That’s quite a strong statement from Columbia University professor Carl Hart:

Psychology Professor Hart writes that drug effects are “predictable,” but encounters with police “often” end with dead black people.

Dr. Hart, the first black professor tenured in the natural sciences at Columbia University, teaches a psychology course titled “Drugs and Behavior,” and is known for his research in narcotics and drug addiction – both from a scholarly angle as well as personal experience.

“I speak candidly about my past and who I am,” Hart writes in the op-ed. “In fact, ‘High Price,’ my science memoir, is one of the required readings for [my] course. In it, I detail my imperfections and past drug use and sales. I also lay out a blueprint for how one can succeed as a scientist and academic in a world that despises one’s people.”