The public and both print and visual media generally have an image of African Americans as drug users. Several factors, including the greater poverty rate among blacks and the disproportionate number of drug retail centers in African American communities, contribute to this image. A tendency also exists to apply different normative standards to the types of drugs used and to believe that blacks are largely responsible for drug trafficking. As a result, drug law enforcement may be ethnically skewed, policies may ignore the unique patterns that characterize the drug crisis in different communities, and treatment techniques may not be designed for the specific needs of different groups. Therefore, individuals who are truly concerned about the drug crisis must examine their stereotypes of drug use; the war on drugs should be revised in accordance with sound theory and data. Tables and 57 references