I’m sure when you light up that pipe full of fresh new buds from the guy next door, who knew some kid in Colorado, who got stuff vacuum-sealed from Afghanistan, you didn’t think you were participating in a war.

No, of course not.

Your actions of drug use are only to bring “peace” into the world and produce a bond amongst friends, right? Well, in actuality, you are an attributing factor to this so-called “drug war” taking place in our country, or better off, on our planet.

My mind was opened to a different angle the other night after viewing one of the new releases in the box office, titled “Traffic.” And - as if the months I had stayed away from the cinemas because of my arrogant film taste were well worth it - this film surpassed my expectations.

It brought not only to my attention, but to those oblivious or unaware of its strongholds, the power of drugs. As strong as the weapons our planet ignites to cease control over “the enemies,” drugs seem to obtain this same power.

However, in this case, “the enemies” have the power. It seems drugs can only be looked at as the butt of the cause of war within humanity. Well, this war within humanity has not simply entered our species, but has stepped into a race and class war as well.

This multifaceted topic of the “drug war,” however, isn’t as simple as tackling a conflict with just two sides: us, the “humane” citizens of the United States of America, vs. them, our enemies in the foreign countries who sneak in bliss-filling toxins to make people forget about the stress in their lives or let out the “anger.”

No, this isn’t simple at all. Its complexities come from the fact that although the United States’ priorities of this war are to combat drug dealers, its combat also becomes that of race against race, or class against class.

Perhaps the most fascinating anecdote to this movie about the drug war was who actually won. In this case, it was the drug suppliers themselves. Is this not an awakening to the forces who try to stop drugs from entering our “humane” territory? The battle of the drug war has - if not equally powerful sides - drug suppliers and dealers who so often get frowned upon for their uncivilized, uneducated and criminal acts, but who have more power than the “good guys.”

“Traffic” exhibited to me a war between classes and races - our melting pot of America has supposedly boiled over. When really, the United States’ white governmental supremacists who struggle through this war against the “others” are simply rehabilitating the stomped-over white-bread America our diverse country has taken so long to dissolve.

My analysis of this situation doesn’t come from facts in the news or television. It comes from the personal experience I have from living in Lansing’s south side. My observations of the life around me were implanted into my own analysis of this film.

From living in a lower-class area of Lansing, I’ve become aware of the outstanding availability of drug users’ paraphernalia, which is sold in party stores and gas stations; either hidden from view behind the counter or subliminally hidden from the average customer’s view.

For instance, you know those roses in plastic tubes at gas stations? Well, in some cases, those plastic tubes are used as crack pipes by crack addicts. However, this availability drastically changes as one travels to different areas of Lansing, where different classes reside.

The availability seems to depend on the class majority of that section of Lansing, in this case being the lower class. However, this doesn’t mean everyone in this area is a drug user.

It does link the two together - drugs and lower classes - in turn, producing another dimension to the drug war by including class as an identification method of the drug users. Lower-class citizens are then pigeonholed under an assumed role in the drug war as drug users or dealers, while there are as many upper-class citizens participating in these roles as well.

This is where I began to acknowledge the drug war as also a racist war between upper-class whites and the “others.” And this is where I became unsure of what side to take in this war. Although I am not an avid drug user, I do find myself inclined to sympathize with a group that has been accused or assumed because of its race or class.

Now, after reading this column, and hopefully being enlightened to a new point of view, your drug habits may take on different meaning to you. You might not have realized how your daily rituals contribute to this world war.

Be it World War III, or just a party, your contribution to this war makes you the “other” in a country where we are all supposed to belong.

Erin Schwartz, a State News copy editor, can be reached at schwar80@msu.edu.