Substance abuse/chemical dependency in African American adolescents Substance abuse refers to drug and alcohol abuse. Misuse of these illegal substances is rampant among the youth. The most commonly abused drugs include cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and meth. Some of the legal drugs also used contain alcohol, prescribed medicine, and nicotine. Research shows that substance abuse is more rampant in African American youths (Beatty, 2007). Some of the main reasons these people tend to abuse drugs are peer pressure, accessibility, affordability, and stress. The abuse of substances has significant effects, including addiction, health complications, violence and crime, depression. This article addresses these factors and outcomes caused by these substances. One of the significant factors contributing to substance abuse among African-American youth is peer