One of the main points in my book is to show the youth of today the consequences of using and selling drugs and the path that can also led them down my road if there isn't a change within their lives and if they continue to commit petty crimes that are better known as midemeanors what they dont know is once they get into the Federal system all misdemenors are added up as point. Ten midemenors will add up to one year whether you served time or paid a fine or even did community service it doesn't matter they all are counted. My next point to my readers is your closet friends will rat you out at the drop of a dime once under pressure My next point is to show you that my life has changed drastically during my drug use I've done alot of things using drugs that I couldn't image doing today and that I'm embrassed about but that was my life at that time. Today I'm a new and better man

Raisins and Roaches is the story of my two years of heavy addiction to crack. I didn't drink or smoke pot. I just wanted crack. I couldn't be trusted anymore and that was my big claim to fame, my trustworthiness with everyone. Raisins are the good guys in the crack world. They have little black faces like raisins visible under their big sports hats and jackets and they always have on expensive shoes. Those are real crack dealers. You are safe with them. They will protect you and also sell you high quality drugs. They control the lots and buildings where they work. They get you in and get you out. They get your money and you get packets of dope. Roaches are the creeps who prey on the customers when the regular gangs are not working. Naturally you look for the raisins first, but they are only out there when they have a shipment of rocks to sell. The rest of the time, you are on your own. Everyone is your friend and no one is your friend. Desperation rules. You are desperate and everyone else is also. Money doesn't necessarily mean dope. You still got to find somebody you can trust to give the money to. Most people cannot be trusted because they want to get buzzed as bad as you do. Some people think they are bigger than coke. I guess I did also, but I found out the hard way that I am not. Coke is an overpowering monster. It controls us from the inside out. Our very souls get addicted. Total loss of self-control. Nothing else matters except to get a rush from smoking it. Other people don't matter, unless they are means of acquiring the rocks. If cops want to do some real good for the world, they can get the rocks off the street. We might not like it at first, but if the addicts quit the drug because there is none around, the cops have saved their lives and given them new hope. The cops have lifted a terrible affliction so the addict can grab hold of life. Otherwise, they are going to die from coke and live the rest of their lives in misery. I was addicted for two years. Hooked bad. Lost my money, my home, my belongings and my girlfriend. I feel I am still addicted. I probably always will be. We got this thing inside of us. Some scientists call it a subconscious. I call it a spirit. My spirit is still hooked. I can tell by the dreams I have, like this one last night. I was sitting on an olden wooden chair, like an antique Amish chair. Underneath me was a box full of perfectly squared off white, crystalline blocks. I was handcuffed to one of the blocks and a guy kept handcuffing me to more of them. Then my legs also. It was impossible for me to move. I know that was an addiction dream. I have had a lot of them. If I took one drag of crack, I would be right back where I was. I can never smoke it again and I never will. I went through psychotherapy for alcoholism and I feel pretty well cured of it. I can have a social beer or glass of wine now without continuing to oblivion. Not so with crack. It is a lot stronger addiction. At least, to me it sure is. Yes once addicted, you are always addicted to it. I don't believe any known therapy can get a person cleansed enough so they could be an occasional crack user. For me that extends to powder cocaine also. Never again.

Learn about the latest federally supported research on ethnicity and drug use The National Institute on Drug Abuse has supported professional research into variation among ethnic groups’ use, abuse, and recovery from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as research into perceptions of and readiness for treatment. 21st Century Research on Drugs and Ethnicity: Studies Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse takes a detailed look at the research performed in the last three years to help provide evidence-based and culturally competent counseling and treatment for individuals suffering from substance abuse/addiction syndromes. Top researchers discuss crucial unique issues in ethnic group use of psychoactive substances. This valuable resource explores the studies to better enable treatment, counseling, and prevention personnel who work in treatment programs, community groups, and schools to provide effective evidence-based practices tailored to the population they serve. 21st Century Research on Drugs and Ethnicity: Studies Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse presents prominent researchers such as J. Scott Tonigan, William Miller, and Mario de la Rosa who reveal and discuss the latest important data. This volume can be used by practitioners to increase the rates of individuals making healthy choices, or recovering from and sustaining recovery from abuse syndromes. The book also includes an introduction by Lula Beatty, PhD, Chief of the Special Populations Office at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Topics discussed in 21st Century Research on Drugs and Ethnicity: Studies Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse include: a comparison of professional models of treatment readiness analysis of how client culture matches treatment culture Native American client response to modern treatment modalities research on current rates of drug use among racial/ethnic groups at colleges study into injecting drug use behaviors problems of treatment underutilization by Latinos/Latinas and much more! 21st Century Research on Drugs and Ethnicity: Studies Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse is a valuable resource for human service workers, psychologists, social workers, addictions researchers, educators, trainers, treatment personnel, and graduate students in counseling, social work, health, and addictions.

Evangelical Protestantism has arguably become the fastest-growing religion in South America, if not the world. For converts, it emphasizes self-discipline and provides a network of communal support, which together have helped many overcome substance abuse, avoid crime and violence, and resolve relationship problems. But can people simply decide to believe in a religion because of the benefits it reportedly delivers? Based on extensive fieldwork among Pentecostal men in Caracas, Venezuela, this rich urban ethnography seeks an explanation for the explosion of Evangelical Protestantism, unraveling the cultural and personal dynamics of Evangelical conversion to show how and why these men make the choice to convert, and how they come to have faith in a new system of beliefs and practices.

This study is based on three years of field work with 99 active gang members and 24 family members. The book describes the attractiveness of gangs, the process of joining, their chaotic and loose organisation, and their members' predominant activities - mostly hanging out, drinking, and using drugs. The authors also discuss gang members' rather slapdash involvement in major property crime and their disorganised participation in drug traffic, as well as the often fatal consequences of their violent life-style. Although the book focuses on the individual, organisational, and institutional aspects of gang membership, it also explores gang members' involvement with other school and neighborhood structures. Extensive interviews with family members provide groundbreaking insights into the gang members' lives. As much as possible, however, the story is told in the gang members' own words.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

31-year-old Nancy Trejos was supposed to be an expert on handling her money - after all, she's the personal finance columnist for one of the nation's leading newspapers, The Washington Post. But a few months ago, she found herself in her own dire financial straits. Faced with a mountain of bills, debt, and no way to pay her rent, she was forced to call her parents to ask them for a loan. That night was a wake-up call - she vowed to get herself out of debt and into financial solvency. In Hot Broke Messes, Trejos takes readers along with her on her journey. She meets with a financial planner and a therapist to deal with all the issues young people face today - from credit card debt and student loans, to impulse buying and emotional spending, to the cost of having a social life, to buying a house with someone during a potentially impermanent relationship and more. Trejos learns what causes these problems in herself, how she can fix them, and how she can pass that advice on to other young people going through the same experiences. Even better, she shows readers how they can address these problems without completely giving up their lives - no "give up your latte a day" type advice here! Trejos' personal and unique voice, along with her experiences that everyone can relate to, will lead readers to relatively painless financial security.