Red Ribbon Week: Living a Drug Free Life
Read more about addiction rates among the Black community.
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This Week Is Red Ribbon Week! - This October 23-31 has been designated as Red Ribbon Week to raise awareness about drug addiction, smoking and underage drinking. This year’s theme is “A Healthy Me, A Drug Free Me.” Read more about rates of addiction among the Black community from smoking to drinking to illegal drugs. — Kellee Terrell (Photos from left: David McNew/Getty Images, Wikicommons)
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Not All of The” Cool Kids” Are Doing It - Recently on The Arsenio Hall Show, popular rapper Kendrick Lamar told the comedian that he used to drink when he was younger, but he will never partake again. As he has stated in some of his songs, substance abuse runs in his family and he felt the need to fit in with others. Lamar also has been quoted as saying that the Molly craze is “corny.”(Photo: Courtesy The Arsenio Hall Show/CBS)
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Smoking and Black Youth - Researchers from the University at Buffalo in New York found that puffing on menthols is a habit increasing among young smokers, says HealthDay News. Their new study states that 57 percent of menthol smokers were between ages 12-17 and smoking this type of cigarettes was most common among people of color and women. Eighty-percent of menthol smokers are African-American. (Photo: GettyImages)
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Illegal Drugs and Black Teens - When it comes to illegal drugs, 45 percent of African-American teens have taken marijuana, ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and/or meth, compared to 43 percent of white teens and 54 percent of Latino teens, according to researchers from the Partnership at Drugfree.Org.(Photo: GettyImages)
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African-American Teens Drink Less Than Whites - Past studies about American youth and drinking liquor have found that African-American teens drink less often, consume less alcohol and are least likely to binge drink than their white counterparts. However, a study this summer found that Black female teens that do drink are more likely to drink liquor while their white counterparts drink both liquor and beer. (Photo: GettyImages)
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The Link Between Liquor and Gun Violence - Liquor and poverty can also encourage violence among youth, says a new book. Researchers from Northwestern University found that Chicago’s South and West sides' liquor sales were 500 times that of other wealthier white areas, the Huffington Post reported. A 2012 report found that African-American youth ages 15-19 are eight times more likely to be victims of gun violence than white youth and that gun violence is their number one cause of death.(Photo: Cass Greene/GettyImages)
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Illegal Use of Legal Drugs - With so much focus on illegal drugs, it’s important to keep in mind that prescription drug abuse is on the rise, especially among teens. A recent survey conducted by the Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation confirmed that one in four teens has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime – a 33 percent increase over the past five years.(Photo: GettyImages)