RULING REINFORCES DOUBLE STANDARD: WHEN DRUGS ARE THE ISSUE, THE POOR GET
HARSHER TREATMENT

Whose fault is it if a person living in the same house is involved in
narcotics? According to the Supreme Court, the entire household is at
fault. On Tuesday, the court backed rules that permit evictions of
families of federally subsidized housing if any family member or guest
is involved in drugs. Public housing directors can evict entire
families for drug use by one member, regardless of whether the use was
on public housing property or if anyone else knew about it.

The last time I checked, the only person who should be punished is the
one who does the crime. In some rare cases it's appropriate to slap a
parent or other family member on the hand for letting things get out
of hand under their noses. Should grandma and baby Jane be forced to
find a new place to live because of the knucklehead who sleeps in the
same house?

The court has endorsed a rule that further divides those who live in
public housing from the general population. The rules are different
because the residents are receiving government assistance. Their
rights to live in decent housing are pulled from underneath them if a
person has used drugs. What would it look like if we applied that same
principle to persons not living in public housing? Couldn't it be
argued that a family should be evicted when a person in the household
gets stopped for a DWI? Why not? Shouldn't we blame everyone in the
house?

Does it matter if no one knows about the drug involvement? According
to the court, it doesn't matter. People in public housing don't get
the benefit of the doubt. Since the home environment was such that a
person in the home used drugs, the entire household will be punished.

The court ruling follows a new trend in the way people look at the
substance abuse problem. It has long been understood that drug
addiction is a disease. Despite the research to justify the need for
more substance abuse treatment facilities, the few services offered to
addicts are being closed. Insurance companies are making it harder for
people to get treatment for addiction. Those who are addicted and in
search of a way to change their lives are finding it harder to locate
a place to get help.

Now the court has taken things to another level. Not only do we refuse
to help you with your problem, we're going to punish your family
because of you. It was bad enough when addicts were forced to contend
with society's refusal to support them in the recovering process. Now
their families have to endure further pain as a result of their addiction.

The opinion of the court failed to take into account the nature of
addiction and the impact the disease has on the entire family. Four
California senior citizens received eviction notices because of drug
use by relatives or caregivers. The court ruled in favor of the
decision to kick grandma out because of the habit of another person.
The saddest thing is the senior citizens didn't know about the drug
use.

Things have progressed to another level. Before, the answer to the
drug problem was to lock up everyone we can. Since that hasn't worked
we'll try a different approach: Kick out everyone in the family. Let's
find everyone in public housing using drugs and kick the entire family
out. Don't ask any questions. Don't worry about conducting an
intervention to help treat the problem.

The high court had to make a tough decision. It is true that substance
abuse has become one of the biggest problems facing public housing
residents. Something has to be done to curtail the use and sales of
drugs in these communities. No one needs to turn his or her back on
the problem. I'm in support of taking a tough line. Go after all the
hoods. Go ahead and punish those who are doing the crime, but leave
grandma and the children alone.

There is a double standard in the way we deal with the poor. The issue
of substance abuse touches all of us. The bad news is we think
differently about the way to approach the issues based on the income
of the persons involved. Last year, President Bush's underage
daughters were caught trying to buy alcohol in a Texas restaurant, and
his niece, the daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was admitted to a
drug treatment center in February after being arrested on a
prescription drug charge.

Most would agree that their problems are not to be blamed on the
president or Jeb Bush. It would be foolish to assert that the
president should vacate the White House. We can't hold him responsible
for what happens under his nose.

Why? Because he doesn't live in public housing.

Carl W. Kenney II is pastor of Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church
in Durham. His e-mail address is revcwkii@hotmail.com.