Meet Carl Hart, the Scientist Debunking America’s Myths About Drugs - PolicyMic
Hart’s autobiography weaves personal memoir, Drug Science 101, and enlightened discussions of American racial politics into one engaging narrative. High Price is structured around Hart’s own remarkable journey from an impoverished childhood on the streets of Miami’s roughest neighborhoods to a professional career studying drugs in the ivory towers of academia.
Along the way, Hart is unflinchingly open about his personal life. As one of eight children, he recounts being juggled between the care of his mother and other female relatives while fearing outbursts of domestic violence. He recalls slacking in school, getting involved with marijuana (using it and selling it), and committing petty crimes.
While Hart may have escaped the hood, it has never escaped his mind. Through his drug research, he has endeavored to address the issues facing marginalized black communities like his own — though his own understanding of those issues has evolved. “I thought that I was going to solve the problem of drug addiction,” he told the New York Times. “But it turns out that drug addiction wasn’t the biggest problem; the biggest problem, I found out, was actually drug policy.”
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