Commentary: Rapper Macklemore Takes on Prevention

By Theodore Caputi | December 20, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction, Marketing And Media & Prevention


A famous rapper is helping make prevention cool.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine shared some new songs with me. He explained the songs were written and performed by a rapper named Macklemore. After listening to just one song, I was encouraged.

Macklemore, a 30-year-old male artist with a history of drug and alcohol use, doesn’t brag about getting drunk or high; rather warns young people about the realities behind addiction, and urges his listeners to learn from his mistakes.

I suggest you listen to the song “Otherside” by Macklemore on YouTube. His message is clear: addiction is a real danger, and drug use can ruin or end the user’s life.

The lyrics in “Otherside” narrate the story of a young man who innocently begins using cough syrup in order to emulate a famous rapper. The man in the narrative becomes addicted to the drug and Macklemore vividly describes his pain, hopelessness and eventual death. Macklemore then tells teens that they don’t need to use drugs to live out their dreams or emulate their idols. After all, far more drug users become addicts than famous musicians.

He illustrates messages the prevention community has made an effort to communicate for decades:

Thinking ‘I would never do that, not that drug’
And growing up nobody ever does

Until you’re stuck
Looking in the mirror like I can’t believe what I’ve become

Swore I was going to be someone

And growing up everyone always does

We sell our dreams and our potential

To escape through that buzz

Months later I’m in the same place

No music made, feeling like a failure

And trust me it’s not dope to be twenty-five

And move back to your parent’s basement

What was most surprising to me is that Macklemore isn’t just “some guy.” He is one of the most famous and well-respected rappers of our time. His last album, “The Heist,” went platinum.

That’s right — thanks to Macklemore, my generation is paying to download songs about prevention.

Macklemore’s lyrics continue to surprise me; I suppose the number of rap songs that I was accustomed to glorified alcohol, drugs, sex, and violence, and had left me quite jaded. But now that I’ve taken some time to read about Macklemore, it’s hardly surprising that he would be the rapper to deliver such an important message. In his latest album, Macklemore’s song “Starting Over” includes a more personal narrative about recovery and relapse. If you ask me, that’s a pretty powerful message for a Platinum album.

With role models and visionary leaders like Macklemore, our generation has the potential to tackle “the big issues.” Let’s hope prevention is one of them.

Theodore Caputi is a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While in high school, he founded and directed a non-profit organization called the Student Leader Union, which fosters student leadership and community engagement. He is currently a policy intern at the Treatment Research Institute, where he also serves as a member of the Institutional Review Board.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons; Macklemore- The Heist Tour Toronto Nov 28; The Come Up Show

Eight Federal Inmates Convicted of Crack Cocaine Offenses Have Sentences Commuted

By Join Together Staff | December 20, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Government, Legal & Legislation

President Obama on Thursday commuted the sentences of eight federal inmates who had been convicted of crack cocaine offenses, The New York Times reports. Six of the inmates were sentenced to life in prison. All eight inmates will be released in 120 days.
The inmates likely would have received much shorter terms under current drug laws and sentencing rules, the article notes.
While powder and crack cocaine are two forms of the same drug, until recently, a drug dealer who sold crack cocaine was subject to the same sentence as a dealer who sold 100 times as much powder cocaine.
The Fair Sentencing Act, enacted in 2010, reduced the disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, for people who committed their crimes after the law took effect. As a result, many defendants who are caught with small amounts of crack are no longer subject to mandatory prison sentences of five to 10 years. Those convicted of crack-cocaine crimes tend to be black, while those convicted of powder-cocaine offenses tend to be white.
In a statement, President Obama said, “Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness. But it must not be the last. In the new year, lawmakers should act on the kinds of bipartisan sentencing reform measures already working their way through Congress. Together, we must ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and that our justice system keeps its basic promise of equal treatment for all.”
A bill under consideration by Congress would make changes to crack cocaine mandatory minimum sentences in the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive. This would allow approximately 8,800 federal prisoners who were sentenced before August 3, 2010, to mandatory minimum terms for crack cocaine crimes to petition the court for a sentence in line with the Fair Sentencing Act, according to the advocacy group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

Alcohol-Related Car Crashes More Likely on New Year’s Eve Than Christmas

By Join Together Staff | December 20, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol

Fatal car crashes are more likely to be caused by alcohol on New Year’s Eve, compared with Christmas, according to the National Safety Council.

Bloomberg reports between 2007 and 2011, over the New Year’s holiday period—6 p.m. December 31 through 11:59 p.m. January 1—there were an average of 108 traffic deaths a day, with about 42 percent linked to alcohol. In contrast, there were 93 alcohol-related deaths between 6 p.m. December 24 and 11:59 p.m. December 25, with 35 percent linked to alcohol.

This year, the group estimates that during Christmas, there will be 105 traffic deaths and 11,200 injuries requiring a medical professional, and 156 traffic deaths and 16,700 injuries during New Year’s.

“The difference between the two holidays is that everybody on New Year’s Eve is going out to parties and at their parties, they’re having the alcohol,” Capt. Nancy Rasmussen, Chief of Public Affairs for the Florida Highway Patrol, told Bloomberg. Christmas is more of a “stay-in-the-house, do-the-family thing, so there’s less drinking,” she added.

Traffic deaths are more likely during the July 4, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends than New Year’s, Thanksgiving or Christmas, the article notes. These warmer-month holiday periods average 140 traffic deaths each per day.

The National Safety Council advises drivers not to get behind the wheel even if they think they’re “just a little buzzed.” Designate a non-drinking driver, or take a cab, and refuse to ride with an impaired driver, even if it’s a friend or spouse.

Kentucky Bill Aims to Strengthen Heroin Treatment, Penalties
 
By Join Together Staff | December 20, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs, Legislation & Treatment

Kentucky lawmakers will soon consider a bill that would make the opioid overdose antidote drug naloxone more available, while stiffening penalties for high-level drug dealers. The bill also would expand anti-drug education, the Courier-Journal reports.

Kentucky Medicaid would be required to pay for a broad array of substance abuse treatment options for people seeking opioid addiction treatment. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said he thinks this provision will give an incentive for more organizations to provide treatment for heroin addiction.

The proposed law would increase penalties for high-volume drug traffickers, and allow them to be charged with homicide, according to a news release.

Van Ingram, Director of the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, said heroin accounted for 36 percent of the 639 overdose deaths in the first nine months of 2013 in Kentucky, compared with 3 percent in 2011.

December 20 v 22 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

STEP 5 :Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Recompense - to repay; remunerate; reward, as for service, aid, etc.
At the age of ten something very traumatic happened to me at the hands of a family member.Being that young  I was unable to handle or understand why or how could this happen.From that point until I reached thirty two years of age, my life was ruled by anger resentment and fear.Dealing with people was something I was unable to do until I discoverd drugs and alcohol. No body was going to hurt me again ,at least so I thought.Ninety five percent of my time was spent of thinking of ways to get even (recompense ) with every single person that harmed me. This way of living poisioned everthing I did ,bitterness and misery were the only true friends I had , and they were taking the life right out of me. Living this way was not living at all and thankfully it did not end there for some it does ,but for us lucky few I took step one and found GOD. After thirteen years of twelve stepping I can sit here and finally realize the Proverb is true and I can share my step five with you.

December 19 v 5 TWELVE STEPPING WITH POWER IN THE PROVERB

A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies will not escape.

STEP 10 :
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Lying is one of the most destructive things we can do to ourselves and to our loved ones.Some cannot tell the truth ! My problem with this one , I like to exaggerate a story add facts and gorey details to make it more interesting. My wife calls me on it all the time . I literally have to stop myself and think before my mouth takes off and I am telling tall tales. Punishment mentioned in the Proverb is what we do to our character and our relationships. Some one told me Lying is like weaving a web and once caught in the web their is no escape.Think about it ,If you have watched an insect caught in a spider web how much it struggles too get it free but it can't. Our lies are a snare and we bound by them not just that they set the course of our lives .I want to be known for honesty and integrity ,not the lying ,thieving monster I used too be. Sincerely following step ten and applying it to everyday life will keep you out of the web.