijuana thank goodness!