CRE SOC111 HealthQuiz

 

Celitha Edwards (Health)

417

 

 

Racial Prejudice and Spending on Drug Rehabilitation: The role of Attitudes Towards Blacks and Latinos

 In an attempt to gain a better understanding of drug rehabilitation policies researchers set out to determine any possible factors that affect the policy making process. Their goal was to establish a relationship between race and people's willingness to fund rehabilitation facilities for minorities (Nielsen, Bonn Wilson,2010). This article focuses its attention on Blacks and Latinas. The Latinos are often times an overlooked group in studies such as this. It is important that we explore the effects of prejudice on all minority groups individually.

 This data was gathered from the General Social Survey. There findings are that there is indeed a relationship between race and rehabilitation funding (Nielsen et al 2010). Prejudice attributes to the discrepancy between funding. The researchers refer to this process as color coding. Color coding suggest that the level of urgency and importance of rehabilitation facilities is based on the color of those in need. Color coding is synonymous with more modern forms of prejudice. (Nielsen et al 2010).

This article does explain that it is not just prejudice that keeps funding limited. It is also the stereotypical thinking surrounding minorities. "Cultural and motivational deficiencies" as stated in the article, are the new culprits to be blamed for minorities failure to launch (Nielsen et al 2010). These attitudes lead people to believe that minority groups cannot be rehabilitated. Therefore, the attitude is why waste the money on programs that will not have a positive outcome.

 

Armored with the data concerning the way race plays a role in rehabilitation, I chose to look into the way race affects other drug policies. In the article Race and Inequality in the War on Drugs, the research sheds light on the racial inequality of the Drug War here in America (Provine,2011). This article is a collection of numerous data outlets.

Though the War on Drugs was established to eradicate all illicit drugs in America, it has been very unsuccessful. Drugs continue to flood the streets and invade the homes of Americans of all walks of life. The discrepancy is revealed in the arrest made annually for drug related charges. African Americans are incarcerated for drug related crime at a much greater frequency than Whites (Provine,2011). The war on drugs has been successful in destroying families in the inner city and depriving African American offenders their rights upon release from the correctional facility.

 

Based on the findings of these two articles, I conclude that there needs to be some major changes implemented in the way in which America addresses the drug problem and rehabilitation. America can no longer allow past prejudices and new slanted thinking to affect the way they treat those on drugs.