What is the root cause of all this violence? (Wilkes-Barre: insurance, neighborhood)

[auntieannie68]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

Nobody's blaming the school. My point is that drug problems are not restricted to the poor. The media and a lot of people around here like to assume that just city public schools have these kinds of problems....everybody points at those schools when its West Side, Scranton High, Meyers, GAR, etc. Yet there seems to be just as much, if not more, of a drug problem in schools like Abington Heights, Dallas, Prep, etc. Maybe because kids in those schools are more likely to have the money to buy drugs than a kid at Scranton High.

the only kid druggies i knew from this area went to school in the abingtons---

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

I would have been shocked too, because locals don't just leave the bodies laying in an apartment after they shoot somebody over drugs....they bury them in their back yards.....

Why are you and aunt annie so very bent on ignoring facts? I've already stated that yes, there are white dealers in our area and other places. But the FACTS show that minorities, across the nation, are most heavily represented in drug crime stats. Ignoring that won't make it change. Acknowledging it, finding out why and making workable solutions is the answer.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

Nobody's blaming the school. My point is that drug problems are not restricted to the poor. The media and a lot of people around here like to assume that just city public schools have these kinds of problems....everybody points at those schools when its West Side, Scranton High, Meyers, GAR, etc. Yet there seems to be just as much, if not more, of a drug problem in schools like Abington Heights, Dallas, Prep, etc. Maybe because kids in those schools are more likely to have the money to buy drugs than a kid at Scranton High.

"Seems to be"?

Yes, there are rich people that use drugs. There are rich people who sell too. Though, again, the problem is largely restricted to the poor and minorities. (FACT)

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by auntieannie68

AND

While Mr. Yuk provided you with your daily dose of humor, you are both actively ignoring everything we know about drug culture.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Though, again, the problem is largely restricted to the poor and minorities. (FACT)

With dealers, yes. But the buyers are mainly white. Although even with dealers, it depends on the type of drug. I don't recall ever seeing on the news in this area a meth lab bust that involved minorities.

As far as why more minorities get into drug dealing? Probably because more of them are born into poverty and see drug dealing as the only way to make enough money to get out of the ghetto. And they come somewhere like NEPA, where there are plenty of addicts lining up to buy their drugs.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

With dealers, yes. But the buyers are mainly white. Although even with dealers, it depends on the type of drug. I don't recall ever seeing on the news in this area a meth lab bust that involved minorities.

Studies show that minorities, by far, are the largest demographic of illicit drug use:

The Buyers - Who Are America's Drug Users? | Drug Wars | FRONTLINE | PBS

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

As far as why more minorities get into drug dealing? Probably because more of them are born into poverty and see drug dealing as the only way to make enough money to get out of the ghetto. And they come somewhere like NEPA, where there are plenty of addicts lining up to buy their drugs.

This I agree with.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Studies show that minorities, by far, are the largest demographic of illicit drug use:

The Buyers - Who Are America's Drug Users? | Drug Wars | FRONTLINE | PBS

Minorities are more likely to be smoking pot. Crack is probably a common drug among minorities. Heroin and meth are pretty much white drugs.

It doesn't make it right, but I can see why poor minorities from the ghetto get into drug dealing. I can't see why some upper middle class white kids from suburbia who could have a bright future decide to stick a heroin needle in their arm.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

Minorities are more likely to be smoking pot. Crack is probably a common drug among minorities. Heroin and meth are pretty much white drugs.

According to this:

Racial and Ethnic Diversity among a Heroin and Cocaine Using Population: Treatment System Utilization

White people report heroin use more often but black people lie about the usage of that drug as evidenced by what they say vs. the actual test results.

IOW, you cannot say that "heroin is pretty much a white drug". It may have that stereotype, but the facts do not support it.

As for meth:

Methamphetamine Use, Abuse, and Dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004

The highest rates of past year methamphetamine use were found among Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders (2.2 percent), American Indians or Alaska Natives (1.7 percent) and persons reporting two or more races (1.9 percent) (Figure 3).6 Past year methamphetamine use among whites (0.7 percent) and Hispanics (0.5 percent) was higher than among blacks (0.1 percent) or Asians (0.2 percent).

While white people do use meth more than black and Hispanic people, it certainly is not "pretty much" a white drug. There are reasons for this. If you read the studies, the largest indicators of drug abuse among any race is lack of education, poverty, mental illness and no community/family support. Ring a bell?

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

While white people do use meth more than black and Hispanic people, it certainly is not "pretty much" a white drug. There are reasons for this. If you read the studies, the largest indicators of drug abuse among any race is lack of education, poverty, mental illness and no community/family support. Ring a bell?

The reason meth use is much higher among whites is that it is predominantly a rural drug. They make it because they do not have as much easy access to other drugs as people in cities do.

[toobusytoday]

Back to drug use/ violence in NEPA please. If you want to talk about why drugs are used in the US, we can move this thread to another forum.