As Heroin Use by Whites Soars, Parents Urge Gentler Drug War

[Enzom21]

Full article

NEWTON, N.H. — When Courtney Griffin was using heroin, she lied, disappeared and stole constantly from her parents to support her $400-a-day habit. Her family paid her debts, never filed a police report and kept her addiction secret — until she was found dead last year of an overdose.

At Courtney’s funeral, they decided to acknowledge the reality that redefined their lives: Their bright, beautiful daughter, just 20, who played the French horn in high school and dreamed of living in Hawaii, had been kicked out of the Marines for drugs. Eventually, she overdosed at her boyfriend’s grandmother’s house, where she died alone.

“When I was a kid, junkies were the worst,” Doug Griffin, 63, Courtney’s father, recalled in their comfortable home here in southeastern New Hampshire. “I used to have an office in New York City. I saw them.”

Noting that “junkies” is a word he would never use now, he said that these days, “they’re working right next to you and you don’t even know it. They’re in my daughter’s bedroom — they are my daughter.”

 

[collige]

Better late than never, I guess.

 

[Bronx-Man]

Well, it's affecting white people so that's how you know it's something that's gotta be stopped asap.

 

[SliceSabre]

Oh shit white people being affected? Time for society to actually care!

 

[Vice]

Sadly, this is what has to happen to give the affluent-white world a look into how terrible, tragic and sudden addiction can be. It's been too easy to look at drug addicts are others and worthless junkie criminals until now. Hopefully, this will lead to some worthwhile change in drug policy as a whole rather than something like softer sentences for heroin users.

 

[richiek]

The War on Drugs has disproportionately incarcerated blacks, but heaven forbid it happens to whites.

 

[Nokagi]

You mean to tell me people only care about something when it actually effects them? Well I am fucking shocked.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

...I'll take it.

 

[Nikodemos]

Oh, no, it's affecting white people now! Everybody start caring!

 

[dave is ok]

Hasn't heroin always been a predominantly white person drug?

And it's not like these people are being arrested for the most part, they're overdosing and dying.

 

[Cagey]

This is a good thing.

 

[Sai-kun]

Good on you, white folks.

 

[jon bones]

hey if this is what it takes

You mean to tell me people only care about something when it actually effects them? Well I am fucking shocked.

"empathy" is a thing many people have

 

[Salsa]

legalize everything

 

[VanWinkle]

Well, sadly people don't really care all that much unless it affects them personally. That's just how it is. But I want something to get done. I lost a brother six years ago to a drug overdose and it's just hard to deal with.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Hasn't heroin always been a predominantly white person drug?

And it's not like these people are being arrested for the most part, they're overdosing and dying.

Yeah. And although cocaine and crack are similar, the punishment for crack used to ( still? ) comes with a much heavier fine and sentence because it was predominantly used by blacks while cocaine was used by whites.

 

[Crocodile]

Sucks when it happens to your kids doesn't it?

 

[ivysaur12]

Feels like this could've been avoided with some empathy.

 

[Nokagi]

"empathy" is a thing many people have

Sympathy and empathy called. They want to share their feelings with you.

True empathy is rare. People love to fake it though.

 

[geestack]

from the article:

So officers like Eric Adams, a white former undercover narcotics detective in Laconia, are finding new ways to respond. He is deployed full time now by the Police Department to reach out to people who have overdosed and help them get treatment.

“The way I look at addiction now is completely different,” Mr. Adams said. “I can’t tell you what changed inside of me, but these are people and they have a purpose in life and we can’t as law enforcement look at them any other way. They are committing crimes to feed their addiction, plain and simple. They need help.”

i wonder what changed exactly

 

[TheOMan]

You mean to tell me people only care about something when it actually effects them? Well I am fucking shocked.

Sympathy and empathy called. They want to share their feelings with you.

 

[Johndoey]

White people are the true heroes, thank you white people.
Every day I can draw breath I thank our shining ivory gods.

Seriously though I'm glad people are being more sensitive towards drug users.

 

[OneFiftyOne]

From the article: "When the nation’s long-running war against drugs was defined by the crack epidemic and based in poor, predominantly black urban areas, the public response was defined by zero tolerance and stiff prison sentences...."

That's not accurate. This whole War on Drugs started with the Nixon administration in the early 1970's. Mostly a backlash against pot-smoking hippies (most of whom were white).

You mean to tell me people only care about something when it actually effects them? Well I am fucking shocked.

No, sometimes people just aren't aware of it until it affects them.

 

[midramble]

For those that want CDC demographic data on heroine use, see here.

Groups with an increased risk for heroin abuse or dependence include men, persons aged 18–25 years, non-Hispanic whites, persons with annual household income less than $20,000, Medicaid recipients, and the uninsured.

This is a report from the last 15 years.

Non-white rate has dropped 15% from 2002 while white has increased %114

 

[Gordon Shumway]

It's sad. I ran/walked a lot as a kid for certain charity groups. Did a lot of volunteering..giving up my summers. It was something I liked doing because it made me feel good. My friends would always ask why. As if Aids isn't important. Cancer is no big deal. Autism and people with a handicap where "gross" to them.

Then, someone in their family would be affected and the sky was falling. I don't blame these people. I understand that as a society we tend to not care until it's too late. It's just sad..I guess if this is what it takes, so be it. Better to care at some point than not care at all..

 

[Seesaw15]

 

[XenodudeX]

She's not wrong :x

 

[Nokagi]

No, sometimes people just aren't aware of it until it affects them.

Well if it doesn't effect you then perhaps you aren't aware of it. I agree and this could fit with what I said.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

“Because the demographic of people affected are more white, more middle class, these are parents who are empowered,” said Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, better known as the nation’s drug czar. “They know how to call a legislator, they know how to get angry with their insurance company, they know how to advocate. They have been so instrumental in changing the conversation.”

Mr. Botticelli, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for 26 years, speaks to some of these parents regularly.

Their efforts also include lobbying statehouses, holding rallies in Washington and starting nonprofit organizations, making these mothers and fathers part of a growing backlash against the harsh tactics of traditional drug enforcement. These days, in rare bipartisan or even nonpartisan agreement, punishment is out and compassion is in.

The presidential candidates of both parties are now talking about the drug epidemic, with Hillary Rodham Clinton hosting forums on the issue as Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina tell their own stories of loss while calling for more care and empathy.

who here is actually shocked.

I'll wait.

No, sometimes people just aren't aware of it until it affects them.

empathy shouldn't have to be attached to personal experience.

 

[ivysaur12]

yesssssssss

 

[Blackstarhat]

They should be treated the same as black people.

 

[Minus_Me]

This is the outcome of the Oxycontin Express train getting too expensive for most people to keep riding.

 

[Impeccable]

I honestly didn't realize we associated drug use by certain races.

 

[teruterubozu]

Hasn't heroin always been a predominantly white person drug?

And it's not like these people are being arrested for the most part, they're overdosing and dying.

Heroin use was rampant with black musicians during the jazz era. It seems the new white heroin use exploded in the grungy 90s.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I honestly didn't realize we associated drug use by certain races.

?????????????????????

sweet summer child. how nice it must be to live in your world, to be able to be ignorant without any consequence.

 

[xKilltheMx]

I honestly didn't realize we associated drug use by certain races.

Yep, and of course all the "non white" drugs received harsher punishments (see the cocaine/crack prison sentences dichotomy).
Not a glitch in the system, just the way the system was designed to work.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

I don't want to be snarky about this and I'm trying. It's good to see people pushing for the war on drugs to actually attack drugs that are killing and ruining lives around the country. I'm sick of seeing weed constantly being battled yet ecstacy, Heroin, Coke and all these terrible drugs are still being slinged and are generating FAR more money in untaxed dollars being basically casted aside.

On the other hand, sigh......, I wish this level of empathy and understanding and eagerness to help put kids struggling this this addiction wasn't only for affluent children of a particular race to be considered when they are not the only one. I hope these police officers and these parents understand that the also extends to many who aren't given the same light to rehabilitate are also getting that chance. So... Yeah

 

[NullPointer]

The Drug War has been an unmitigated disaster from the beginning. It perpetuates ignorance, undermines rights, retards scientific investigation, militarizes the police, further exposes the massive hypocrisy of the political class (I only experimented in college but am OK with destroying people's lives today for the same), overwhelmingly incarcerates the poor and people of color, and needs to fucking end decades ago.

If some white people are finally realizing this because its hit them directly, fine, as long as it leads to the end of this futile war against ourselves.

 

[Impeccable]

?????????????????????

sweet summer child. how nice it must be to live in your world, to be able to be ignorant without any consequence.

What is this shit?

 

[OneFiftyOne]

who here is actually shocked.

I'll wait.



empathy shouldn't have to be attached to personal experience.

How can it be anything other than the result of personal experience? That's the way human beings work, not just white people.

 

[xKilltheMx]

How can it be anything other than the result of personal experience? That's the way human beings work, not just white people.

I've never lost a single person to drugs and can empathize. The fuck are you talking about?

 

[Gordon Shumway]

How can it be anything other than the result of personal experience? That's the way human beings work

Really?

 

[SaviorX]

They should be treated the same as black people.

So you don't want any treatment at all?

Or maybe egregious prison sentences and slightly malicious hospital care?

 

[dbztrk]

What is this from?

 

[Clefargle]

Well, it's affecting white people so that's how you know it's something that's gotta be stopped asap.

.

 

[Enzom21]

from the article:



i wonder what changed exactly

Probably the same thing that changed here:

A generation ago when civil rights activists denounced as racist the push to punish crack-cocaine crimes, largely involving blacks, far more severely than powder-cocaine crimes, involving whites, political figures of both parties staunchly defended those policies as necessary to control violent crime.

But today, with heroin ravaging largely white communities in New England, the Northeast and the Midwest, and with violent crime largely down, the mood is more forgiving.

How can it be anything other than the result of personal experience? That's the way human beings work, not just white people.

So you don't empathize with certain people because their experience is not the same as yours?

What is this from?

Fresh of the boat.

 

[The Technomancer]

from the article:



i wonder what changed exactly

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Gordon Shumway]

What is this from?

Fresh off the Boat. Tuesdays @ 8:30 on ABC..

So everybody's a sociopath?

I don't even know what to say to that response..

 

[Seesaw15]

What is this from?

Fresh Off the Boat. A comedy series on ABC

 

[rambis]

From the article: "When the nation’s long-running war against drugs was defined by the crack epidemic and based in poor, predominantly black urban areas, the public response was defined by zero tolerance and stiff prison sentences...."

That's not accurate. This whole War on Drugs started with the Nixon administration in the early 1970's. Mostly a backlash against pot-smoking hippies (most of whom were white).



No, sometimes people just aren't aware of it until it affects them.

Maybe "war on drugs" as a term started with Nixon but the crack boom is certainly when shit hit the fan. The "Reefer Madness" response was certainly alot tamer in comparison .