Why does the media refer to the heroin epidemic as affecting middle class whites?

[Anonymous]

For the previous posters that mentioned families members that had died, I am so sorry for your loss. If you are comfortable sharing, what was the original reason for the prescription?

I have an in-law who died of an overdose (before the “epiidemic” really started)—he was a star college athlete on his way to the pros and had been prescribed opioids for some type of injury that athletes often get. If anyone saw the HBO special in this, one young woman featured had been a high school gymnast, prescribed opioids for a knee or back injury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always hear it referred to as an issue that is affecting largely middle class whites, but from what I've seen that isn't true. It seems to be affecting poor and working class whites. I haven't seen anyone touched by it among the middle class white people I know.

Because it is affecting middle class whites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always hear it referred to as an issue that is affecting largely middle class whites, but from what I've seen that isn't true. It seems to be affecting poor and working class whites. I haven't seen anyone touched by it among the middle class white people I know.

My guess is that you may be one of those people who thinks someone making 200k a year is middle class.

Or as a PP said, you just don't have a big sample size.

Wait, what would YOU call that, PP? 200K in DC area *is* middle class, isn't it????

Middle class incomes are defined those between the 30th and 80th percentiles. Middle class in DC is $37,000-$157,000/year. Middle class in Arlington County is $67,000-$198,000. Middle class in Fairfax County is $73,000-$203,000, and slightly higher in Loudoun County. Middle class in Montgomery County is $61,000-$189,000. If you are making $200K, you are well out of the middle class nationwide, and above or barely in the middle class in the DC area.

I think the opioid epidemic is more of an issue in places like West Virginia than Fairfax.

You would be surprised. I work in healthcare, it is definitely an issue. People tend to think that prescribed pain medications are not as harmful as heroin when abused. Think again.

And you'd be surprised where it is a problem. In 2017, the number of opioid deaths was the highest ever in Virginia (1227 deaths in the year). And while it may seem intuitive that the rural areas would be the worst, the areas around DC, Richmond and Charlotte are all in the middle of the volume of deaths and some of the worst areas are in the DC exurbs (Warren, Madison and Culpepper counties):

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Opioid-Overdose-Deaths-in-Virginia-in-2017--480170023.html

Additionally, fatal drug overdose is the largest method of unnatural death in Virginia. And the first quarter rate in 2018 had tied the highest first quarter ever (for opioids). So the problem does seem to continue to snowball.

http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uploads/sites/18/2018/07/Quarterly-Drug-Death-Report-FINAL-Q1-2018.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the previous posters that mentioned families members that had died, I am so sorry for your loss. If you are comfortable sharing, what was the original reason for the prescription?

My niece had an undiagnosed (and highly obscure) problem with her gallbladder which was extremely painful. Docs at Hopkins, Yale and Stanford all missed it for years, but they kept giving her pain meds because she couldn't move. I think a big part of the problem was going back and forth from the west coast to the east coast and docs not communicating.

Of course, this has been devastating for my family and the reason I posted it was to show that ADDICTION is everywhere. You can argue all day whether things are worse in Fairfax or West Virginia or among lower, middle and upper classes, or whether blacks or whites.

Heroin is what people turn to when they can't get prescription pain meds anymore.

Addiction doesn't care who you are or where you come from. It kills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always hear it referred to as an issue that is affecting largely middle class whites, but from what I've seen that isn't true. It seems to be affecting poor and working class whites. I haven't seen anyone touched by it among the middle class white people I know.

My guess is that you may be one of those people who thinks someone making 200k a year is middle class.

Or as a PP said, you just don't have a big sample size.

200k is def middle class. At the upper end maybe but def middle class.

100k or less for a family of 4 or less is just poor. No one is willing to identify as poor anymore.

[Anonymous]

Because it is. It's hitting the white demographic more than anyone else. Especially middle and upper class families that never had to deal with this.

Look no further than the daily announcements of ODs. Usually not from a girl so beautiful as this but she had a drug/alcohol problem and heroin doesn't discriminate. Gabrielle Crahan died just days ago at the age of 22. Her whole life ahead of her and her father rich as hell.



https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/slipknot-drummer-shawn-clown-crahan-daughter-gabrielle-death-sobriety-chip-instagram

[Anonymous]

Please don’t link to Fox - it’s not a source anyone who cares about America should be looking at.

Also, re: th definition of middle class, the total wealth in America has roughly tripled since 1980 while the median income has roughly stayed the same. So middle class in West Virginia in 1980 looks very very different than middle class in WVA today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the previous posters that mentioned families members that had died, I am so sorry for your loss. If you are comfortable sharing, what was the original reason for the prescription?

My niece had an undiagnosed (and highly obscure) problem with her gallbladder which was extremely painful. Docs at Hopkins, Yale and Stanford all missed it for years, but they kept giving her pain meds because she couldn't move. I think a big part of the problem was going back and forth from the west coast to the east coast and docs not communicating.

Of course, this has been devastating for my family and the reason I posted it was to show that ADDICTION is everywhere. You can argue all day whether things are worse in Fairfax or West Virginia or among lower, middle and upper classes, or whether blacks or whites.

Heroin is what people turn to when they can't get prescription pain meds anymore.

Addiction doesn't care who you are or where you come from. It kills.

This is true. It's easier for some people to get heroin than Oxycontin. OP, not everyone who is struggling with heroin addiction is nodding out on the street. Some people are able to maintain careers and outwardly successful families while using heroin.

[Anonymous]

You must not be a lawyer.

I am a big law partner (of color). Big law attorneys and their children are dropping like flies. I can think of six overdoses and three deaths in the past two years, and I am not even trying hard. All whites.

I don’t feel sorry for any of them. UMC whites have zero compassion for others. If this epidemic was killing blacks at sky high rates, the UMC whites who decide what is newsworthy and control news networks wouldn’t give the issue any air time.

I believe the opioid epidemic is a side effect of the winner takes all, zero sum, every man for himself culture that prevails in America today. Guess who are the architects of that culture. Karma.

[Anonymous]

Middle and upper class hide it better and have friendly docs who often fudge on cause of death. The Rex problem has been tamped down but still major. Those with Rex seldom consider themselves addicts.

[Anonymous]

It affects everyone is does not discriminate. And Urban areas that normally had lower rates of overdose are now rising at alarming rates. I have not heard that is affecting middle class whites in any media. Pay attention to what it is saying before asking dumb questions. And just because you don't know anyone that it is happening to doesn't mean it isn't.

[Anonymous]

Middle class in most of the country means middle earners. Depending on where you live that could mean 25k to 40k to 150k or more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always hear it referred to as an issue that is affecting largely middle class whites, but from what I've seen that isn't true. It seems to be affecting poor and working class whites. I haven't seen anyone touched by it among the middle class white people I know.

You might be lucky, or then again you might just not know?

A friend who divorced recently told me the reason for the split was her husband's heroin addiction. I would not have known. He's an academic and has continued to teach and publish even while addicted. I guess the bad stuff was only seen within the immediate family.

Did he teach in a linguistic field?

[Anonymous]

Maybe step outside your DMV bubble to the rest of America, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You must not be a lawyer.

I am a big law partner (of color). Big law attorneys and their children are dropping like flies. I can think of six overdoses and three deaths in the past two years, and I am not even trying hard. All whites.

I don’t feel sorry for any of them. UMC whites have zero compassion for others. If this epidemic was killing blacks at sky high rates, the UMC whites who decide what is newsworthy and control news networks wouldn’t give the issue any air time.

I believe the opioid epidemic is a side effect of the winner takes all, zero sum, every man for himself culture that prevails in America today. Guess who are the architects of that culture. Karma.

Agree with you 100% on paragraphs 3-4. When it was the crack epidemic, society viewed it as a character flaw among the AA victims. Now that it’s affecting whites, it’s a disease and getting political and media attention.