Meek Mill Likens PTSD From Military Combat to Living in Philadelphia

Growing up in Philadelphia was the same as being in a war-zone, according to Meek Mill.

The rapper claimed that he and many others like him suffer from PTSD having witnessed so much murder and violence on the streets.

"Philadelphia Murder rate has been in the 300 murders plus range since I can remember and kids are growing up in that first hand and they have no choice but to carry firearms after seeing all that blood spilled and That will distort you decision making process like PTSD," he tweeted on Thursday night.

"And the use of drugs will destroy your decision making process and most of us are so f--ked up in the head from what we've seen we turn to drugs at a juvenile stage to suppress the trauma before our brains can fully develop... they need help not longer sentences!!!"

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event (usually shocking, terrifying, or dangerous), and is most frequently associated in the media with members of the military in combat.

When a follower called him out, saying "yet you glorify it", he replied: "I rap about it because I've been caught up in it for 22 years of my life and it's stuck in my mental not glorifying it."

The 31-year-old said homicides had spiked in the last year in his hometown because of the opioid crisis, similar to what happened with crack in the '80s and '90s: "you have a bunch of people high making bad choices and doing whatever to provide for their addiction!"

"Most of these murders aren't drug related and about protecting a street corner it's about people who are mentally destroyed from drugs or trauma! I know many people doing life in prison for trying to protect themselves and it was labeled as drug related!"

He added: "The whole environment is drug related so I guess everything is drug related tho! I grew up in the 90's where the crack laws had 60% of the grown men in prison for long terms and it left us with no guidance to follow up in their foot steps! Basically grew up in the wild."

Meek pointed out that trying to use PTSD as a defense in court for getting caught up in the violence was a no go.

"You get locked up wit a gun you can't go to court and say you got PTSD from seeing too much murder .... they gone look at you like you got 2 heads ... I've never heard a lawyer say my client has ptsd unless they was in the army!" he tweeted.

Another follower praised him for addressing the issue, claiming it was similar in St Louis, where "going outside without a gun is like committing suicide" — Meek simply replied "Facts".

Meek himself has had a very long and complicated history with the US prison system, beginning when he was arrested at 18 for possessing a firearm and assaulting a policeman.

His most recent incarceration last year caused outrage among the hip hop community and beyond, after he was deemed to have broken a probation — on that charge that stretched way back to his teenage years — by riding an illegal dirt bike.

While his sentence actually related to a failed drug test and the fact that he didn't notify his probation officer he was traveling outside the state as required, the general public consensus was "Meek Mill was sentenced to four years in jail for popping wheelies."

He was later released, months later, after a bizarre chain of events, including claims about the presiding judge, came to light. You can read the full story here and here.