Heroin addiction wasn't just Philip Seymour Hoffman's problem. It isn't just Hollywood's problem. It's America's problem. It's migrated from central cities to middle class suburbs to small towns in New England, the MidWest and other places where it's rarely been seen before. Cheaper, more potent supplies find a ready market of people already addicted to prescription pain pills that are harder to get than they used to be. Drug overdoses now kill more Americans than traffic accidents, gun homicides or suicides. How long has that been true? Why did it take a celebrity death to focus public attention? What needs to be done?
Heroin Makes a Comeback
Credits
Guests:
- Zusha Elinson - Wall Street Journal - @ZushaElinson
- Ben Cimons - recovering addict
- Keith Humphreys - professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine, former senior policy advisor to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy - @KeithNHumphreys
- Markos Kounalakis - Central European University - @kounalakism