The idea that legitimate, trustworthy pain patients exhibited classic signs of drug addiction and drug seeking was advanced. That really blew my mind. Addiction is this social and political construction on top of inevitable aspects of opioid use. And it just exposes the horrors of this segregated system where some people who are using drugs are situated and treated such that those effects become fatal,. they become disastrous, and they don't have to be.
Featuring Helena Hansen, Jules Netherland, and David Herzberg on how American capitalism and its illusions of whiteness both created the opioid crisis and shaped the response to it. We are discussing their book Whiteout: How Racial Capitalism Changed the Color of Opioids in America.
Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig
Check out our newsletters and vast archives at thedigradio.com
Subscribe to Jacobin bit.ly/digjacobin and Catalyst bit.ly/digcatalyst