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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1994)
A pril 06, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A2 ------- S ^THtSvir I vôÂAv'ja aw^noM .•.•.•.•.•»>. -W» . V «IY< W4je ÿ o rtla n h (Pbseriier i! \s '■'■« Tracking The Crack Cocaine Epidemic in S tephen L loyd J ohnson Charting the course o f the crack/ cocaine epidemic through the 1980s and early 1990s offers addiction re searchers im p o rta n t in fo rm a tio n about the way urban communities react to entrenched patterns o f addic tion. Has crack/cocainc use tapered o ff in the 1990s? Are individuals vo lu ntarily abandoning their addic tions because o f the losses they are experiencing? Are there patterns o f crack use that w ill allow individuals to have life long addictions to this drug? W hat are the possibilities o f individuals and communities moving largely into the use o f depressant drugs, and the crack/cocaineepidemic w ind ing down as we approach the end o f this decade? THE NATIONAL PICTURE: The smoking o f cocaine through the process o f free-basing began to be noticed in the largest cities o f the United Suites by 1979 (Inciardi, 1993). Seen m ainly in individuals and social groups who were already addicted to inhaling powdered cocaine (chloral hydrate), this specific type method o f preparing cocaine for smoking lasted w ell into 1984, when it began to be largely replaced by crack/cocainc use. Out o f seventy individuals applying fo r outpatient care at our Seattle clinic in 1993, only six had initiated their cocaine use with freebase cocaine. Interviews completed in treat ment programs in Atlanta, Philadel phia, New York C ity, San Francisco, and Seattle in the summer o f 1992 indicate thatcrack/cocaine was being used in each o f these cities by 1981 or 1982. Many older individuals had 7- 12 year histories o f intranasal use o f cocaine or freebasing cocaine previ ous to their use o f crack, w hile most younger ¡individuals had a only one to two year histories o f interm ittent use o f powder cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimates that in house holds measured in 1991 3.9 m illio n individuals had tried crack in their life times w ith an estimated 35.9% o f the total being A frican-Am erican. In measuring the rates o f cocaine use among male booked arrestees in the major urban areas o f Philadelphia, New Y o rk C ity, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and M iam i, these cities continue to have the highest levels o f cocaine use in crim inal populations. DUFquarterly reports on booked male arrestees in these cities in 1992 indi- cate a 52-63% positive lest fo r co- caine, supporting some researchers b elieflh at the cocaine epidemic is far from over. A PROFILE OF INDIVIDUAL ADDICTION: W hile television portrayals o f crack addicted individuals are o f ur- ban African-American youth, thetypi- cal cocaine addict is a white, Latino, or African-Am erican male, about 30 years o f age, who goes to w ork every day and spends between 10-80% o f his paycheck on his addiction. The stereotype for female crack/cocaine addicts is that they are prostitutes, welfare mothers, or a part o f the c rim i nal population. The actual female crack using population is a very ra cially m ixed w ith high levels o f un- employment. W orking females make up a hidden but significant part ot the crack addicted population as well. As the crack/cocainc epidemic has move across the face o f the United States between 1981 and 1994, it has in c re a s in g ly em braced a m ore d i verse p o p u la tio n . C ocaine use at fir s t was la rg e ly fo u n d am ong o ld e r w h ite and A fric a n A m e ri- can m ales. H o w e v e r, it appears the average age o f use has c re p t d o w n w a rd so th a t th irte e n years into the e p id e m ic we have a c ra ck using p o p u la tio n th a t is ten years younger. Cocaine use in the 1980s moved beyond the entertainment industry and W all street crowd into general use in the racially diverse urban popu- lation. L ike any highly contagious discasecrack/cocaineaddictionpasses l'rom friend to friend and fam ily mem ber to fam ily member. Sixty five year old women w ith no prior history o f drug use, who have allowed their children to deal from their homes, P rof . M c K inley B urt ELL, AS WE DIM THE HOUSE LIGHTS AND RAISE THE CURTAIN ON THE SECOND ACT OF THE PERFORMANCE, PERHAPS WE CAN COME UP WITH A MORE UPBEAT EVALUATION. The recent articles on M in o rity Business on Alberta Street that ap peared in both the Oregonian and W illam ette week newspapers don’t offer much encouragement. I f it is true as the media intimates - that here may be rascals involved - - then, who else is there to blame but the taxpayers who let the con take place? (Especially the A frican A m e ri can ones who claim at the very same tim e that they are sharp enough to be in business). Last week, we spoke o f “ Boards o f Directors” , heavily endowed w ith African Americans, but who, never theless, failed to watch the store w hile ownership o f m illion s in real estate went to interests outside the northeast comm unity. People in some o f the neighbor hood organizations are asking “ who got paid o ff - surely, these publicity - loving college graduates and' ta lk ing heads’ arc not ju st stupid?” W ell, what do you think? Then, there are those who just sit placidly by and vote as asked; happy for media attention and photo ops. Never ask to “ see the books” . N ow , in another place in this newspaper. I cite some problems in / ’N on -p rofit” enterprises; Perspec tives; “ The Health Care Agenda Con tinued” . A ctu a lly, the basic disabili ties that occur in both black 'F o r P ro fit’ and ‘ N on -P ro fit’ enterprise have a common source (not to say we don’ t have the same problems among whites in a sim ilar socio-economic grouping — but who can afford it?). I have drawn the reader’ s atten tion to some basic preparation and techniques I employed in structuring several o f my successful enterprises. Though these ventures were non pro fit, the basic procedures and meth odology were the exact same approach employed in my “ for p ro fit” enter prises and my business class designs at the university. When you wish to avail your-self o f people’ s money, assistance or goodw ill, there are sev eral starting points that w ill help alot. Invest some o f your own and/or risk some o f yourtime/resources in a dem onstration project. You do believe, don’t you? So, why is it then that I have these periodic tides o f com m unity activists (or wannabes) that threaten to over- whelm-me before I can get the door firm ly shut or the phone under con trol - they come in cycles, like lo custs, or the swallows to Capistrano. You wonder what environmental or cultural factor activates them to visit you, given that there has been a w orld wide information explosion and “ how to” expositions o f every process ever conceived by man are now available on the tube, C D -R O M or otherwise easily retrievable. A t first, you try reasoning w ith the ‘ old heads’ who should know better. “ Look, years ago when I was at Portland State U niversity, I had time, staff and support facilities including stenographic services, photo repro duction and meeting facilities - and a mission to educate and prepare the ‘ youth’ for the very traumatic times we are facing today (some o f you were ^Tortlanh (¡Observer (USPS 959-680) O R E G O N ’S O L D E S T A F R IC A N A M E R IC A N P U B L IC A T IO N Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson Joyce Washington Publisher The P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R is located at 4747 N E M a rtin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015 D ead lin e f o r a ll subm itted m aterials: A rticles: M onday, 5 :0 0 pm Ads: Tuesday Noon P O S T M A S T E R : Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second Class postage paid at Portland, Oregon. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned. I f accompanied by a self addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage, w ithout the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. © 1994 T H E P O R T LA N D OBSERVER. A L L RIGHTS RESERVED, R EPRO DU C TIO N IN W H O LE OR IN PART W IT H O U T PERMISSION IS PR O H IBITED . Subscriptions :$30.00 per year. The Portland O b scrvcr-O rcg o n ’ s Oldest African-Am erican Publica- tio n - is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New Y ork, N Y , and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver in my classes). N ow , her you are all these years later w ith a game to inter pose yourself between ‘ the man’ and your brothers fo r a blood p ro fit (the youth are dying in the street) and rip me o ff too.” “ You tell me 'w h o got some big money’ and then insult me by o ffe r ing me m inim um wages fo r time, expertise and facilities after I tell you good help is expensive - m an-pow er $17.50 an hour, attorney $90, pro posal w riter $30.00 - and that my effective rate was $32.50 an hour when I retired and later when doing programs for the government, IB M and the U.S. Forest Service and School D istrict. There are other problems beside greed and ineptitude that besiege the com m unity. Shenanigans go on w ith individuals and organizations you’d never suspect. Lawyers o f my ac quaintance send me photostats o f cor porate documents bearing my “ signa ture” when I ’ ve never even heard o f the group. “ Thought you m ight like to see this Mac! - W e knew you didn’ t have any part o f this o u tfit’ s opera tion” . Y o u ’ d be surprised. Tw ice in the last several years I ’ve had to have my lawyer recover monies from culprits who have forged my name on a grant and on checks. I suppose the authorities figure its no use spending the taxpayer’ s money to incarcerate them because they w ill have to turn around and support their wives and children on welfare - and then, too, “ they only rip o ff other blacks” . I have no problem at a ll w ith people who are developing legitimate programs to belter the comm unity and who believe like I do in spending their tim e and money to insure their success. Continued next week. New Safety And Health Publication Announced A new publication to help farm and ranch employers identify w ork place hazards and reduce injuries and illnesses is available at no cost. “ Occupational Hazards Common to Farming and Ranching in Oregon- ASelf-InspectionChecklist” providcs guidance to preventing and elim inat ing hazards common to this industry. The booklet was developed by the Oregon O ccupational Safety and Health D ivision (O r-O S H A ) at the request o f the agricultural industry. O R -O S H A ’ s Consultative Ser vices Section has been w orking with several employer associations to help their industries reduce injuries and illnesses. Easy-to-use booklets iden tify in g workplace hazards have been developed as one tool toward this goal. In addition to the farm and ranching b oo kle t, self-inspection checklists w ill soon be available from OR -O SH A for the retail food indus try , construction and rem odeling, automotive trades, and garbage haul ing and recycling. For a free copy o f any o f these publications, or fo r a list o f other inform ation materials, contact OR- O S H A ’ s technical Resource Center at (503) 378-3272 or 1 -800-922-2689 (message only). the most addictive form o f the most addictive drug known to man, is rap idly becoming the new social drug o f urban Am erica. AN END TO THE COCAINE EPIDEMIC? What are the c hances o f the crack/ cocaine epidemic just spending itself out or m oving into a fu ll epidemic o f heroin and alcohol use? Many re searchers (A n s le y H a m id /D a v id Smith) suggest that downward trends in cocaine use experienced in 1990- 91 indicate a retreat o f the fu ll scale use o f cocaine found in the 1987-89 period. Some researches have sub scribed to a theory that stim ulant drug addiction is cyclic in nature and even tually moves into a period where de pressant drug use becomes more epi demic. Significant increases in the intranasal use and sm oking o f high grade heroin in New Y o rk C ity, grow ing alcohol use among crack using populations, and increasing use o f IV C iv il More On Minority ‘Show’ Business by have become addicted. Senior males become addicted as they frequentpros- titutes who are cocaine addicts. Crack, heroin on the west coast w ould seem to support such beliefs. Other researchers understanding o f the crack/cocaine epidemic is that it is not governed or motivated by any one single cause or drug us trend, but is the resu ltof a m u llip lic ity o f events. These m ultiple factors w ould include supply levels o f cocaine from Peru, B olivia, and C olum bia, economic conditions in U.S. inner cities, law enforcement trends, prevention and treatment efforts, and drug quality. Crack cocaine use in 1994 has become w ell integrated into patterns o f prostitution and crim e in urban America. A significant part o f the community isdependenton the “ crack economy” for housing, food, and in come. Drug dealing, increasingly ac complished by beeper and cellular phone, is largely unseen by the gen eral public. From where we sit the cocaine epidemic has not retreated, but moved into w orking populations that are less visible, less like ly to be arrested, and more lik e ly to continue long term crack cocaine use. ¿Joupncil Following The Doctor’s Orders B ernice P owell J ackson gcncy rooms to pay for the costs o f HEN PEOPLE USE THE TERM “RENAISSANCE MAN" THEY ARE USUALLY REFERRING TO A PERSON HIGHLY CULTIVATED IN BOTH THE ARTS AND SCIENCES, LIKE THE ARTIST AND SCIENTIST LEONARDO DA VINCI. running the clinic. B ut some evenings are devoted to his other love, jazz. Trading his stetho scope fo r the piano keyboard, Dr. Myers has found another way to raise funds fo r the Tchula health c lin ic - through jazz concerts w ith his trio. Dr. Myers developed a love for the music o f his people at age 11, when he began playing the trumpet. Today he plays piano and trumpet not only in surrounding M ississippi towns, but in fund-raising concerts across the country. Funds raised are used fo r the c lin ic and fo r a m entoring program for rural youth who have an interest in medicine. He even keeps a piano at the c lin ic to help relieve stress-both his own and the patients’ . Dr. M yers is a man o f many talents driven to serve the people o f the ru ra l M is s is s ip p i delta. The founder and pastoroflheTchula Bible Fellowship BaptistChurch, he clearly believes that ministering to the people o f God is a full-tim e, m ulti-faceted by There’ s a modern day renais sance man liv in g and w orking in rural M ississippi. Dr. Ronald Myers, Sr. is a practicing physician in Tchula, M ississippi. He’ s also a Baptist m in ister and a jazz musician. And he’s 100 percent dedicated to providing health care to the A frican Am erican comm unity o f Tchula. Tchulais a Mississippi delta com m unity o f 2,000 people, many o f whom are unemployed, w hile others are agricultural w orkers,, most o f whom live below the poverty line. Dr. Myers originally came to work in nearby Bclzioni, as a part o f his com mitment to the National Public Health Service, to repay his medical school tuition. When he completed his ser vice in Belzioni, he saw the need for health care in Tchula, where there had been no doctor in eight years, and he established a rural health c lin ic there. L ittle did he expect to receive resistance from the government. But the county, state and federal govern ments fe lt that thccom m unity was too impoverished to support a clinic and would supply no funds fo r his effort. So, remembering the old slave adage about God making a way out o f no way, Dr. Myers used his own funds to renovate a deserted restaurant for the clinic and works days at the c lin ic and ly nights many nights in in nearby nearby hospital hospital emer- emer job. Dr. M yers’ newest challenge is taking on state and federal health care issues as they impact his com m unity. He challenged the M ississippi De partment o f Health, w hich had never hired an A frica n Am erican in one o f its top 16 positions, w hile 80 percent o f its A frican American employees work in service and maintenance. He also pointed to the Governor’ s C om mission on Health Care, w hich had only three A frican Americans out o f its 31 members in a state w ith a 37 percent A frican Am erican popula tion. “ There arc no A frica n A m e ri cans sitting at the health care deci sion-making tables in M ississippi,’ ississippi, says Dr. Myers, “ so the people in the comm unity can’ t be empowered,” he added. The state has now set up a m inority task force to make recom mendations. Last summer those e f forts led to a march and rally held in downtown Jackson. M eanwhile, Dr. M yers co ntin ues to challenge the federal govern ment and its refusal to support the Tchula Fam ily Health C lin ic, w hile planning to support a nearby new clinic w ith no history o f service to the poor people in his com m unity. As a member o f the Interreligious Health Care Access Campaign, he is in the forefront o f challenging the health care reforms proposed by the C linton A dm in istra tio n to include q uality health c a rt for rural people o f color. Education is also important to Dr. Myers. He devotes some o f his own time to visiting schools and ta lk ing to students about jazz and about careers in medicine. Now he is spon soring, together w ith the M ississippi Legislative Black Caucus, a scries o f health education activities on black college campuses. The first is a con ference in Jackson to be held in June. Every now and then in life one finds someone who destroys stereo types. Ronald Myers, physician, jazz musician, m inister, educator, com m unity advocate is not a stereotypical physician or musician or m inister. He is truly a man fo r all seasons, a man comm itted to his people, a renais sance man in the M ississippi delta. Thanks, Dr. Myers. Thanks from us all. ( I f you w ould like to reach Dr. Myers, w rite to the M yers Founda tio n , P .O . B o x 6 3 7 , T c h u la , M ississippi 39169). 59169). Demand More, Get More . . . W ith U.S. students ranking be hind those in most developed coun tries academically, w ith rising teen age pregnancies and guns in schools, parents and educators should be de manding tougher standards. But in the classroom and the liv in g room, Americans are demanding less o f their kids-and getting less. Parents need to remember that great expectations are the key to children’ s success. To help build children’ s self con « O _______ ■_____ C t n n i n r r ” t r i v n c r ing” h ild r o n ii f children riim P U /i gives 1. Rem em ber w h o ’ s who. Stan dards are set by parents, society and schools, not by kids. Make expecta tions clear and don’ t send double messages. Listen to your children, but let them know that you set the rules. 2. D on ’ t accept q u ittin g . A c cording to one expert, i f the average Am erican student can’ t solve a math problem w ith in 10 minutes, he gives up. Teach your children to stick w ith tasks and strive repeatedly for suc cess. 3. G ive c h ild re n chores. Regu lar, m eaningful household duties re inforce responsibility to others, build confidence, and help children view themselves as valuable members o f their fam ilies. A long-term study o f inner-city males who grew up in the 1930s shows that those who had regu lar chores as children proved to be happier and more successful in every respect o f their adult lives. Illin o is. A c h ild ’ s tasks can be basic, bug “ Selfesteem and self confidence should carry clear responsibility. One don’t come from being told you arc 7-year-old was assigned to m onitor great,” she adds. “ You get them by the fam ily soap and toothpaste sup facing challenges and mastering them ply. When one or the other was about through hard w ork and persistence. to run out, his job was to replace it Parents must stop indulging c h il from the cupboard or go shopping dren andcrcatc instead an atmosphere w ith his mother to stock up. o f high expectations, says the A p ril 4. B u ild scaffolding. “ Scaffold- 1994 Reader’ s Digest. Here’s how: fidence parents and educators try to make children feel good about them selves. Kids arc repeatedly reminded they arc “ special” , praised for each accomplishment, and rewarded for their schoolwork not w ith grades but w ith “ smiley faces” slickers o f ap proval. W hat this translates into is “ A nything I do is good enough,” says L ilia n Kate, professor o f early c h ild hood education at the University o f a fram ework to reach upward step-by-step. Scaffold building parents seize opportunities to equip children w ith skills to move higher on their o w n -fo r example, teaching a ch ild to use reference ma terials to answer a question. 5. Encourage worthwhile fun. Steer children towards after-school activities that involve the m ind and foster independence, like reading, m odel-building, stamp collecting or cooking. One California study showed / ’latchkey children” were least lik e ly to get into trouble when parents set parameters foraftcr-school recreation. 6. Don’t solve their problems. It’ s easy for adults to step in when things go wrong for a c h ild -a n argu ment w ith a playmate, a lost library book, an overspent allowance. I t ’ s painful to sit back when a ch ild is being published for misbehaving in school. Yet each o f these tough mo ments teaches important lcssons-thal actions produce consequences. 7. Point the way to the stars. The key to a c h ild ’ s confidence and success is support from parents, teach ers and other adults. Once you make it clear that you expect the best from your children, offer encouragement to help them achieve their goals.