racism

“The Once and Future Drug War.” by James Marson et al.

Sami Ahmad

Marson, J., Wernau, J., Luhnow, D. (2022, January 22). The once and future drug war. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-once-and-future-drug-war-11642780895

In the newspaper “The Once and Future Drug War” by James Marson, Julie Wernau, and David Luhnow, published by The Wall Street Journal

on January 22, 2022, the contributors discuss the current state and potential future of drug policy in the United States. Press argues that

despite efforts to shift towards a more compassionate and health-oriented approach to drug use, the United States is still largely pursuing a

punitive approach that disproportionately affects communities of color. He notes that the opioid epidemic has brought about some changes in

how drug addiction is viewed, but that these changes have been slow to take root. The author also explores the role of law enforcement and the

prison-industrial complex in perpetuating the drug war, and suggests that decriminalization and harm reduction strategies could be more

effective in addressing drug-related issues. Ultimately, Press concludes that significant changes to drug policy will require a shift in societal

attitudes towards drug use and addiction, as well as a willingness to address the underlying social and economic issues that contribute to drug

use.

  1. “The drug war has devastated communities of color, criminalized addiction, and contributed to mass incarceration. It has done little to reduce drug use or availability, while creating a host of new problems, such as the spread of HIV and other blood-borne diseases among injection drug users” (Marson et al, 2022).
  2. “The drug war has also undermined public health, by discouraging drug users from seeking medical care and harm reduction services for fear of arrest or punishment. And it has diverted resources away from other pressing public health issues, such as the opioid epidemic and rising rates of overdose deaths” (Marson et al, 2022)

“The War on Drugs That Wasn’t: Wasted Whiteness, ‘Dirty Doctors,’ and Race in Media Coverage of Prescription Opioid Misuse” by Julie Netherland et al.

Sami Ahmad

Netherland, J., & Hansen, H. B. (2016). “The war on drugs that wasn’t: Wasted whiteness, “Dirty doctors,” and race in media coverage of prescription opioid misuse. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 40(4), 664–686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-016-9496-5

The article “The war on drugs that wasn’t: Wasted whiteness, “Dirty doctors,” and race in media coverage of prescription opioid misuse” by

Netherland and Hansen examines the racial biases in media coverage of the opioid epidemic. The authors argue that the media often depicts

opioid addiction as a problem of poor and non-white individuals, ignoring the reality that opioid addiction affects people of all races and

socioeconomic statuses. Furthermore, the authors discuss how the media has portrayed prescription opioid misuse as a result of “dirty doctors”

rather than holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the epidemic. The article highlights the concept of “wasted

whiteness,” which refers to the idea that white people who struggle with addiction are portrayed sympathetically while non-white people with

addiction are criminalized. Finally, the authors call for a shift in the media narrative to acknowledge the true nature of the opioid epidemic and

to address the systemic issues that contribute to addiction.

  1. “Media coverage of prescription opioid misuse is characterized by the same racializing dynamics that have shaped the coverage of other drug problems: it overrepresents urban problems, ignores rural and suburban ones, portrays Black and Latino users as pathological, and whites as victims” (Netherland et al, 2016).
  2. “By locating the problem within individual doctors and users, this narrative deflects attention from systemic issues that make opioid misuse more likely, such as the aggressive marketing of painkillers and a lack of access to addiction treatment” (Netherland et al, 2016).