Substance Abuse Education - RaMean Maat

BLACK PLANET WEEKLY PODCAST

It starts so small. The first hit, the first puff, the first sip. It’s like watching "A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich"—you see young Benjie, that 13-year-old, living his life, trying to figure it all out in a world that don’t make sense. The streets and the people around him say it’s cool. They say that heroin, that ‘horse,’ can take away the pain, can make everything feel alright for a while. They make it look like it’s the only escape. But what they don’t tell you is the chain that comes with it. After that first high, there’s always a low. And after that low, there’s a craving—a hunger that’s never satisfied. In the movie, Benjie’s just a kid, like so many out there. He’s got problems, yeah, but who doesn’t? What they don’t show you, what they don’t tell you on the TV or in the lyrics, is that after the high, you’re standing there with the same problems staring you in the face. Except now, addiction’s knocking at your door, and that’s a knock you can’t ignore. And that peer pressure, man—that’s a beast. Just like Benjie, the pressure comes not just from the street but sometimes from inside your own home, from the people you trust. His mom’s trying her best, his stepfather Butler is trying to guide him, but when the pressure is inside your own four walls, when it’s coming from family or friends, it’s hard to resist. It’s like you’re trapped, and everyone around you is saying, ‘Just one hit. Just one puff. No harm done.’ But what they don’t know, what Benjie didn’t know, is that this thing’s a cycle. One hit, then two, then five, and you’re chasing something that’ll never solve the pain you’re running from. Benjie thought he could handle it—just like so many do. But addiction doesn’t care who you are. Young, old, rich, or poor, it’ll drag you under just the same. And by the time you come down from that high, you’re already deeper in the hole. And you gotta be careful. You can’t trust everyone handing you a cigarette, a joint, or a drink, because you don’t know what’s in it. It could be laced—just like that heroin in the movie was laced with destruction. You don’t know who’s spiking the punch, who’s sprinkling something extra in your food. It could be the same thing that’s laced with pain, addiction, and maybe even death. You can’t afford to walk through life with your eyes closed, because in one moment of not knowing, you could lose everything—just like Benjie almost did. Benjie was looking for a way out. We all are sometimes. But the truth is, using these things—vapes, cigarettes, pills, alcohol—they won’t give you what you’re looking for. Because when the high wears off, your problems are still right there, waiting. And now, you’ve got something else dragging you down. You’re stuck in a cycle, and it’s not just a choice anymore—it’s a fight for your life. But the real power, the real heroism, comes from facing those problems head-on, like Butler did. You don’t run from them, you don’t bury them under a high. You stand tall, you face what’s in front of you. You don’t get caught in the trap they’re laying out for you, telling you that a pill, a drink, or a puff will solve it all. You see, it’s not a game when you don’t come back from it. We’ve seen too many not come back. In *A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich*, we watched Benjie almost lose himself to it, lose his family, lose his future. But it’s never too late if you can find the strength to stand up, like Benjie had to. If you can face the pain, the pressure, the problems, and say, ‘No more.’ Stay sharp, stay aware. Don’t let anybody else decide your path—not the streets, not the crowd, not even your own home if they’re pulling you down the wrong way. You’ve got too much life in you to throw it away chasing a high that’ll never fix the real issues. Face those issues head-on, because that’s where real strength lies. That’s how you stay free. That’s how you become the hero of your own story. Ase! RaMean Ma'at