9 TPC Digest 9 TPC Digest Rommel Johnson Diondre Also Has Bad Days Although people of all races use drugs at similar rates, compared to their White counterparts, Black youth often experience more cannabis possession arrests. This is particularly true for Black youth who live in low-income communities because drug enforcement in the United States overly targets marginalized communities. For many Black youth who use cannabis, the combination of their race and social class can lead to a pattern of unfair treatment by their school system and the juvenile justice system (JJS). Furthermore, these youth are often viewed and treated as criminals, which can lead to feelings of shame that can affect their mental health. Instead of seeking to understand why they use cannabis and how to address those issues, Black youth often receive punishment while their emotional and psychological needs are ignored. School counselors and professional counselors working in schools or the JJS will likely be Black youth’s first experience with the mental health profession. Therefore, it is very important that counselors in these settings promote a supportive approach that seeks to better understand Black youth and their social environment, challenges, and reasons for cannabis use. Also, counselors working with Black youth in these settings need to become aware of their own biases that may affect service delivery. For example, counselors’ biases, stereotypes, and misinformation may lead counselors to assume that Black youth use cannabis more frequently than White youth. By understanding these issues, counselors can better understand how to support Black youth and promote alternative coping strategies to substance use. Black youth in the United States face significant obstacles that both negatively affect their mental health and impact their decision to use cannabis. For instance, Black youth are more likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods with limited access to quality education, health care, and recreational resources. Additionally, Black youth face higher rates of unemployment and underemployment compared to their White counterparts. In addition, they also experience significant trauma and personal and secondhand racism. These environmental stressors make Black youth vulnerable to mental health problems, including depression, suicide, and drug use, including smoking cannabis. There are four things that counselors can do to help Black youth cope with these challenges and make alternative choices to using cannabis. First, counselors need to educate themselves about how addiction occurs. Some counselors may hold on to disproven theories of how addiction happens, such as the choice theory or the moral theory. Second, counselors need to understand that many of the drug laws in the United States were not developed based on sound scientific research, but rather on racist ideologies against Black Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. Third, counselors need to increase their level of self-awareness. Developing self-awareness requires an ongoing effort of deep self-exploration of one’s values and beliefs. Fourth, counselors can become allies for Black youth who use cannabis and work to take down barriers to their mental health in school, the JJS, and other community agencies. Black youth have experienced much distress and for a long time. By seeing them as young people, who are like us when we were their age and made unhealthy choices, we as counselors can listen to them and get to know them and their issues so that we can help them develop healthy, lifelong coping skills. Rommel Johnson, PhD, NCC, LPC, CRC, CAADC, is an assistant professor at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Correspondence may be addressed to Rommel Johnson, 1201 W University School of Rehabilitation Services and Counseling, Edinburg, TX 78539, rommel.johnson@utrgv.edu. Cannabis Use Disorder and the Criminalization of Black Youth
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