
Mapping the spread of America's drug overdose epidemic - denzil_correa
http://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2016/may/25/opioid-epidemic-overdose-deaths-map
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refurb
What I find interesting is how drug preferences change over time. Back in the
1980's and 1990's it was cocaine (powder or crack), then it shifted to
methamphetamine in the 2000's and now there is a big shift to heroin.

Methamphetamine (amphetamines in general) was big back in the 1960's and
1970's, kind of went away, then came roaring back 30 years later.

Heroin was a major problem back during the same time period, kind of went away
(at least the amount of attention on it), then came back in the late 2000's.

I think blaming the current popularity of heroin on prescription opioids makes
sense, but I'd be curious what drives drug preference in other instances?
Price? Availability?

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pnut
The popular drug of the age always seems to reflect the general mood, the
zeitgeist of the time.

I just assumed the era determined in what direction people generally choose to
escape from reality, rather than economic factors. Go-go eighties. Tune in and
drop out 60's, etc.

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teslabox
The rise of heroin is probably related somehow to the legalization of cannabis
(medicinal and 'recreational'). When organized crime's cash cow went away,
they just picked new products to supply to their target market.

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r00fus
I wonder how this correlates with income inequality over the same period
(using housing, gas prices and COLA as a simple yardstick) in those same
regions.

