Public officials have by and large responded to the ongoing opioid painkiller and heroin epidemic with a softer approach, focused more on public health than criminal justice policies, compared to previous drug crises. Part of that is states trying to save money after decades of expensive tough-on-crime policies. But some critics have pointed to two very different factors: race and class.
In light of that, the New York Times in October 2015 published a revealing story by Katharine Seelye — and followed it up with the video above — about how race and class are driving a different reaction to the opioid epidemic compared with previous drug crises. Take, for instance, this quote from a police officer:
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