Westerners, especially Americans, are so puritanical that anyone associated with drugs is automatically viewed in a negative light. Right? Carl Hart, PhD of Columbia University started studying crack cocaine users in the 1990s, expecting to find neurological pathways that predispose drug users to addiction. Instead, he draws different conclusions:
“Eighty to 90 percent of people who use crack and methamphetamine don’t
get addicted,” said Dr. Hart, an associate professor of psychology. “And
the small number who do become addicted are nothing like the popular
caricatures...
“If you’re living in a poor neighborhood deprived of options, there’s a certain rationality to keep taking a drug that will give you some temporary pleasure,” Dr. Hart said in an interview, arguing that the caricature of enslaved crack addicts comes from a misinterpretation of the famous rat experiments.
The key factor is the environment, whether you’re talking about humans or rats,” Dr. Hart said. “The rats that keep pressing the lever for cocaine are the ones who are stressed out because they’ve been raised in solitary conditions and have no other options. But when you enrich their environment, and give them access to sweets and let them play with other rats, they stop pressing the lever.”
Perhaps one needs to address the underlying problem in the 90% of cases that are not addicted.
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