Older African Americans have a higher rate of substance abuse than other ethnic groups. One study found that by 2020 there will be approximately five million older Americans with substance use disorders. “However, a disproportionate number, almost half a million, will be of African descent," says Robert Pope, RN, MSN, and a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Francisco.
The US Census Bureau reports that African Americans currently comprise 12-14% of the population and about 8% of the population over age 65. While the proportion of African Americans over 65 will grow to 10% over the next 20 years, 20-25% of the baby boomers fighting substance abuse in the year 2020 will be of African descent.
Why the higher rates? Pope says, "The commercial activity and use of illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine occurred in black neighborhoods before it became widespread elsewhere.” The prevailing explanations cite historical factors, such as slavery (free labor), followed by exploitative labor practices on freed slaves and racial residential segregation.
In her book Medical Apartheid, Harriet Washington shows that during slavery black Americans were subjected to crude empirical studies involving medications and surgery. Pope says, “At the beginning of the 19th century, there were reports of white contractors supplying black workers with cocaine to increase their work productivity.”
Pope’s recently completed study suggests that emulation of admired persons or lifestyles was a factor in initiation of the use of drugs while environment fostered continued use. Many African Americans live in an environment where there is a greater likelihood of contact with commercial drug activity.
For more information
SF Senior Care 101: Substance abuse treatment for older adults in San Francisco
Detroit Substance Abuse Examiner Michael Velardo's article on baby boomers
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHA)'s report on baby boomers and substance use
TIP 26 Older Americans and Substance Abuse
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