Hell no, they ain’t doing that to me again

~ Jason Schwartz

You may remember a few posts a while back about Dr. Carl Hart. He argues that addictive drug use is a rational choice by addicts and bases these arguments on his studies that involve giving crack to addicts and paying them for their participation in the study.

Some of you raised the obvious ethical questions about this kind of research. Well, Cassie Rodenberg shares a poem from an addict who is a former subject of a similar study. (I have no idea if it was actually one of Dr. Hart’s studies.)

One time I did this crack

Study for $2500,

Saw it on the train.

The building and the rock

Pristine Colo(u)mbian.

Never had any shit that good

In my life:

Small but potent,

Crack,

It’s psychological. They did me up

And down

In the head for days. No one told me

About the dance of the razors:

Hell no they ain’t doing

That to me

Again in their hospital

Chapel of

Help

via A Crack Study? Never Again | The White Noise, Scientific American Blog Network.

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.