Endless Barriers: Addiction, Institutions, and People of Color

Abstract

There has been an increased understanding that social stratification in healthcare and discrimination in the criminal justice system continue the legacy of inequality within the United States. However, few studies have examined the direct impact that institutions have on the lived experiences of people of color struggling with self medication and their communities. People of color struggling with self medication are much more likely to see the inside of a jail cell rather than being given options and access to treatment and resources. Research shows that although "African Americans and whites use drugs at similar rates the imprisonment rate for African Americans for drug charges is almost 6 times that of whites" (NAACP.org).The difference in institutional responses for people of color struggling with substance use can be a life or death situation due to the fact that those who don't receive quality treatment and harm reductionist resources are left vulnerable to infection, incarceration, overdose, and a myriad of other risks involving continued drug use. This study seeks to hear the first-hand account of people of color and answer the following questions: How has discrimination in the healthcare and criminal justice system impacted individuals and communities of color struggling with self medication, more specifically have these communities developed their own method of responding to individuals struggling with substance use? If so, do these approaches resemble the punitive response commonly seen in the U.S. or a harm reduction approach? The methods utilized for this study includes the content analysis of three written accounts of people of color who have struggled with self medication. This method of inquiry helps to provide qualitative data and insight into the lived experiences of people of color in order to show how the criminal justice system and healthcare ideologies have hindered their lives and shaped their experiences with self medication.