Hello all,
This is an interesting question that I will weigh in on. I, like most of you, felt that this woman was dead wrong for using these drugs while she was pregnant. However, I'm not an expert on chemical dependency or anything like that, but I know that abusers of crack are not high 24/7 unless (at least not broke abusers).
During that time when these abusers are not high, they can be thinking about other things like the little one inside them. For those abusers who don't care about the ramifications or who may not even know about them, all I can say is that this drug has been here for somewhere around 16 years (I was in NY when it "hit"). They are aware that NOTHING GOOD CAN COME FROM ABUSING IT. That's all they need to know.
As for whether this would have happened to a caucasion female in the same predicament, I'd say it probably would not have happened for a "well-to-do" white woman. But if it happened to be white woman from a dirt poor background, she probably would have gotten some jail time (of course she would have had the option to get counseling and probably get an early release).
In any event, this is a sad case all the way around. Sad because of the still-born baby and also sad because this woman's kids have been unfortunate to have a mother who was/is an abuser of crack cocaine.
Personally, I would not have given her jail time. I'd have given her counseling and drug therapy time. If it took twelve years, then that's where she'd be until she got straight.
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