Unbridled ambition requires a vehicle. Without one, it can torture those who have it, perverting their judgment until ambition meets opportunity and is finally satisfied. It seems that’s what happened for many young Blacks in the late 1970s determined to let “nothin’, nothin’ ” stand in their way. Cocaine seemed tailor-made for the moment. A stimulant, the substance gets into the bloodstream of users and intoxicates them, making them feel confident, energized, and serene. Those qualities, of course, made cocaine the ideal drug for Black youth at a time when we were either celebrating—or
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