Opening Insights
The opioid epidemic continues to infect and affect America in surprising ways, with an increase in the number of "white, rural Americans going to prison." Read more below...
Pocket Wisdom Insights (PWI) invites you to explore the following Co-Lab Blog.
This blog features parts of an insightful article featured outside of the PWI Co-Lab,
written by Pat and Stu on July 14th, 2017, published by The Blaze.
We have republished this content in respect of the author’s vision, message and research.
Informational Insights
A rise in opioid use in mostly white rural counties is changing incarceration demographics: White, rural drug offenders are going to prison for longer periods than their counterparts in urban and suburban areas, the Washington Examiner reported.
[..]
Black people who broke drug laws in urban areas were disproportionately imprisoned for most of the last century, but that trend seems to be reversing. While drug treatment programs and other bipartisan efforts have reduced the number of inmates in big cities, rural and suburban Americans are now going to prison in larger numbers, a New York Times analysis of the National Corrections Reporting Program found in 2016.
The opioid crisis is falling through the cracks of the news cycle, but it’s a national disaster that is claiming far more lives than more-publicized problems. Drug overdoses likely resulted in more than 59,000 deaths last year, which would be the largest spike in recorded U.S. history. The 2016 number for drug overdose deaths surpasses the peak years for deaths due to guns, HIV and car crashes. In Ohio alone, estimated drug overdose deaths rose by 25 percent; the state is suing five drug companies based on accusations that they fueled the epidemic.
Possibilities for Consideration
Take a moment and examine…
- As you reviewed the material above, what stood out to you?
- What is the potential impact, economically and/or socially?
- What action is needed to stop or support this idea?
- You may want to consider whether you:
- Want to be aware of,
- Should become supportive of,
- Would want to be active in this topic?
Add Your Insight
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI
