Hopefully low. The treatment focused approach works, and so once people see this they'll keep it even after the white suburban community gets over it's heroin problem.

This smug commentary is shameful. There are a variety of factors involved in this problem and why until relatively recently an interdiction approach has been taken over treatment. It afflicts all demographics in the country. Get over yourself.

I think it's quite telling that only one top level comment mentions the race of the drug users, and is at the bottom of the page. Even the article itself avoids the topic although it includes statistics of all kinds.

I don't understand your insulting tone. What do you find smug about this comment? That white people are the primary victims in the nations current epidemic? That's a simple fact. The primary reason that black people were spared this time around is simply that doctors are significantly less likely to prescribe opiate painkillers to black folks (a bit of a positive effect of stereotypes about criminality).

If you're not picking up the smugness in his two comments then you must have a tough time with reading comprehension.

Aside from that, it's not a white issue at all. Opiate addiction, including heroin, afflicts all communities, and in particular those of lesser means.