Are drugs cool if you're rich?

 Substance Abuse means very different things for different social classes. For the lower class and poverty stricken it means a dysfunctional relationship with drugs and alcohol that starts at a young age. In contrast, for the upper-class drugs mean an enlightened, fun and even glamorous way of life. The complete contrast in the way that drugs is perceived between social classes is almost ironic. I mean how can a substance like cocaine that has caused so much hardship and violence for poverty-stricken families still be glamorized and consumed by Celebrities and the elite? Drugs aren't just a high for rich people they're a way for them to enhance their already glamorous and luxurious life along a euphoric high that accentuates their already dopamine driven lifestyle.  For poor people however drugs are an escape, driven by unfortunate and often unescapable circumstances of poverty, hunger and depression. That "high" is the only thing that can distract from the often anxiety inducing and depressing situations of violence, hunger and poverty these people are in. "According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in the early 2020s about 16 percent of unhoused individuals reported having a substance abuse disorder" (EBSCO).  As you can see drugs are prevalent in these situations of poverty (homelessness) and are ultimately an escape from reality for these people. In contrast drugs for the ultra-wealthy means an aesthetic, one that is often paired with expensive clothes, bags and an eating disorder. Celebrities like Charli XCX are widely known for doing Cocaine at their parties and getting high at clubs. But she isn't regarded with the same disgust that many of the homeless people you see doing drugs on the streets of Detroit might encounter. In fact, Cocaine is a part of Charli's brand. Cocaine has made its appearance numerous times around her most public appearances most notably when she released a variant of her vinyl that was filled up with a suspicious white powder. Even when she made a cameo on the TV show Overcompensating, she's quoted saying to one of her assistants "What, No Cocaine"? when shown her room for a concert. Charli's whole brand is built around being a messy, glamorous Party Girl that doesn't need to care about the consequences of her actions. She might do a line here and there but she's still rich, so it doesn't really matter. People love this too, her iconic album titled BRAT alludes to drug use all the time, but it still became one of the most played albums of the summer in 2023. Even earning the name BRAT summer.  Drug use on Charli is chic and glamorous and fun but those same fans that listen to her music scoff in disgust at the sight of a homeless man doing the exact same thing she is. Even though the homeless man has more of a "reason" to want to escape reality than she probably does, when he does drugs its gross, ghetto and icky. This complete difference in view surrounding drug use for different social classes ultimately stems from money. Because Charli is rich, and because she has all this fame, she can afford to not care about the consequences of drug use. But the homeless man on the street doing drugs doesn't have that. He has to rely on a split government that currently can't even afford to keep SNAP benefits or keep anything that could help him out of hardship. The extreme wealth gap that we have witnessed growing over the past decades is the result of a societal hierarchy that lets the wealthy get away with anything and leaves the poor to fend for themselves. This is exacerbated by the fact that the wealthy elite (celebrities with fanbases like Taylor Swift) are idolized by the lower and middle class. People will do everything that they are doing even when they don't have the money to support themselves in the same way a celebrity like Charli XCX might be able to. They're cool and to be cool people want to be just like them. However, many of these people don't have the means to support themselves and pay for a lifelong addiction to substances. For them substances often lead to a life of homelessness or violence in order to keep up with that lifestyle. But when you have to result to a means that isn't money, drugs become just another gross addiction that the "poor" are hooked on. That's why drug use is so prevalent and so different across the wealth gap. Drugs are cool until you can't pay your way out of the consequences they create.