NCJ Number
163177
Journal
Journal of Black Studies Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (November 1995) Pages: 99-116
Date Published
1995
Length
18 pages
Annotation
After discussing the nature and scope of the drug problem among adolescent black males, this paper considers the social science theories of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Moefi Asante in an effort to better understand drug addiction and trafficking among this population.
Abstract
Durkheim's theory of suicide is relevant because of the numerous adverse socioeconomic factors that operate in the life of the young black male. The young black male may succumb to the negative sociogenic force of the illicit drug culture as either a psychological or physiological escape from his reality. A vicious cycle of self-defeating behavior may develop and lead to suicidal behavior. Karl Marx's theory of capitalism relates to the use of or trafficking in illicit drugs by young black males as a means of economic survival. From the perspective of drug trafficking as an economic adventure, the young black male may come to believe that he will be able to provide for the basic necessities and some of the luxuries of life through the profits gained through the distribution of drugs. According to Asante, an individual participates in self-destructive and defeating behavior and thought processes in part as a result of a lack of knowledge of his people's history and achievements. Once free from his behavior, a youth can go on to be a productive person. 24 references