America is in the throes of a drug epidemic: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) opioid related deaths (heroin and prescription drugs) quadrupled between 1999 and 2014.
This epidemic is unique because it is taking the lives of Americans of all ages, particularly middle-aged white women. A common explanation for the epidemic is economic conditions—the hollowing out of the middle class and economic malaise has left white Americans so distressed they are turning to opioids, and Donald Trump. But, in both cases, that argument is too simplistic to explain a deeper issue.
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